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PRSAHouston Alert 17-Mar-10

Paula Ruth, APR — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:08:14 GMT

Hello [firstname],

We Mourn the Passing of a Member

We regret to inform you of the death of long-time PRSA member James C. Myers, APR. Jim, a member of PRSA since 1971, died peacefully on March 15, 2010, after a battle with cancer, according to today's Houston Chronicle. Though Jim did not often come to PRSA Houston meetings in recent years, several times each year he called the office to comment about something the group was doing or to ask us to help him post information--usually about the Braes Oaks Management District. He often started the conversation: "This is Jim Myers, the member you never see, and I wondered if you would just do me this one favor since I pay my dues all the time...."

The obituary notes that Jim served for 33 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring in 1996 as a Captain. After working for a local PR firm and the Houston Post, he had a long career as president of Motivators, Inc. For the past decade, Jim dedicated himself to community service, working tirelessly to enhance quality of life in the Brays Oaks District in southwest Houston. He was an avid photographer, music lover and supporter of the Boy Scouts. He has been married to Judy since Feb. 9, 1964. Our condolences go to Judy, as well as his sons Jeffrey and Jeremy and his grandchildren, who survive him. A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 19, at 2 p.m. at Congregation Emanu El, 1500 Sunset Blvd. Contributions in Jim's memory can be made to the Brays Oaks Management District Community Development Fund, 10103 Fondren Rd., Suite 300 Houston, TX 77096.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please be sure that the email address you provide is capable of receiving emails from PRSA Houston.

Add webmaster@prsahouston.org to your "address book" or "safe senders list."

Coordinate with your IT department to allow email from webmaster@prsahouston.org.

17-Mar-10 12:08 PM

College Students Get a "Break" This Spring With Scholarship Deadline Extended to March 22

Eydie Pengelly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:00:00 GMT

HOUSTON (March 11, 2010) – The Public Relations Foundation of Houston (PRFH) is accepting applications for its $3,000 scholarship until Monday, March 22, 2010. Applications from undergraduate or graduate students studying public relations, communications, journalism, or marketing may be submitted electronically to the PRFH email account, prfoundationhouston@gmail.com or mailed to the Greater Houston Community Foundation. The application form with full submission details and selection criteria may be downloaded
here.

The 2010 scholarship will mark the sixth year the PRFH has given a scholarship since the Public Relations Society of America/Houston Chapter created the PRFH fund in 2001.

Questions about the scholarship and the selection process may be directed to Karen Naumann, APR, at karen@magnolia-sky.com; Ania Czarnecka at ania@magnolia-sky.com; or to Anna Kaplan, at Anna.Kaplan@conocophillips.com.

11-Mar-10 3:00 PM

Public Relations Foundation of Houston Announces Trustees for 2010

Eydie Pengelly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:15:00 GMT

HOUSTON (Mar. 1, 2010) – Eydie Pengelly, APR, has been elected to serve a second year as president of the Public Relations Foundation of Houston (PRFH) Board of Trustees for 2010.

The executive leaders are:

· President: Eydie Pengelly, APR, Eydie Pengelly Marketing Communications

· Vice President: Suzanne Lammers, independent consultant

· Secretary: Robert Ross, The Ensemble Theatre

· Treasurer: Lisa Walsh, LyondellBasell

Board Trustees

· Tricia Bentley, Harris County Flood Control District

· David Casey, The Ammerman Experience

· Ania Czarnecka, Magnolia Sky Communications

· Stephanie Dedeaux, APR, independent consultant

· Anna Kaplan, ConocoPhillips

· Michelle McCormick, Bracewell and Giuliani

· Karen Naumann, APR, Magnolia Sky Communications

· Susan Schmaeling, APR, Susan Schmaeling Public Relations and Marketing

· Priscilla Tinsley, PTT Public Relations

Formed in 2001 by the Houston Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), PRFH supports educational excellence by helping prepare high school and college students for careers in public relations and communication.

PRFH will award a $3,000 scholarship to the most qualified applicant from an area university studying PR and communications. This award is one of the largest offered by any PRSA Chapter in the U.S. Applications from students studying public relations, communications, journalism or marketing are now being accepted. The form may be downloaded at http://www.prsahouston.org/foundation and the deadline for submission is Monday, March 22, 2010.

10-Mar-10 6:15 PM

New Pros "Get Happy Revisited" Photos Posted

Paula Ruth, APR — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:00:00 GMT

Photos from the recent New Pros event "Get Happy Revisited" are posted here, but a log-in may be required.

15-Feb-10 3:00 PM

February 2010 Luncheon Photos Posted

Paula Ruth, APR — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Photos from the February 3, 2010 luncheon, which featured Adam Harris, Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Annise Parker, have been posted. Thank you to Ed Schipul for also posting his photos here.

