5 takeaways: Justin Brennan

Justin Brennan

During April’s presentation, Justin Brennan, former director of impact partnerships at Participant Media and president of Purpose & Vision Consulting, provided insight on how public relations practitioners and marketers can strengthen and redefine partnerships and content strategies to be more inclusive, effective and stabilizing.

Here are 5 takeaways from his presentation “How to market to a multicultural society.”

  1. There’s never going to be one message that works for everyone. We’re supposed to make mistakes, and trial and error is OK.
  2. Switch from marketing “to” to marketing “with” to achieve inclusivity.
  3. Representation matters; make sure your target audience is involved in the creative process.
  4. To effectively address your publics’ concerns, your team should reflect your community.
  5. The new advertising world is not one-size-fits-all. We need separate campaigns and multiple messages to reach diverse audiences.

5 Takeways: Cherrietta Prince

The Impact of a Personal Public Relations Story

Cherrietta Prince, local business owner and ambassador for the Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership     

 

5 Takeways from Cherrietta Prince’s “Twists & Turns in a PR Career”

  • Represent a product or service you believe in, and it will be easy.
  • Identify your markets and audiences. Ask: What do I want, how do I look and how do I want to look?
  • If you don’t have PR skills, you can’t have a successful business.
  • Without PR, no one knows who you are. No one knows you are the best. Engage the right people.
  • Make sure every word you speak is thoughtful.

Challenges of fundraising explored at upcoming FPRA Ocala Chapter meeting

Public to Private: Fundraising from the Inside Out

Planning a successful fundraiser always takes into account risks or challenges that could prevent reaching goals. Expert Beth McCall, consultant with Pride Philanthropy, will address this and more as guest speaker at the Florida Public Relations Association Ocala Chapter monthly professional development luncheon on Friday, May 15, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ocala Conference Center – Holiday Inn & Suites located at 3600 SW 38th Ave. in Ocala.

McCall will present “From Public to Private: Fundraising from the Inside Out.” After 13 years as an executive director to two charitable organizations, McCall opened a fundraising consulting business. She will discuss the steps taken towards that decision and the transition into her new venture including the logistics, the emotional capital and risk, and the reward of using her talents to help others learn the business of fundraising.

McCall became the Executive Director of the Munroe Foundation in October of 2005, and remained there until September 2013. During her tenure as the Executive Director, the Foundation raised over seven million dollars for Munroe Regional Medical Center for numerous projects. During her tenure at Munroe, McCall earned her Certified Fundraising Executive certification.

Prior to working at Munroe, McCall was executive director of the Public Education Foundation of Marion County from 1999 to 2005. In October of 2013, she established her own fundraising consulting business, Beth McCall, LLC. She works with Pride Philanthropy out of Atlanta, GA, Hospice of Marion County, ARC Marion Foundation, Live Oak International and the Community Foundation of Ocala/Marion.

McCall received her bachelor’s degree in education in 1973 and her master’s degree in business management and leadership in 2003.

Guests are welcome to attend the seminar and luncheon and can register by visiting www.fpraocala.org/events.html. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for guests. For additional information, contact Pamela Calero at [email protected].

Local public relations awards showcase outstanding work

April 25, 2014, Mid-Florida Local Image Awards Gala (80)

OCALA, Fla. – The Florida Public Relations Association Ocala Chapter recognized public relations professionals for achieving industry excellence at the recent Mid-Florida Local Image Awards gala.

As determined by a third-party panel of judges, the winners represent the very best examples of public relations innovation, planning, implementation and design. Winners and gala attendees represented several area organizations, including CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion, Duke Energy, Hospice of Marion County, Marion County Fire Rescue, Marion County Office of Public Information, Southwest Florida Water Management District and United Way of Marion County.

