Past Programs

2011 Programs & Presenters

	Dec. 12 - Aimee Knebel shared some great social media do's and don'ts while letting a year-end luncheon crowd follow her journey to her "dream job" and crediting the Power of LinkedIn and social networking to get her where she is today.  Check out her thoughts and some good sites in her recap.
	Oct. 19 - Jill Friedman-Wilson and her Fleishman-Hillard team were on short notice when they began planning for the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) centennial anniversary. Critical challenges threatened the BSA: changes in attitude among youth, increased competition for scouts’ hearts and minds, adult volunteers with less time to give. These trends had serious implications for the BSA’s long-term viability. Friedman-Wilson and her team leveraged a significant organizational milestone, changes in leadership, and operational transformation to begin to reverse those trends … and reposition one of the nation’s largest and oldest youth serving non-profits.
	Sept. 21 - What are the new buzz words in digital communications? Does your firm have a "Community" manager? Weber Shandwick's Stephanie Agresta said she had never been in PR before joining a firm prior to taking her New York position with her current employer. She shared "The Art and Science" of Community Management and what PR firms and companies are now adding to generate and manage digital communications with a world of publics. Check out key parts of Agresta's presentation (pdf) at Ces & Judy's.
	Aug.17 -  The Joplin Tornado story. Being prepared doesn't mean you are really prepared especially for something like the May 2011 tornado that made a mile-wide run through Joplin, Mo., and put St. John's Mercy Health Center or what was left of it on everyone's TV not just in Missouri but worldwide. Mercy communicators Barb Meyer (left) and Brad Herrick (right) shared how PR staffers from Oklahoma and St. Louis drove to a command center in Springfield, Mo., and proceeded to communicate with employees, patients, families and the world.
	July 20 - Fred Miller took a few deep breaths, made eye contact with attendees and left them remembering that "the worst speech they would ever give would be better than not giving one at all." While sharing "No Sweat Public Speaking!" - the title of both his presentation and his newest book, he not only offered techniques and ideas on speaking in front of any groups - from clients to the media or large audience - but also offered tips to improve any presentation. For more good ideas check out his blog.
	June 15 – Doug Wolfe (L) of ProWolfe Partners and Peter Faur of RightPoint Communications talked about the Changed Landscape of Annual Reports. Noting that the trend toward 10-K wraps often has led companies to emphasize facts and figures over clear messaging, the team encouraged public relations professionals to lead initiatives to have an annual review of messaging within their companies. Wolfe and Faur cited Boston Scientific as a company that still uses its annual report effectivel
	May 18 - Whole Foods Market goes to extraordinary lengths to satisfy and delight its customers. Nichole Carpenter, store marketing and community relations specialist with Whole Foods Market Galleria (one of the two stores in St. Louis) fielded question after question about the organization’s distinctive approach to building community support. Carpenter pointed out the efforts to understand local culture, to use customer referrals over advertising among tactics.  The Whole Foods Market Story (PDF).
	April 20 - Dixie Platt, SSM HealthCare,gave a 10-question test to see how many of the attendees were as confused as the general public and then explored "Implications of Health Care Reform on Communication." She shared the best sources to go to and which ones to avoid in helping prepare employers, employees and stakeholders for what lies ahead. Review her presentation "Health Care Reform" (PPT).
	April 8 - Jeff Black of Black Sheep Reputations shared his expertise on the essential skills required to deliver a top-notch interview with the media in a half-day morning workshop at Maryville University in Chesterfield. Nearly 30 PR professionals responsible for media training in their organizations, managers who handle media inquiries or conduct media interviews, and others wanting to fine tune interviewing skills for the next media interview or conversation participated. Black led a similar experience for PRSA-St. Louis in the spring of 2009.
	March 16 - Communications professionals today are being asked to keep their "ears to the ground," when it come to consumer feedback, media sentiment and competitor chatter as they manage reputations and brand equity. Tony Sardella, CEO of evolve 24, told attendees why measuring traditional and social media is an essential component of any successful communication or marketing campaign. Learn how media intelligence can be used to define strategy, gain competitive intelligence and identify emerging risks. Check out his presentation "Strategic Intelligence: Analyzing the Conversations" here shortly.
	Feb. 16 - Martha Garcia Kampen, Kampen Consultants, LLC, shared what it means to be born in raised in the U.S. by parents born in another country, and lessons learned in marketing to people with languages or cultures different than your own. "Hispanic Communications: Past, Present & Future" looked into good and bad efforts at reaching the various Latino segments of the U.S. population. Key point:  Observe things like family, food and festivals next time you need to reach a Hispanic audience.  Check out Kampen's presentation, as produced by Fran Morales, Kampen's website and Morales' blog Crossover STL.
	Jan. 19 - Amy Mitchell, deputy director for the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ), shared research from the PEJ and a look into News Trends in 2011 and Beyond.  More than 240 members and friends of PRSA, CSPRC and IABC-St. Louis attended the annual joint luncheon at the Frontenac Hilton. Among Mitchell's research was that Americans still look to print, broadcast and TV for their daily news but also gather it from many sources, the biggest being Facebook. News Trends for 2011 and Beyond (PPT). See the 2011 Report here.