15-Feb-10 2:00 PM

Join PRSA in February and you save $65

Paula Ruth, APR — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Public relations practitioners in Houston who have been waiting for a great deal, now is the time. This February PRSA will be waiving the $65 initiation fee for new members. For most members this is the biggest savings of the year!

(It more than covers the $55 dues of PRSA Houston.)

To participate, go to www.prsa.org and use the codes provided.

12-Feb-10 5:00 PM

PRSAHouston ePro 8-Feb-10

Paula Ruth, APR — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:48:43 GMT

Welcome to the belated January edition of ePRo , the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston). Dive in and let us know your thoughts!

Sweetheart Deals for PRSA Houston Members

Many thanks to these partners already in PRSA Houston’s Membership Affinity Program, launched on February 3: Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Cashion & Cody Family Dentistry, The Children's Museum of Houston, Gentlemen’s Tonic Ltd. ,HHPage (Mobile Marketing) , The Health Museum, Magnolia Sky Communications, Inc. , Sun & Ski Sports, The United Way of Greater Houston Nonprofit Connection .

Current PRSA Houston members - join the PRSA Houston Yahoo Group to use this new benefit that provides these “sweetheart” deals from Houston area (or online global) businesses. Your PRSA membership status will be verified before you are an approved member of the group. As a logged in user, you can access a file with complete discount details from our partners. Discounts are 5% or more, and the discount period must be 30 days or more. Visibility for participating vendors/service providers includes e-blast article references with links, mentions at monthly meetings, etc. Please contact Membership Chair Jennifer Evans if you have questions.

Missed the January luncheon?

Then you missed seeing Chris Riepe "take" $20 offered by PRSA Houston 2010 President Stephanie Dedeaux, APR, who reminded all that PRSA Houston has many benefits. Sometimes you need to reach out and grab them.

Dedeaux's comments played right into speaker Pauline Serice's theme. That is, each member (and sometimes organizations) are wired to get the exactly the results they get. To get something different, change must happen.

The 45% response rate on the surveys gave Serice a 4.75 out of 5 and rated the topic of leadership development/change management equally high. Among the comments received was this one: "Many of her comments spurred me to realizations about myself & changes I want to make for the future!" Another wrote "Great speaker. Love the interaction." For photos of the January luncheon, click here.

Thank you February Sponsors!

Thank you to PIER Systems Inc. and BAE Systems for sponsoring our February luncheon. Sponsorships are available for all of 2010. Please call Paula Ruth, APR, at 281-870-1717 if you are interested or email her at prsahouston@paularuth.com. In return for your $500, we offer the following opportunities:

Mention in promotional e-mail sent to database of 2000-plus subscribers
Mention and text link in ePRo, the PRSA Houston newsletter sent to 2000-plus
Text/Logo link on PRSA Houston Web site for one month
Ability to distribute materials to all luncheon attendees
Table in room to talk with luncheon attendees before and after the event
Opportunity to speak to the luncheon gathering (no more than 3 minutes)
One lunch registration at the President's table; others available at member rate of $30
One time use of an electronically provided member list of physical addresses for all 440 PRSA Houston members.

Luncheon sponsorships do not include PR Day which has a separate sponsorship package available on the PR Day Page at www.prsahouston.org. If you would like to sponsor multiple events in one year, we can work out a package for you!

Help your Search Engine Ranking with a Business Directory Listing

Thank you Petri Darby, APR for renewing the darbyDarnit listing in the Business Directory. For $100, the Business Directory provides one year of exposure on one of the premiere Web site for public relations in Houston. See if it doesn't help your search engine ranking.

PRSA Houston: Your Career Source

Look first to PRSA Houston for postings about new opportunities. Several opportunities have been posted since the beginning of January. Some already have been filled. If you have openings or internships, please consider posting the job with PRSA Houston. PRSA Houston also has a free resume service in which one may post his/her resume on the website. Employers may go to the same link and search the resumes posted. This is a completely free service that has been offered by PRSA Houston for more than one year. You may also sign up for a free career newsletter that tells of recent postings. Just go to your profile on www.prsahouston.org (requires log-in) and add this option.

APR Boot Camp Coming to Houston April 21-24, 2010

PRSA, in conjunction with PRSA's Houston Chapter, will present an "APR Boot Camp‚" April 21-24, 2010. The Boot Camp is a four-day intensive for candidates to prepare and advance though the Readiness Review‚ and take the computer-based Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations. The boot camp is designed to provide a setting that will meet the needs of busy professionals whose schedules don't permit extensive preparation time.

