PRSSA Leadership Rally: Joining Forces for a Successful Term

Me with keynote speaker Paula L. Pedene, APR

I am about to board a plane back to Orlando, Florida, back to my home state and to my home PRSSA chapter. But I am returning with a much deeper knowledge of how to lead a successful chapter, how to ensure effective communication among all members and how to unite the chapter in order to become a stronger chapter for pre-professionals.

I’ll keep this brief and highlight some of the key points that I found very beneficial. For more information, you can always check out http://www.prssa.org. By the way — they’ve redesigned the website. Great job to Leah and everyone that worked on revamping the PRSSA website.

Ultimately, the PRSSA chapter can be run like a well-planned, organized public relations campaign. You want to be effective, targeted and ensure plans are carried out synergistically. Essentially, you want to evaluate the situation. Do the research and listen. A great majority of public relations is about listening. As our keynote speaker Paula L. Pedene, APR said, “God gave us two ears, two eyes and one mouth.” We are first to listen and then to observe.

From there, the executive team can practice the Stop-Start-Continue method. Should we stop the existing practice? Start with something new? Or continue what we’ve been doing? It’s important to evaluate the situation, and then make the appropriate decision.

One of the greatest realizations that I had this weekend: keep all members excited about the incredible opportunities of PRSSA National. It’s easy to get caught up in our own local chapters, but remember – this is a network of 10,000 pre-professionals! PRSSA is the largest pre-professional organization in the industry, with incredible benefits and networking opportunities. Remind national members that they have access to “Issues and Trends,” the same industry news that professionals see. That means that students are staying current with the top news that their interviewers are seeing. Very advantageous.

Furthermore, our network provides access to countless fundraising tools as well as nearly $20,000 in scholarships and awards. We also have contacts with chapters around the nation to share our news, to collaborate on fundraising ideas, recruitment ideas and more. We have “Forum,” a highly esteemed publication providing members the opportunity to get published. This is yet another great piece for any pre-professional’s portfolio.

Discover that “WOW” factor. What makes your chapter unique? Every chapter has something to offer, whether you’re in the sprawling urban city of Tampa or a one-stop-sign-town in Ohio. You have a “WOW” factor. Find it and utilize it. For example, Hal Waldo from the University of Utah plans on hosting a fire dancer to recruit members. Wow! Effective.

I may follow up this post with some fundraising ideas, and will definitely share any effective practices our USF chapter implements. Just remember:

• Listen: Evaluate the situation first. Should you stop, start or continue current practices?
• Find the “WOW” factor. What makes your chapter different?
• Use your resources: PRSSA offers a network of 10,000 students; numerous fundraising and recruitment ideas; opportunity for publication; and scholarships. Check out http://www.prssa.org/about/benefits.aspx

2010 PRSSA Leadership Rally was an incredible experience. If you did not make it, don’t hesitate to contact me, or anyone on the National Executive Board. And I hope to see everyone at the 2010 National Conference in Washington D.C. I’ll be there! I was so stoked to have won the free registration. Thanks to everyone in my PRSSA family for making this an incredible experience.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 at 5:17 am. It is filed under PR & Media, PRSSA and tagged with campaign, PRSA, PRSSA, public relations, Public Relations Student Society of America, University of South Florida, University of Utah, USF. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.