2010 Programs & Presenters

	Dec. 15 - David Siteman Garland shared tips from his recently released book "Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business," at our year-end luncheon.  Some comments: "Niche matters. The goal is to appeal to a specific, passionate, subset of people. Money follows passion—not the other way around. We are media sources, not product pushers. Genuine relationships matter—both online and offline."
	Nov. 5 - Nearly 90 area PR pros and students increased their social media knowledge and learned how to make the most out of the latest technology to help clients at "PR Technology Day" at Maryville University.  Seven facilitators, including Michael Pranikoff (L) and Angie Lawing (R) took attendees through an offering of nine classes on blogs, leveraging branding in a digital world, Google Reader/Analytics, video, e-mail, Twitter and Facebook. Sponsored by PR Newswire and Maryville U.
	Oct. 20 - When you show a map of the world during a presentation and claim your company is global, you better be sure you cover all the bases.  Joyce Cacho, Ph.D., told one company that they had exactly zero representation in one particular continent and earned herself a new job. She also notes that a photo op with your firm and a charity of choice is not a true definition of corporate sustainability.  Review her presentation "Communicating Corporate Sustainability" (PDF).
	Sept. 15 - Barb DeSanto  (L), Deb: Finkel (R), Gary Ford and Ron Gossen were "lights out," literally, in their panel discussion on "Executive to Egghead" and the positives in becoming a part-time, full-time professor at one of the area's many colleges and universities. Among their tips were: 1) Educate yourself first; 2) Be ready to engage, entertain and fill time; 3) Keep your daytime job.  For more visit this blog.
	Aug. 18 - Clyde Bentley, associate University of Missouri journalism professor, with deep, deep roots in print journalism, says there is still hope for good writers' work - but on something most of us have with us at all times and never turn off - our cell phones. Learn to know what LTE is and how to make the best use of QR codes, apps and mobile optimization with your future news releases in Bentley's "Using the 3rd Screen" (pdf).  And go here for more on QR codes.
	July 21 - New York City-based BlissPR executive Abby Gouverner Carr talked of the changes in B2B public relations in "The Service Economy - Eight Ways to Build a Solid B2B Reputation." Highlights included the shift to niche marketing, more interactive communication and inviting the public into dialogue. Carr shared some of the tactics of her firm's clients, including MetLife, with hands-on ideas to lift B2B campaigns. For a PDF of her presentation, go here.
	June 16 - With attendees' minds fixed on the BP oil spill and how not to handle a crisis situation, veteran litigator/communicator Alan Hilburg started at the end of the process in "Crisis Mitigation vs. Crisis Reaction - New Leadership Strategies."  Said Hilburg, it's all about "trust" and "making good will deposits" along the way.  See his presentation "Redemption - Coherent Crisis Mitigation in Reverse" (PPT).
	May 19 -  "Norton Says: Building a Buzz for Missouri Wine." Did you know there are 99 wineries in the state of Missouri?  Did you know the state grape is Norton? Danene Beedle (R), of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board" and John Temporiti (L), Hughes, shared the plan and approach to make Missourians more aware of their home-grown offerings.  See their Norton Says PPT and Facebook and twitter links.
	April 21 - Social Media Club of St. Louis leaders Brad Hogenmiller (L) and Reem Abeidoh (R) addressed how to develop a social media strategy that really sticks.  They explored a checklist of tools and metrics to isolate business needs and goals that social media can support.
	March 17  - "The Globe-Democrat: Resurrecting an Icon in the Digital Age." Founded in 1852 and published continuously until closing its doors as a daily newspaper in 1986, the St. Louis Globe Democrat returns - online. Publisher Dan Rositano discussed what it took to bring the paper back and how he plans to succeed in a difficult economic climate for media.
	Feb 19 – New PRSA president/CEO Gary McCormick (director of partnership development for HGTV) addressed the concerns of 120 (half of them college communications majors) at the Pro-Am Day luncheon at Maryville University in "A Tale of Two Times: The Future of PR." McCormick acknowledged the rough times of 2009 and closing of many newspapers and magazines but pointed out new growth and ways for current and future professionals to maintain a place at the organization head table. For an outline of his presentation download StLouis2010ProAm.  Our February luncheon was sponsored by Burrelles/Luce.
	Jan 19 - Our annual joint venture with CSPRC and IABC-St. Louis, featuring Maril MacDonald (L) and Sherry Scott, at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel, drew 175. For a recap of "Becoming an Architect for Change," download Authentic Enterprise (PDF)