Candidates must be a member of PRSA and/or a Universal Accreditation Board participating organization, and the approved APR application and the Examination fee of $385 received by PRSA National by March 15, 2010. Preregistration and the Readiness Review Questionnaire must also be completed by March 15. If you would like more information, please contact Kelly George, APR, at 281-575-4009.

Excalibur Awards Call for Entries Coming Soon

Award season isn't only happening in Hollywood. In early February be on the lookout for the official call for entries for the 2010 Excalibur Awards along with details on PRSA Houston's own red-carpet event, the Excalibur Awards dinner.

Around PRSA

New Pros Planning Meeting

Laureen Lucas, FKM Public Relations (left); University Relations Chair Anna Kaplan, ConocoPhillips; Board member Ed Davis, United Way; New Pros Chair David Casey and Public Service Chair Vinnika Johnson met in December to plan networking and educational activities for New Professionals.

December Donation

Incoming PRSA Houston President Stephanie Dedeaux, APR (left) and outgoing PRSA Houston President Terri Larson (right) celebrate with Eydie Pengelly, APR, president of the Public Relations Foundation of Houston, that the chapter was able to present the Foundation with a check for $2,316.12 at the board's final December meeting. In addition to this check, the board decided to give the Foundation $275 at the Holiday Party, rather than have nominal board gifts at yearend. PRSA Houston ended the year on the slightly positive side of a balanced budget thanks to the careful monitoring of expenses and our generous sponsors.

New Members as of Jan. 18, 2010

Linh Le, GolinHarris
Laurie Fickman, RRI Energy
Valerie Patterson
Brad Hem, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
Sarah Schimmer, AAA Texas
Megan Clair-Femrite
Stephanie Moreland, Adventure Travel
Raphaella Peting
Saki Indakwa (reinstated), HoustonWorks
Mike Breslin, APR, Hill & Knowlton (reinstated)

Member News

Dallas-based Hopkins & Associates Inc. has been acquired by three long-time associates, two of whom are also members of PRSA Houston: Barbara Hyman, APR, and Marilyn Pippin, APR.

Former PRSA Houston Board member Karen Naumann Blanchard, APR, is now a partner in Magnolia Sky Communications.

Felicia Griffin has returned to Houston and opened Griffin Enterprises-Media Point PR.

Ashley Wehrly is now principal in Wehrly Enterprises.

Attorney & PRSA Houston member Frank Agraz has retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to consult through Francisco J Agraz, A Professional Corp.

Long-time PRSA Houston supporter Judi Swartz of BusinessWire retired as of Feb. 1 to write books and care for her husband.

Upcoming Events:

Feb. 10: New Pros Get Happy Revisited Mixer, a joint event with TPRA, Laurenzo's Grille, Register here.
March 3: Monthly Luncheon, TBD
March 5: TPRA Conference
March 15: AMA's Marketer of the Year Event
March 18: Media Mixer (breakfast), United Way Community Resource Center
April 7: Monthly Luncheon, Briar Club, TBD
April 15-17: PRSA Houston Southwest District Conference
May 5: Monthly Luncheon, Briar Club,TBD June: Excalibur Awards (TBD)
July 6: Senior Practitioner event with David Grossman, ABC, APR (evening) Location TBD
July 7: Monthly Luncheon, David Grossman, ABC, APR, Briar Club

EPRo is the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston). Deadline for submitting items for the February newsletter is Feb. 16. Send to Keefe Borden.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please be sure that the email address you provide is capable of receiving emails from PRSA Houston. Add webmaster@prsahouston.org to your "address book" or "safe senders list." Coordinate with your IT department to allow email from webmaster@prsahouston.org.

8-Feb-10 9:48 AM

January Luncheon Photos Posted

Paula Ruth, APR — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:00:00 GMT

Photos from the January luncheon are posted here. You may need to be logged into the Web Site to review them.

19-Jan-10 9:00 PM

PRSA Houston - December ePRo

Stephanie Pertuit — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:47:39 GMT

Welcome to the December edition of ePRo, the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston). Join us each month for great programs, networking and professional development opportunities that can't be beaten.

January Luncheon: Context is Decisive; How will you lead in 2010?

Tired of the rut you are in? Wonder how you could transform your perspective and your workplace to get more results? Make 2010 the year you make a breakthrough in your career and your life with insights and development techniques presented at the PRSA Houston Jan. 6, 2010 luncheon. Pauline Serice, King, Chapman & Broussard, who specializes in performance-based leadership development and change management, returns in January as our speaker to kick off 2010. Learn about how your context dictates your actions and what you can do to create a new context to have a breakthrough year.

