The Countdown is On...

Hello FPRA Treasure Coast!

Chapter Board Meeting
The Treasure Coast Chapter Board of Directors will meet on Tuesday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. at the Martin/St. Lucie Service Center in Stuart. Please RSVP to Linette at ltrabuls@sfwmd.gov.

FPRA Treasure Coast Chapter Community Service Project
Last Tuesday, members of our Chapter presented “What is PR and PR Opportunities” to nearly 100 students at Martin County High School. The presentation, made up of seven panelists, was interactive, exciting (at least to us) and fun. Debra Banta, APR, the coordinator of this event, reported to the committee that she immediately heard from the journalism teacher at the school who had this to say:

“One of my students is now all excited…she thinks she wants to branch out from journalism to public relations. She said she had never thought of it before and really likes the career opportunities. So thanks for bringing the panel to our school. It’s great when seeds are planted.”

This kind of feedback was just what we wanted to hear! The school videotaped the presentation and we are working the school to finalize the video this week. We are also working with the marketing teacher on an evaluation of the presentation in order to tailor our efforts for the next time. A special thank you to Debbie Banta, APR, Kherri Anderson, Kendall Clifford, Erick Gill, Robin Delgado, Cara Perry, Sam Yates & Nancy McCarthy, APR – the staff photographer! :-)

The Chapter’s 25th Anniversary Celebration is Next Week! Don’t Delay! RSVP TODAY!
By now you should have received your invitation to the 25th Anniversary of the Treasure Coast Chapter of FPRA scheduled for Tuesday, March 10th at 4 p.m. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to join your fellow FPRA members and friends at the Sunrise Theatre in historic downtown Fort Pierce for a reception honoring the past 25 years. After the reception, the Sunrise Theatre invites you and a guest to stay for the performance of “Footloose: The Musical.” The cost to attend is $25 per person and includes the reception and the show! Only 60 tickets will be reserved for our Chapter, so make your reservations early and feel free to bring a guest. Make your reservations now by calling Programs Chairman Cara Perry at (772) 873-3339 or e-mail at ccarlton@fau.edu. The easiest way to RSVP is on our website at http://www.fpratreasurecoast.com/. Lanette Hart, APR, CPRC, our State Association President and Suzanne Sparling, APR, CPRC, our State Association's Immediate Past President and Chapter Liaison, will both be on hand to help us celebrate. Let's have a great showing to support their visit to the Chapter.

Local Image Awards Dinner & Ceremony Needs Donations
As you know, our Local Image Awards Dinner and Ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 from 4-7 p.m. (PLEASE mark your calendars!) at the Schreiber Center in St. Lucie West. Our Image Co-Chairs, Robin Delgado and Dorothy Kamm, are working very hard to make this another lovely event for you to share your accomplishments and enjoy networking with members and friends. This year, the Committee is adding a Silent Auction to the event, but they need your help! Dorothy and Robin have already procured two fabulous prizes: a cruise on The Challenge and a series of facial and laser treatments worth $900! However, they still need donations. Donation ideas include themed gift baskets, gift certificates or artwork. Please consider a donation to your Treasure Coast Chapter’s Local Image Awards Ceremony and help make this the most successful event ever! If you have a donation or idea, please contact Dorothy Kamm at Dorothy@yatespro.com.

The Countdown is ON…Deadline for Local Image Award Entries is Only 22 Days Away!
The “Call for Entries” for the FPRA Treasure Coast Chapter 2009 Local Image Awards is available online at http://www.fpratreasurecoast.com/%20/%20http://www.fpratreasurecoast.com/. Deadline for entries is March 24, 2009.

Communicator of the Year Awards – Nominations Now Being Accepted

At the Annual Image Awards, it’s the President’s honor to announce the Communicator of the Year Awards. Nominations are now being accepted and forms are available on our website at http://www.fpratreasurecoast.com/. The Communicator of the Year award is given to a public relations professional, whether a member of FPRA or not, who demonstrates outstanding skills in one of the following four categories:

Communicator for a Nonprofit Organization
Communicator for a For-Profit Organization
Public Relations for a Special Event
Crisis Communicator

Past winners of a Communicator Award are eligible for nomination. Nominations should be submitted to Linette Trabulsy by e-mail at ltrabuls@sfwmd.gov no later than Friday, March 27 at 5 p.m.