2009 Programs & Presenters

Dec 16 - By closing the gap between traditional strategies and your customer, Steve Randazzo and brand ambassadors from Pro Motion, shared tactics proven to make a large splash with the media and the public and to convert the undecided to brand-minded in "Experience Experiential Marketing." Click here for a recap, and PDFs of the presentation and tips on integrating field marketing and public relations.

Nov 19 - PRSA-St. Louis celebrated its 60th anniversary with 170 on hand at the Crowne Plaza St. Louis - Clayton for an evening with BusinessWeek's John A. Byrne, on "The New Media Boom - How it changes the way you do business." A table with items from 1949, 1979 and 2009 and a revolving PPT illustrated how the world of communicaitons has changed since 14 men formed our Chapter - the seventh charted by PRSA. Thanks to several sponors headed by Edward Jones for making the night possible.

Oct 21 - A recent Wall Street Journal article pointed out how hard-hit public schools have turned to public relations to attract families and students. Patrick Wallace and Eric Thoelke shared details of how the St. Louis Public Schools made the list and what they have and are doing in "Public Schools turn to PR to Increase Enrollment." Sponsored by MarketWire.

Sept 16 - Jim Spencer, founder of Newsy, shared the new news coverage program he developed that provides multi-perspective news coverage delivered through mobile devices in "News Coverage on the Go - the New News." The program and facilities are housed on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. 

Aug 19 - Standing Partnership Vice President Amber Morris and Maritz Director of Public Relations Jennifer Larsen shared insights and best practices for overcoming corporate blogging pitfalls in "Overcoming Business Blogging Challenges." They explained how and why Maritz started a blog, how it worked within the overall public relations program and yet how its author was encouraged to be authentic and interactive.

July 15 - Are you a facilitator, creator, advancer, executor or refiner? Professional speaker Phil Bruno helped demystify the team process with tips on making the most of your talents while "learning how to play well with others" on the job and in leadership circles in "Building Killer Committees and Teams."

June 17 - Doug Terfehr, Fleishman-Hillard St. Louis senior VP, shared best practices and breakthrough PR campaigns from Silver Anvil winner Papa John's Pizza.

May 19 - "Integrating Digital Media Effectively." Coolfire Media's David Johnson and Josh Hogan demonstrated how PR pros can capitalize on new trends in digital video and the right way and wrong way to execute digital media campaigns. 

May 15 - SPECIAL Half-day Seminar - Jeffrey Black, noted media trainer, led a half-day morning seminar on "Executive Media Training," to nearly 40 area PR professionals at Webster University. Focus was on being prepared to get your message across any time - good or bad - when media come calling. Several video samples were shared on people missing their opportunity and the resulting perceptions left with viewers.

Apr 15 - "Measurement in a Difficult Economy." Tim Marklein, executive vice president, Weber Shandwick shared best practices and new ideas that will improve the value, focus and precision of communications and help measure ROI across online and offline PR campaigns before a crowd of 115 PR professionals and students from area colleges. Check out his bio for a copy (PDF) of his presentation and key links to measurement sources and tracking tools. 

Mar 19 - Our Multi-Culture Media. Do we miss the boat locally by not understanding or addressing non-English or bilingual media? Aida Fuentes, El Mundo Latino; May Wu, Chinese American Press; and Ertana Dzidzovic, SabaH, shered information about their publications and tips for pitching stories to non-traditional media. 

Feb 18 - Do you tend to avoid financial information because you are intimidated by numbers when planning your PR activities and justifying programs before executives? You don't have to be. Chuck Reitter, director, Unison Consulting, encouraged practitioners not to run from numbers but rather embrace them in "I Hate Algebra."

Jan 22 - Our annual joint luncheon program with Community Service Public Relations Council (CSPRC) and the St. Louis Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) drew 207 to hear Ron Actis address "PR's New Paradigm: Synchronous Communications Management." Actis' planning process became the worldwide communications model at General Motors and the topic of his latest book.