Pauline’s experience includes working for an international transformational development company as their Communication Program Manager and as a Sr. Manager of Change Management for a major international food distribution company. In addition, Pauline has extensive experience in the behavioral health field working as a Sr. Behaviorist with the Houston Medical Association implementing a successful change-intervention program for the morbidly obese.

Over the past 12 years, Pauline created and successfully executed a leadership development and transformational change consulting practice in Houston, TX. She worked with a diverse clientele both nationally and internationally which encompassed such industries as manufacturing, oil and gas, shipping, financial services, hospitality, retail, pharmaceutical and horticultural landscaping.

Pauline received her undergraduate BFA degree and graduate Industrial and Organizational Psychology MS degree, from Louisiana Tech University and Capella University, respectively. She is currently completing doctoral research with Capella University specializing in Leadership Psychology.

Details:
Date: Jan. 6, 2010, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Where: Briar Club
Register: PRSA Web Site

How Can PRSA Houston Benefit You?
Have you logged into PRSA Houston lately? Check out your profile and make sure that you are receiving all the e-mails you would like. In addition to the weekly e-mail about chapter activities, PRSA offers a job bank e-mail (currently monthly) that identifies the latest opportunities. Look at the committees and their charters and sign up for something. Being active and doing a good job while you are active helps you keep yourself visible in the profession. If you don’t see something of interest, contact President-Elect Stephanie Dedeaux, APR or Paula Ruth, APR to offer suggestions or find out where you may work.

PRSA Houstonians Around Town

PRSA Houston and its members have been very busy in the last month. Check below to see if you've been spotted.

(L-R) Jacque Franco and PRSA Treasurer Michelle McCormick check in Mabel Menefee and David Casey at the November luncheon.

PRSA member Lee Vela and Norm Uhl of Houston Independent School District chat with Susan Schmaeling, Vice President of the Public Relations Foundation of Houston prior to the November luncheon.

New member Lesa Spivey, a graduate of Yates High School, whose students presented in November, encouraged the students to work hard at their internships.

Susan Schmaeling, APR, Foundation Vice President (left) and Eydie Pengelly, APR, Foundation President (right) introduced McKenzie Watkins, who won this year's Foundation scholarship earlier this year.

Kim Jordan, Houston Bureau Chief of Bloomberg News, makes a point as Dwight Williams, Division Manager of the City of Houston and General Manager of HTV-Houston TV, and Christina Maxell, Executive Producer of Positively Houston, listen during the November media breakfast.

PRSA member Brad Leone, Pennebaker Fifth Ring, asks a question as incoming PRSA Board member and Media Breakfast Co-chair Tricia Bentley listens at the November event.

Incoming and current board members of PRSA Houston as well as other active volunteers got together on Nov. 20 for a planning session facilitated by Pauline Service, King Chapman & Broussard. The group examined research done by global PRSA specific to the Houston Chapter and also worked on their plans for the future, breaking into small groups. Here are a sampling of those who were there.

2010 President Stephanie Dedeaux, APR works with former President and current Assembly Delegate Dr. Barbara Langham, APR, BD Langham Public Relations.

Incoming board members Eric Herrera, Frog Dog Communications, and Tricia Bentley (seated) listen as Pauline Serice directs their thoughts to the elements of a good plan on the screen.

Incoming officers Gretchen Weis, APR, Weis Communications, vice president and Lisa Dimond Vasquez, DoubleDimond Public Relations, secretary work on their plans.

Ariana Montelongo, Vollmer Public Relations, works with former PRSA President Judi Martin, APR, JMG, to develop strategies.

Board member Mike Wysatta, Ryder Scott; Meagan Stangle, Hopkins & Associates; board member Leslie Friedman, The Houstonian Hotel and Conference Center and incoming President-Elect Michelle McCormick, Bracewell & Guiliani, work feverishly to interview one another and complete their reports.

PRSA and the HCA had great turnouts at both of their holiday parties. You can go to the PRSA Houston Web site to see the holiday party pictures.

Show Your Support for Your Profession-Be a Sponsor in 2010

Sponsorships are available for all of 2010. Please call Paula Ruth, APR, at 281-870-1717 if you are interested or e-mail her at prsahouston@paularuth.com. In return for your $500, we offer the following opportunities:

Mention in promotional e-mail sent to database of 2000-plus subscribers
Mention and text link in ePRo, the PRSA Houston newsletter sent to 2000-plus
Text/Logo link on PRSA Houston Web site for one month
Ability to distribute materials to all luncheon attendees
Table in room to talk with luncheon attendees before and after the event
Opportunity to speak to the luncheon gathering (no more than 3 minutes)
One lunch registration at the President's table; others available at member rate of $30
One time use of an electronically provided member list of physical addresses for all 440 PRSA Houston members.

