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Byline Archive Trinity Scholarship Winner Announced (December 2009)
Scholarship originally established by San Antonio PRSA Marisa Shipley, a senior in Communications at Trinity University, has been awarded the Ellis Shapiro Scholarship in the amount of $1,000. Chapter president, Robert E. Sheldon, APR, recently attended a reception at the schoolon the chapter’s behalf. The San Antonio PRSA chapter established the scholarship in 1970 in Shapiro’s name with a gift of more than $4,500 ($20,000+ in current dollars) raised by donations from members and the community. Shapiro was a former San Antonio public relations consultant and founder of the Good Government League during the transformative 50s and 60s in the city’s history. He was also involved with the development of the Hemisfair in 1968. Shapiro died in 1978 after a long illness. More...
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A good year…all things considered! (December 2009)
The President’s Year in Review By Robert E. Sheldon, APR
It’s been nearly six years since I was asked to join the chapter’s Board of Directors, and I can say that I have never had the privilege of working with a more professional and dedicated group of individuals. Being your president this past year has been the capper. It was a challenging year, to be sure, but a good year, all things considered. Let me recap some of our accomplishments. We started the year wanting to continue our tradition of delivering true value to you, the members. With the help of a lot of Board members and committee chairs, we delivered 10 monthly luncheon meetings with vibrant speakers and thought-provoking topics. Our average attendance was approaching 60 people – not bad for a year when communications budgets were being squeezed and people were working harder for less. In her role as Program Chair, Trisha Box consistently produced great programs –including the most recent successful Gift of Guidance luncheon in December. We also promised to continue networking activities for members – a function that became ever more important as the impact of the economic downturn cost some or our members and other communicators their jobs. Our three membership social mixers were all well attended by members, those looking to become members, those looking for jobs and those just wanting to improve their networking skills. Of all the new skills important to our profession, Social Networking seemed to take on a life of its own this past year. As a true service to members, Christy Goodman, APR, was our chief social networking educator. Her numerous 15-minute workshops prior to luncheons proved to be not only popular but also useful for many of our members. Later in the year Christie coordinated with Beth Graham to host several social networking training sessions for the public and PRSA members at the San Antonio Library.
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Spring Dates to Remember 2010 (December 2009)
PRSA knows how your calendar for the next year can start filling up before the old year even finishes. To make things a little easier when switching to your 2010 planner, here are a few PRSA dates to remember for this upcoming spring. Registration notices will be arriving in your e-mail closer to the date of the event. |
Mix It Up (December 2009)
Angela McClendon Johnson and Robert Sheldon, APR have a great time talking at the PRSA December 3 Mixer at Zinc’s Wine Bar.
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January Luncheon (December 2009)
“How Radio Can Dominate in a Shrinking Print World”
Jim Forsyth, News Director, WOAI, has been at the helm of the South Texas iconic news team since 1987. He is a correspondent for Fox Radio, reports for CBS Radio news and the Texas State Network. Jim will talk about how radio can fulfill a role in the future of broadcast news, even as print publications continue their rapid decline. Please join us on January 7 for the first PRSA luncheon of the New Year! |
PRSA Member Special (December 2009)
Through the end of December, PRSA members can add any Section for $20 off of the regular $60 dues by mentioning the promo code SECFALL09. Check it out! (Link: http://www.prsa.org/JoinUS/) |
New APR Boot Camp (December 2009)
Heads up… new APR boot camps are debuting, programs that National is offering around the country. Also, a new APR designation called APR-M for military PR individuals has been established. We’ll have more information as the programs develop, so keep an eye out in Byline and on our web site.
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December Luncheon (November 2009)
"Gift of Guidance" The Gift of Guidance is the annual public service project of the members of the San Antonio chapter of Public Relations Society of America. Pre-selected non-profits send representatives to the chapter's December 3 meeting and participate in a free public relations counseling session with professional public relations practitioners in developing a mini-PR plan over lunch. Chapter members are encouraged to assist in this effort by registering early for this annual holiday event. During the luncheon, you can participate in the 50/50 raffle to benefit the Marilyn Potts Endowment Fund. For more information, please visit LINK (http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?1Q%2cM3%2c2759e8af-e7c1-47f0-a9d8-cf2a29fadc9c) Members Note: Walk-in registration is no longer available at monthly luncheons. Register now! (link:http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?4W%2cM3%2c2759e8af-e7c1-47f0-a9d8-cf2a29fadc9c) |
Report from Assembly (November 2009)
Several weeks ago, we had the pleasure of serving as this chapter’s delegates to the PRSA Assembly. On the agenda this year was a lengthy proposed overhaul of the organization’s bylaws, for which the national office had been preparing for two years. Since it was the first Assembly for both of us, we weren’t sure what to expect. While it was exciting and humbling to serve as your representatives, the experience was at times comical, confusing, empowering and frustrating. Among the most contentious proposed changes that were NOT adopted were expanding the way we define membership (adding the name “communications” professionals the existing “PR” professionals) and changing the way we elect officers and directors from Assembly voting to one member/one vote. In the final tally, the bylaws revision document (as amended) passed, but the “sweeping changes” some people heralded apparently were not included. More... |
My 2 Cents (November 2009)
By Katie Hornstrom
Sometimes revelations can happen at the most unexpected times in life. Last night, I was eating dinner at my sister’s house and it started raining. On a good day, it usually takes me a solid 45 minutes to get home, in the daylight. So imagine driving home at 9 p.m. on dark, winding country roads with deer around every curve… in the pouring rain. I made an unhappy face at the prospect and my sister said, forcefully, “Hey! Don’t ever curse the rain!” Suddenly, I was struck by how much the rain was like my job in Communications and like the PR profession in general. Often in PR, we spend a lot of time preparing and waiting for events to happen, both good andpotentially bad, and they often seem to hit at the most inopportune times. Haven’t you ever found yourself thinking, “If I only had another (insert here: month, week, day, hour, minute) to get ready.” Or “If only that (insert here: event, incident, accident, situation) hadn’t happened today of all days.” Like the rain, every situation has a positive and a negative side. It’s often up to us, and the work we do, to determine which side people see. As PR professionals, rather than cursing the randomness of life that always seems to happen when you just need one more minute, it’s our responsibility to turn that event or incident into a positive. More...
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