Hot Stuff/Cool Cash – State Conference Update from Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC
At the Quarterly State Board meeting last weekend, the Chapter Challenge for Annual Conference was announced. One of the items where our Chapter can earn points is donating a gift or two or three to the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation auction fundraiser. This year, it’s known as HOT STUFF/COOL CASH.

What should you donate? Gift baskets with gift cards, books, CDs, antique items, toiletries, a painting, and more. It’s up to you. Let your creativity go wild and count those points toward the Conference Chapter Challenge!! Last year, our Chapter won a conference scholarship for Annual Conference. We can do this again with your help!

If you have any questions, please contact me at (772) 341-3845 or by email at adrienne.moore7@gmail.com. Adrienne stands ready to receive some HOT gifts from a great group of COOL public relations professionals!!

Member News
Someone you know is “Dancing with the Stars!! “Vero star” Laura Kelley, APR, Chairman of the Indian River Council & professional Joe Wynes of Desire to Dance is dancing to support the Healthy Start Coalition of Indian River County and for every dollar you donate online (see link below) or by donation is equal to one vote! Seats to the event are sold out, but she still needs and would appreciate every vote as the majority of the competition is based on how many votes received! The fundraiser and show-stopping fun is March 14 at the Elks Lodge in Vero. Not only will you be supporting your fellow FPRA member and Indian River Council Chairman, but every dollar supports healthy moms and babies! Donations can be made in the name of your favorite dancer by clicking on the “Star dancer” button online. http://www.dancingwithverostars.com/stardancers.htm or make check payable to: Healthy Start Coalition.

A Word About Tweeting from cnn.com, SciTechBlog
Tweets on the Hill, February 26, 2009

Transparency seems to be all the rage on Capitol Hill these days. And what better way for Congress to connect directly with constituents than through Twitter, the free social-messaging site?

As I began following the 100 or so members who currently use Twitter through a site called http://tweetcongress.org, I found the Democrat-to-Republican tweeting ratio a bit surprising. There are only 29 Democrats tweeting compared to 57 or so Republicans.

As we saw in the last election campaign, Democrats have a reputation as being hipper and more plugged-in than their GOP counterparts. So are Republicans now trying to drum up support with the tech-savvy crowd through this hot medium that seems to be spreading like wildfire?

Twitter gives the public a sense of what’s happening in now in the halls of Congress. It’s like a real-time backstage pass to Capitol Hill. We elected these people to do a job, and Twitter gives us a way to connect with them more directly than ever.

During President Obama’s speech Tuesday night to the joint session of Congress, Texas Republican congressman John Culberson posted, “This is always an awe-inspiring experience no matter who is President,” and “Capt Sully is here — awesome!” These personal messages give us a behind-the-scenes look at how our government works, humanize our elected leaders and avoid the cumbersome rhetoric that we find in formal congressional correspondence.

However, there are a handful of potential pitfalls in congressional tweeting, which might be why not every senator or congressman has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. There are no Twitter filters or copy editors, and once a tweet is out there, there is no turning back. This can be a dicey prospect for a politician.

During President Obama’s speech, one such tweet slipped through the cracks for congressman Joe Barton, another Texas Republican, who Twittered, “Aggie basketball game is about to start on espn2 for those of you that aren’t going to bother watching Pelosi smirk for the next hour.”

Oops! Several minutes later another message followed, saying, “Disregard that last tweet from a staffer.” Insert tweet in mouth.

So, should there be some filter or editor to protect our congressmen from themselves? Or can we benefit from these raw, unpolished glimpses at our elected representatives? Let us know what you think!
– Callie Carmichael, CNN.com

Have a great week,
Linette