Dear PRSA Leader:                                                                                             February 2008

As we move into March, I wanted to let you know that we’ve received good feedback on our new method of communicating with leaders and members. We got a few comments on the costs of our professional development programming, and you can read those comments, and our response, here. As stated in my first letter, we also will hold subject-specific Leadership calls, and are planning to hold one at the end of March. 

In addition, I wanted to update you on a number of exciting things happening at PRSA. First, I’m happy to report that we continue to grow. By the end of last year we reached a new record high of 22,170 members from across the country and overseas — and we grew again last month, our best January since 2004. The strength of PRSA is drawn from our membership, their real-life experience, and their willingness to share and give back to strengthen us all.

As March begins we are in the process of implementing our new Strategic Plan. The plan was the result of a year of intensive effort by volunteers and staff, and included input from Assembly Delegates, Committees, and the Strategic Planning Committee. You can find a full copy of the plan here. The next steps are to translate the plan into specific business objectives – work which has been underway for a month at Headquarters. Please take a moment to read the plan and to share it with others so that all of our Chapters, Districts, Sections, and communities can make good use of it.

In the meantime, there is a lot happening at PRSA, including:

• Entries for PRSA’s Silver Anvil Awards are pouring in. PRSA members from across the country will gather in New York on March 14 to donate a day of their time to judge entries — a great opportunity to meet peers, and assess the state of the art in public relations. You can get the details on this year’s Awards program here. 
• PRSA will undertake an in-depth member survey this year. An RFP was issued last week to solicit bids for the survey work, and there has been broad, strong interest in this project from a wide variety of firms, all of which are eager to work with us.
• PRSA, under the auspices of PRSA’s Counselors Academy, is launching a free training tool for public relations professionals, the PR QuickStart program. A joint venture with the Council of PR Firms, this Web-based program allows new professionals to learn about their profession or can serve as a refresher for more seasoned practitioners. 
• Several key volunteer-led task forces have commenced work.  The Leadership Continuum Task Force, led by Blake Lewis and BJ Whitman, is examining best practices in leadership development, and will be making recommendations as to how PRSA can better identify and groom future leaders. The Bylaw Rewrite Task Force, led by Dave Rickey, is conducting an in- depth evaluation of PRSA’s Bylaws.  Both groups have had initial calls to develop work plans and make assignments, and you’ll be hearing much more about these groups in the near future — as your input will be an essential element of their work.

As the year progresses we’ll be engaging in outreach to both our PRSA communities and external audiences. Last month I had an opportunity to address the United States Northern Command public affairs staff in Colorado Springs about ethics and public relations, and Mike Cherenson, PRSA’s chair-elect, was recently interviewed by iBizResources.com about how small business can use public relations;  you can hear that podcast by clicking here.

Thanks for taking the time to contribute to our community, to read my letter, and as always, don’t hesitate to contact us at prsaleaders@prsa.org.