PRSA Akron Ohio Chapter

With more than 100 members, the Akron Area Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America represents a group of diverse, professional communicators from corporate, healthcare, non-profit, agency, media, and academic realms.

To find out more about membership in our dynamic, fun and growing Akron Area PRSA Chapter, contact Robin Clark, Director of Membership at rclark@aultcare.com. Or, visit http://www.prsa.org/membership/index.html. PRSA Membership offers many benefits including professional networking, continued education, expanded career opportunities, and an opportunity to make a measurable contribution to our field through personal involvement. We welcome you!

Letter From The President

Ralph J. Davila, APR

What a month we had in February! Where to begin? Well, first of all, we held an extremely successful joint event with Cleveland PRSA and IABC Cleveland on "How to be great when you communicate" with nationally recognized speaker David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA. The venue was packed with PR and communication pros throughout Northeast Ohio. They were engaged and eager to ask a variety of important questions to David. What a great learning experience!

Also, our own Tom Duke, APR, Fellow PRSA was honored with the prestigious Lighthouse award for his 50-plus years of tremendous service and innovation to our profession. The Lighthouse award was presented to Tom by the Greater Cleveland PRSA Chapter alongside fellow Kent State University graduate and former Akron Area PRSA chapter President Carrie Kandes, APR for her work in mentoring.

Congratulations Tom and Carrie for your outstanding work in the public relations field!

Recently, the board of directors for the Akron Area PRSA chapter voted to make Tom an Honorary Lifetime Member of the chapter, further thanking him for all of the work he's done in the profession and for being a founding chapter member and charter president.

Other positive news from the chapter includes two chapter members attaining their APRs. - Amy Krebs from the Stark Community Foundation and Robin Clark from AultCare. Congratulations to them for this great accomplishment. If you are interested or have questions in getting your APR certification, please contact me or Jan Gusich, APR and check out the Spring APR schedule below.

The YouToo Social Media Conference, to be held on Friday, April 13 at Kent State University, is fast approaching. Take advantage of our Early Bird reduced rates from now until March 23 for you and your colleagues by visiting http://www.youtoosm.com/. You can get a taste of prior conferences if you haven't been to one by checking out the videos and highlights on the site. Don't forget to submit your registration form as soon as possible and "LIKE" the YouToo Facebook page!

I look forward to seeing you and your colleagues at our upcoming events and virtually on our Facebook and Twitter pages!

Sincerely,

Ralph J. Davila, APR

rjdavila2003@yahoo.com

t. @rjdavila

li. linkedin.com/in/ralphdavila

Chapter Member Spotlight

This month we are pleased to introduce you to PRSA member Andrea Ferraro. Andrea is a Visiting Lecturer, Internship Coordinator and Faculty Advisor for PRSSA at The University of Akron School of Communication. Please take a moment to get to know her!

PRSA: What made you chose a career in public relations?

AF: Shortly after I obtained my bachelor's degree in communication, I answered a blind newspaper ad seeking a person with experience in marketing and advertising. I was surprised when I received a call for an interview from a small shopping mall. I didn't even know malls had marketing directors! That job was the start of a long and rewarding career in shopping center marketing and management where I practiced integrated marketing communication on a daily basis. I was not pigeonholed, so I was able to hone my skills in marketing, advertising, public relations, and sales promotion. This background, along with my master's degree in communication, also prepared me to teach college students interested in public relations and advertising.

PRSA: What would you do if you weren't in PR?

AF: I absolutely love the communication field. There is an excitement and energy that abounds in this field that makes one feel alive and connected. I feel this same passion about teaching students who are about to enter the field, so I cannot imagine being in any other industry. I tell my students that if they don't possess a genuine passion for what they do, they will only have jobs, not careers.

PRSA: What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?

AF: My students' futures are of the utmost importance to me, so watching these individuals transform throughout the semester and knowing that I had something to do with that is very rewarding and humbling. I am also very proud of our student PRSSA chapter, which I became the faculty advisor for last spring. The chapter had grown stagnant, so we have been working towards making it more viable to members, the University, Akron PRSA, and the community. Our efforts include fundraising and philanthropic activities, guest speakers, speaker panels, and agency tours. In less than a year, we have been able to double our membership! The past and present officers continue to do an excellent job, evident by our chapter winning a Star Chapter Award at the PRSA National Conference last October.

PRSA: You're in the process of getting your APR - why did you decide to do it?

AF: I am also working on my Ph.D. in Urban Studies and Public Affairs, with a concentration in health communication, so I felt that the time was right for me to obtain my APR designation as well. I plan to take the computerized test in April. Since public relations is so misunderstood and devalued outside of our field, I think accreditation is vital since it provides credibility and standardization. Within our field, I think it helps sharpen the skills and thinking of practitioners. After being in the field for a number of years, we sometimes get comfortable in the way we do things, so the study for accreditation helps shake off some of that lethargy. Our field is constantly changing and evolving, so it is imperative that we make a commitment to keep learning and utilize all the tools available to make us more effective practitioners.