Luncheon sponsorships do not include PR Day which has a separate sponsorship package available on the PR Day Page.

Help Your Search Engine Ranking with a Business Directory Listing

Thank you Newman & Newman for renewing your listing in the Business Directory. For $100, the Business Directory provides one year of exposure on the premiere website for public relations in Houston. See if it doesn’t help your search engine ranking.

Grow Your Career! Be a PRSA Volunteer!

Serving as a committee chair or volunteer for PRSA Houston can open the door to learning experiences and networking opportunities. The chapter currently has positions available for committee leadership and participation. Contact PRSA Houston President-Elect Stephanie Dedeaux, APR.

PRSA Houston: Your Career Source

Look first to PRSA Houston for postings about new opportunities. If you have openings or internships, please consider posting the job with PRSA Houston. Many employers receive such great response that the advertisers must ask us to take them down early. PRSA Houston also has a free resume service in which one may post his/her resume on the PRSA Web site. Employers may go to the same link and search the resumes posted. This is a completely free service that has been offered by PRSA Houston for more than one year.

Free Webinar: Get Tips That Will Gain You an Immediate Impact on Your Bottom Line

How to Use an Online Newsroom to Interact with Social Media
Tuesday, December 15
3–4 p.m. EST

The online newsroom is used as a central headquarters to harbor everything that is produced to market your news, encompassing all audiences - traditional and new alike. Save time and impact your ROI by combining steps to distribute your organization's message to multiple targets.

Attend this free webinar and hear about:

Essential elements and functions.
Social media press releases.
Integration with blogs, Twitter and Facebook.
SEO and analytics in online newsrooms.

You will hear from:

Steve Momorella, co-founder of TEKgroup International has more than 16 years of direct digital communications experience ranging from programming and high-level design consulting to working closely with clients to develop and implement their online newsroom. Steve combines a unique background of technology, project management, sales and marketing experience.

Currently, Steve manages all sales and marketing efforts for TEKgroup International, an award-winning corporate communications software provider, including handling direct sales accounts and partnership resellers Business Wire and VMS. Marketing duties include managing campaigns, lead generation, and public relations responsibilities. Prior to founding TEKgroup in 1998, Steve served as Manager of Web Development for TriNet Services where he led all development efforts, application programming and database application development. He helped lead TriNet to become one of the USA's Top 20 Internet Consulting Firms in 1997.

PRSA thanks this month's webinar sponsor, TEKgroup International, Inc., for providing the speakers and content for this webinar.

Member News

Former PRSA Board member and membership chair Emilee Fontenot and her husband Ryan are the proud parents of Christopher Cline Fontenot who was born Nov. 23 and weighed in at 10 pounds 5 ounces and 21 inches! Congratulations Emilee!

PRSA Houston Board Secretary Laura Frnka, APR, is now Director of Communications at LifeGift Organ Donation Center.

Ariana Montelongo, PRSA Houston Public Relations Chair, is now Senior Account Executive at Vollmer Public Relations.

Ann Doyle Herlocher is now Communications Manager at the YMCA of Greater Houston.

Long-time PRSA Houston member Mel Anderson, APR, of Anderson Communications Inc., is excited about the November release of his son Wes Anderson’s sixth feature film “Fantastic Mister Fox," an animated version of Roald Dahl’s children’s book. The animal characters are voiced by leading actors headed by George Clooney as Mr. Fox. Earlier Wes Anderson films include “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” and “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.”

New Members

Maria Tripovich, Prevent Blindness Texas

Osama Alkadi, Saudi Aramco

Kim Espinosa, Houston Ballet

Arturo Silva, Pharma Research and Manufacturing

Chris Atwood, BQR Advertising & Public Relations Inc.

Kellie Morley (reinstated)

Jayme Meyer, ExxonMobil

Aateqa Valibhoy, John West Therapy Services

Judy Howell, Baylor College of Medicine

Dean Conwell, Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau

Ann Brimberry (reinstated), Memorial Hermann Hospital

Stan Mays (reinstated), Shell Oil Products Company

Upcoming Calendar

Jan. 6: Monthly Luncheon, Pauline Serice, King, Chapman & Broussard, Inc., Briar Club

ePRo is the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston), and is a tool for you. Deadline for submitting items for the January newsletter is December 29, 2009. We love hearing your thoughts and news, so send generously to Paula Ruth.

11-Dec-09 2:47 PM

Photos Posted from PRSA Holiday Party & HCA Holiday Party

Paula Ruth, APR — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Check out these party pics right here on our website but a log-in may be required.