This year’s awards theme, ReciPe for Results, emphasized the importance of a planning process for any successful public relations campaign. Like a recipe, the public relations process is precise, and it specifies steps: research/situational analysis, objectives, implementation, evaluation and budget. The event was held at Community Technical & Adult Education (CTAE), Commercial Foods and Culinary Arts School, where honorees and guests dined on cuisine prepared by CTAE Chef James Kennedy and his students.

The Mid-Florida Local Image Awards honor outstanding public relations programs, printed tools of public relations and audio, visual and online tools of public relations. Entries must meet strict criteria and undergo tough scrutiny by a third-party panel of judges. Judges must have their Accredited in Public Relations (APR) credential and have won an Image Award in the past. Many are also Certified Public Relations Counselors.

Three of this year’s entries met the highest standards of public relations excellence and were bestowed a Grand All Image award (Public Relations Programs division) or Grand Image awards (Printed Tools of Public Relations and Audio/Visual/Online Tools of Public Relations):

Heather Danenhower, APR; Duke Energy Corporate Communications; and the Crystal River Nuclear Plant won a Grand All Image Award for their employee communications plan associated with the announcement to retire the Crystal River Nuclear Plant. The plan focused on informing plant employees of the retirement decision firsthand through face-to-face meetings, email communications and videos. The group additionally received an Image Award for that plan and also received an Image Award for their Crystal River Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Open House event. The event successfully increased awareness of the decommissioning plan and positively influenced how people felt about plant workers and Duke Energy.

Barbara Hernandez, APR; Marion County Office of the County Engineer and the Stormwater Section won a Grand Image award for their 2013 Marion County “Discover Our Water Resources” tabloid, an educational newspaper developed to increase water knowledge and promote water-conserving behaviors among Marion County fourth- and fifth-graders. The group also received an Image Award and Judges’ Award for the publication.

Michele Sager, Allen Yarbrough and Robin Felix won a Grand Image award for the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Springs Instagram Contest, developed to educate and engage the residents of Citrus, Hernando and Marion Counties, home to five major springs systems. The group also received an Image Award for the contest.

Other notable awards included:

Carrieann Adkins, Don Weaver and Robyn Felix received an Image Award for the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Springs Website, which positions the district as the leading scientific agency that understands springs and takes action to restore them.

Laura Byrnes, APR, and CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion were honored with an Award of Distinction for their website redesign, which resulted in a more cohesive and clearer information tool that better communicated the nonprofit’s programs and increased engagement.

Jessica Greene Fuchs and Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR) Partners received an Award of Distinction for the “Prepare. Protect. Prevent. Water Safety Campaign.” Partnering with local agencies, MCFR raised awareness about water safety and raised funds to purchase swimming lesson packages for local families.

Lila Ivy and Lisa Varner, APR, were honored with an Award of Distinction for their Hospice of Marion County’s Flowers for Alzheimer’ Fundraiser, an awareness-raising effort to support an end to Alzheimer’s disease.

Teresa Martyny and United Way of Marion County received an Award of Distinction for their 2-1-1 Blog to help community members become more aware of the wide range of services available to them locally and nationally.

In addition to the awards ceremony, Monique Yeager, vice president of marketing at Tijuana Flats’, shared her company’s ReciPe for Results on winning marketing strategies in the highly competitive fast casual restaurant industry. Attendees received valuable insight into how Tijuana Flats fosters its unique approach to employee relations, customer communication and brand management.

Sponsors for the ReciPe for Results 2014 Mid-Florida Local Image Awards included: Frankel Media Group, $1,000 in-kind contribution for design services; Community Technical & Adult Education, $250 in-kind contribution for the event venue; Diana Scott, $250 in-kind contribution for photography; Webster University, $250 cash; and Duke Energy, $250 cash.

FPRA is comprised of 15 professional and 10 student chapters throughout the state, providing professional development, networking and professional recognition opportunities.

The Ocala FPRA Chapter, www.fpraocala.org, was established in 1980. Members and
guests meet the third Friday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Ocala.