by: Dani McCann, President, Danielle.McCann@philips.com

What a year it has been for Akron-Area PRSA!  I have been so proud to be part of such a hallmark time for the chapter.  Not only did we celebrate our 40th Anniversary, together what we accomplished has solidified our success as “the” area resource for the public relations professional.  Under the leadership of an outstanding board, amazing things have been accomplished.  Below is just a sample of the numerous projects implemented this year:

In the areas of programming and membership, we continued our long-standing tradition to create meetings and networking opportunities that add value and retain interest in our association.  Most noteworthy, we had the opportunity to host Michael Cherenson, APR, Chair and Chief Executive Officer for the Public Relations Society of America, to explore the value of public relations to the reputation and credibility of an organization.   In addition, we held our second annual “YouToo” Social Media Conference at Kent State University and more than six chapter luncheon meetings this year.  All of our programs met or exceeded our attendance targets and kept us in a positive profit margin.  More than that, we continued to see growing numbers at our events and our membership numbers climbing.   In fact, this year National PRSA presented our Akron-Area Chapter with two “Greatest Growth Awards.”

In the operational arena, we achieved great things as well. Largely focused, we set out to give back to our membership and community in ways we had never done before.  On July 30, we introduced our first Pro-Bono Day, a new program to help non-profit organizations in our area that have been affected by the downturn of the economy.  Members of our chapter provided free advice to non-profit agencies with limited PR resources.  This effort was such a huge success; we are already working towards the next one. 

Additionally, a new sponsorship program was unveiled in January.  This program provided enormous reward to the future of our practice.  In 2009 we achieved three major sponsors, and 19 individual sponsors.  As a result, we raised the amount of our yearly student scholarships and invested additional monies into our Scholarship Fund CD.  Because of the program’s success, I am confident we will continue to provide this service to exceptional students for many years to come.

I have said it once and I will say it again - without such dedicated individuals on our board - none of our successes would have been possible.  I want to personally thank the 2009 Akron-Area Chapter Board of Directors for all of their efforts.  And, I want to thank all of you for your support.  I have been so proud to act as your president and look forward to watching our continued success unfold.

In earnest,
Dani