7-Dec-09 4:00 PM

PRSA Offers Free Webinar for Members & Nonmembers

Paula Ruth, APR — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:00:00 GMT

FREE Webinar

Get Tips That Will Gain You an Immediate Impact on Your Bottom Line

How to Use an Online Newsroom to Interact with Social Media
Tuesday, December 15
3–4 p.m. EST

The online newsroom is used as a central headquarters to harbor everything that is produced to market your news, encompassing all audiences - traditional and new alike. Save time and impact your ROI by combining steps to distribute your organization's message to multiple targets.

Attend this free webinar and hear about:

Essential elements and functions.
Social media press releases.
Integration with blogs, Twitter and Facebook.
SEO and analytics in online newsrooms.

You will hear from:

Steve Momorella, co-founder of TEKgroup International has more than 16 years of direct digital communications experience ranging from programming and high-level design consulting to working closely with clients to develop and implement their online newsroom. Steve combines a unique background of technology, project management, sales and marketing experience.

Currently, Steve manages all sales and marketing efforts for TEKgroup International, an award-winning corporate communications software provider, including handling direct sales accounts and partnership resellers Business Wire and VMS. Marketing duties include managing campaigns, lead generation, and public relations responsibilities. Prior to founding TEKgroup in 1998, Steve served as Manager of Web Development for TriNet Services where he led all development efforts, application programming and database application development. He helped lead TriNet to become one of the USA's Top 20 Internet Consulting Firms in 1997.

PRSA thanks this month's webinar sponsor, TEKgroup International, Inc., for providing the speakers and content for this webinar.

Webinar, Tuesday, December 15, 3–4 p.m. EST
PRSA Member FREE/Nonmember FREE
Register for How to Use an Online Newsroom to Interact with Social Media today! For more details, visit http://www.prsa.org/Learning/FreeWebinars/HowtoUseanOnlineNewsroomtoInteract

4-Dec-09 11:00 AM

2010 PR Grants Available for Not-for-Profit Organizations

Paula Ruth, APR — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:00:00 GMT

For the seventh consecutive year, CyberAlert, Inc. (www.cyberalert.com) the online media monitoring service, will award a minimum of 15 public relations grants to not-for-profit organizations. Each grant consists of one full year of free news monitoring / press clipping services, ranging in value from $3,000 to $4,500.

In the previous six years, CyberAlert has awarded 124 grants to not-for-profit organizations, including 22 grants in 2009, with an aggregated value of over $300,000. The list of 2009 grant recipients includes CancerCare, Children’s Wish Foundation (Canada), Family Caregiver Alliance, Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, Just Yell Fire, March of Dimes (Canada), Military Spouses for Change, National Institute of Statistical Sciences, National Lung Cancer Partnership, Rotary International, U.S. Business Leadership Network, and Vote Healthcare.

All not-for-profit, educational and charitable organizations in the United States and Canada are eligible to apply for the grants, except previous grant recipients.

CyberAlert is accepting grant applications until December 31 and will announce the grant recipients in January. More information and a simple and secure grant application is available online at https://secure.cyberalert.com/grantsX.html.

Contact:
Kristin O'Connor
800-461-7353

About CyberAlert:

Founded in 1999, CyberAlert (http://www.cyberalert.com) is a worldwide press clipping, media monitoring, broadcast monitoring and media measurement service. Its CyberAlert® 4.0 worldwide news monitoring service monitors over 40,000 online news sources each day in 50+ languages in 189 countries. The company's TV broadcast monitoring service monitors the closed caption text of over 2,100 news programs on over 600 TV stations in the Top 100 markets in the United States. To monitor consumer discussion (online word-of-mouth), its NetPinions™ service monitors over 100,000 Web message boards and UseNet news groups for consumer insight about companies, products, key issues and trends and its BlogSquirrel™ service monitors over 5 million blog postings each day from a total of 50+ million blogs worldwide. CyberAlert VDO™ each day monitors online video clips for your key words on 200+ video sharing, social media and news websites like YouTube. CyberAlert also monitors all Twitter posts. Additional information about CyberAlert services is available at http://www.cyberalert.com

1-Dec-09 9:00 PM

PRSA joins with HCA for Winter Party

Paula Ruth, APR — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Guests are welcome too to this free event with a cash bar. The invitation is attached.

13-Nov-09 3:00 PM

PRSA Houston - October ePRo

Stephanie Pertuit — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:26:05 GMT

Welcome to the October edition of ePRo, the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston). Join us each month for great programs, networking and professional development opportunities that can't be beaten.

November Luncheon to Highlight Communications Magnet Program at HISD's Yates High School

Make your reservations today to attend the Nov. 4 PRSA meeting, presented by the Public Relations Foundation of Houston (PRFH), which will showcase HISD’s communications magnet program and students from Yates High School. Students in this program are being groomed for careers in PR, journalism, and marketing communications and soon they will be our employees, colleagues, PRSA chapter members and clients. This luncheon is your chance to become more familiar with the communications curriculum being taught in area schools and to share your perspectives about the skills needed for the PR workforce of tomorrow.

