I'm "Crazy 4 FPRA" (Valentine's Day...Candy Hearts...Get it??)

Hello FPRA Treasure Coast!

February Monthly Meeting ~ A “Quick” Opportunity to Meet your Fellow FPRA Members
Be sure to make your reservations for tomorrow’s Speed Networking Meeting! What is “Speed Networking?” With all the participants seated in pairs, the Speed Networking sessions begins. During each five-minute session, participants will be able to network face-to-face. After the end of each session, participants will quickly alternate their seating arrangements to pair up with their next networking opportunity. This process will continue until all participants have interacted with each other. In just a few minutes, participants will share business cards, history and offer a few “random” things that people might not know about them.

Participants should prepare some business questions and answers to:
• Who do you know that might need their services?
• Who has a similar client base and might like to exchange client leads with them?
• How might each company do business with one another?
• Can you introduce them to anyone who can help them?

This month’s meeting is at the IRSC Schreiber Center in St. Lucie West. Lunch (served by Panera!) is at 11:30 and the program will begin at noon. Reservations can be made either online at http://www.fpratreasurecoast.com/ or by calling Programs Chairman Cara Perry at (772) 873-3339 or e-mail at ccarlton@fau.edu. The cost for members is $15 and $20 for non-members.

Deadline for Newsletter Submissions is Wednesday!
Committee Chairs and members: Please submit your news for The PRO to Sarah Starr at sstarr@childcareresourcesir.org no later than Wednesday, Feb. 11th. Thank you for your help!

Call for Entries for the FPRA Treasure Coast Chapter 2009 Local Image Awards
The Image Awards Committee has announced the “Call for Entries” for the FPRA Treasure Coast Chapter 2009 Local Image Awards. Please note that there will be “no snail-mailed” “call for entries” this year, this information is only available electronically on our website at http://www.fpratreasurecoast.com/ (and it is attached to the e-mail you just received)! Deadline for entries is March 24, 2009. Don’t forget the 25 Tips for Image Awards are available on this blog (http://www.fpratreasurecoast.blogspot.com/) with the final installation in today’s entry. A special thank you to Image Co-Chairs Robin Delgado and Dorothy Kamm and committee members Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC and Nancy McCarthy, APR, for their hard work and for their presentation at the January monthly meeting. Thanks and good luck!!

2009 FPRA Annual Conference Update – February 2009 ~ from your Annual Conference Committee
PR on F.I.R.E. ~ Foundation, Innovation, Reputation, Education
Your Annual Conference Committee continues to seek out speakers who will help you grow as a public relations practitioner. Here is a sneak peek into another great speaker who is bound to hit a “home run” with conference attendees!

Tom Hoof, Marketing and Communications Director for the Tampa Bay Rays, will share his experience about rebranding a professional baseball team. In November 2007, the majority owner of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball team decided to make drastic changes and renamed his team the “Tampa Bay Rays.” As a result of his decision, the team went through a rebranding campaign that re-energized fans and made everyone in the Tampa Bay area feel like they had ownership of the Rays. Join us at the 2009 FPRA Annual Conference to hear about the campaign and the astounding success the team experienced in 2008.

Opportunity for Design Professionals
This message comes from Audria V. Moore, PIO at the Fort Pierce Police Department. She has been appointed by the Governor to serve on Florida’s Education Committee for the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities. The Committee would like to request the volunteer assistance of a public relations professional to layout and design a brochure which would offer tips on interacting with people with disabilities in different settings i.e. hospital, government and office. The product will be distributed statewide and will come from the Governor’s Office. The deadline for completion would be June 2009. If anyone is interested in assisting with this worthy project, please contact Audria at 772-461-3820 ext.5203; Cell: 772-370-1848 or fppio@fppd.org.

Have a great week,
Linette