The luncheon will be held at the Briar Club. Contact Paula Ruth at 281-870-1717 for sponsorship opportunities.

PRSA Houstonians Around Town

PRSA Houston and its members have been very busy in the last month. Check below to see if you've been spotted.

PRSA Houston members and guests heard Alan Hilburg describe the roadblocks to good communication and how to listen more effectively and ask the right questions.

Alan Hilburg, who has worked on such famous campaigns as "Where's the Beef?" told an audience of about 80 about how to use the Socratic method to sell your ideas internally and externally.

PRSA Houston 2009 President Terri Larson (right), Enbridge Energy Partners, thanks staff of Schipul-The Web Marketing Company for sponsoring the September luncheon. The team (from left) included Maggie McDonald, Katie Laird, Angie Bauer, Vanessa Varis, and John Michael Oswalt. They were promoting their social media conference, Schipulcon, on Oct. 15-16, and giving PRSA members a special rate.

About 39 public relations professionals turned out for the Hispanic media panel held at the United Way Resource Center in September. The event was organized by Tricia Bentley and Gretchen Krueger.

With the demise of El Dia, PRSA Houston looked to several remaining Hispanic media leaders to find out how to reach this important audience. Among the speakers at the September media breakfast were (left to right) Lina Martinez, editor of La Informacion; Jenalia Moreno, senior reporter covering Hispanics and Latin America for The Houston Chronicle and La Voz de Houston; and Craig Bland, general manager of Univision.

Thanks PR Day Sponsors!

PRSA Houston members could not have had the great PR Day that we did without our generous sponsors.

PRSA Houston would like to thank all of the sponsors for PR Day who enabled the team to organize an excellent program with not only Peter Shankman, but Gerald Baron and several diversity panelists traveling to Houston for it. The sponsors included CenterPoint Energy who was CD-Folder Sponsor, Verizon Wireless, Keynote Sponsor. Brookwoods Group, is the Lanyard Sponsor. El Paso Corporation sponsored two sessions and Comerica sponsored a session. Shell Oil Company sponsored 10 students. Schipul-The Web Marketing Company sponsored 5 students and LifeGift sponsored three students. Exhibitors included Business Wire, CRI, Giant Video Productions, Globe Newswire, Market Wire, PR Newswire, VMS and Zephyr-Salvo. In-kind supporters for PR Day include PremierIMS, Inc., Disc Inc., GoGo Business Communications, Kronberg Flags & Flagpoles, and JeffDesign. PRSA Houston appreciates all this support which enables us to maintain prices for members and offer hardship packages for those out of work. Thanks especially to Margot Dimond, APR and Lisa Dimond Vasquez and their committee for chairing this massive event.

You can see pictures from the 2009 PR Day on the PR Day Web album.

Consider These Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsorships are available for November, the Holiday event as well as all of 2010. Please call Paula Ruth, APR, at 281-870-1717 if you are interested or email her at prsahouston@paularuth.com. In return for your $500, we offer the following opportunities:

Mention in promotional e-mail sent to database of 2000-plus subscribers

Mention and text link in ePRo, the PRSA Houston newsletter sent to 2000-plus Text/Logo link on PRSA Houston Web site for one month

Ability to distribute materials to all luncheon attendees

Table in room to talk with luncheon attendees before and after the event

Opportunity to speak to the luncheon gathering (no more than 3 minutes)

One lunch registration at the President's table; others available at member rate of $30

One time use of an electronically provided member list of physical addresses for all 440 PRSA Houston members.

Luncheon sponsorships do not include PR Day which has a separate sponsorship package available.

Help your Search Engine Ranking with a Business Directory Listing

Thank you Digital Canvas Creative Services for renewing your listing in the Business Directory. For $100, the Business Directory provides one year of exposure on the premiere Web site for public relations in Houston. See if it doesn’t help your search engine ranking.

PRSA Houston: Your Career Source

Look first to PRSA Houston for postings about new opportunities. If you have openings or internships, consider posting the job with PRSA Houston for great exposure. Many employers receive such overwhelming response that the advertisers must ask us to take them down early.

PRSA Houston also has a free resume service in which one may post his/her resume on the Web site at http://prsahouston.org/en/users/resumes. Employers may go to the same link and search the resumes posted. This is a completely free service that has been offered by PRSA Houston for more than one year.

Member News

PRSA Houston 2007 President Lisa Walsh and her husband David are the proud parents of Veronica Rachel Walsh who was born Aug 5.

PRSA Houston Media Breakfast Chair Gretchen Krueger is now senior communications consultant with Fifth Business, based at BP.

Felicia Griffin is now director of communications for Elgin (Illinois) Community College.

Henry C. Garcia, APR, is now back in Texas as Dean of College Relations for Lone Star College-Kingwood.

New Members

Jim Higgins, College of the Mainland

Mary Jo Caliandro, Schlumberger (reinstated)

Sherri Green, FrogDog Communications (reinstated)

Dagmar Climo, POCA

Marti Boone, Greater Houston Partnership

Kimberly Baker, Greater Houston Partnership

Ariana Montelongo, LifeGift (reinstated)

Christen Massar, International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists

Jaime Napoli, Griffin Marketing (reinstated)

Shauna Tysor, Houston Ballet

Mohammed Alosaimi, Aramco Services

Hannah Haden, Hotze Wellness Center

Christy Hammett, Hotze Wellness Center

Lesa Spivey, LMS Enterprises, Intl

Anne Mrok-Smith, Houston Galveston Area Council (reinstated)

Osjetta Gascey-Morris, Texas Children’s Health Plan (reinstated)

Upcoming Events

Nov. 4: Monthly Luncheon benefiting Public Relations Foundation of Houston; HISD Magnet program

Nov. 7-10 PRSA International Conference, San Diego

Nov. 19: Media Breakfast, 7 a.m., United Way Community Resource Center, Kim Jordan, Bloomberg; Tanya Rutledge, Houston Business Journal; others pending.

Dec. 2: Holiday Party, Junior League of Houston

Dec. 3: HCA Holiday Party, Courtyard on St. James

Dec. 17: Media Breakfast, 7 a.m., United Way Community Resource Center, TBD

ePRo is the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston), and is a tool for you. Deadline for submitting items for the November newsletter is November 20, 2009. We love hearing your thoughts and news, so send generously to Stephanie Pertuit.

29-Oct-09 11:26 AM

PR Day: A recap

Paula Ruth, APR — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

If you are looking for photos from PR Day, click here.

Our thanks to Peter Shankman, The Geek Factory, for delivering two breakout sessions and the keynote address. Thanks also to our other speakers, most of whom you can see in the photos.

Thanks also to our chairs Margot Dimond, APR and Lisa Dimond Vasquez, Double Dimond Public Relations and their excellent committee for putting on this event.

Thanks to our sponsors: CenterPoint Energy (folder kit), Verizon Wireless (keynote), Brookwoods Group (lanyard), Shell Oil Company (10 students), El Paso Corporation (two breakout sessions), Comerica Bank (breakout session), Schipul-The Web Marketing Company (5 students), LifeGift Organ Donation Center (3 students) and our inkind sponsors GoGo Business Services, Discinc, Premier IMS. Thanks also to all of our Exhibitors.

26-Oct-09 1:00 PM

Memo to PRSA Members From Your 2009 Assembly Delegates

Christi Dunn — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMT

On Saturday, Nov. 7, the five of us will join our colleagues from across the nation in San Diego to discuss (possibly even cuss) and deliberate a bylaw revision that would change not only PRSA’s governance but also its membership requirements. Please understand that this is MAJOR change, not just a few bylaw amendments, but rather what might be described as a new PRSA that some of you may not like.

We are participating in conference phone calls and online chats that are allowing us to hear rationales for the changes, opinions for and against, and suggestions for alternatives. And, we will do our best to make wise decisions when we are in San Diego.

However, we believe our decisions will be much wiser if we hear from you. Our chapter leadership agrees. So we’re asking you to take a little time to look at the proposed amendments, consider their impact on the society and let us know what you think.

You’ll find everything you need to look at by going to www.prsa.org and logging on to Membernet. Under “About Us,” click on “Bylaws.” You’ll find the background research used to produce the proposed bylaw revision and several versions of the proposed new articles and sections with comparisons to the current ones.

You can talk to any one of us or all of us or any one of our elected chapter leaders. Our e-mail addresses are below and you can find those of our leadership at www.prsahouston.org . You may also send your thoughts and comments to prsahoustonfeedback@gmail.com.

Please send your comments no later than Nov. 4.

Thanks,

Sally I. Evans, APR (sieapr@sbcglobal.net)

Kay Kendall, APR (kendall_kl@hotmail.com)

Barbara Langham, APR (info@renaissancehouse.com)

Chris Bozman, APR (Chris.Bozman@shell.com)

Julie B. Fix, APR (jbfix@att.net)

8-Oct-09 12:00 PM

PRSA November Meeting to Highlight the Communications Curriculum in HISD

Eydie Pengelly, APR — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Learn how future PR pros and journalists are being trained for their careers by interacting with students and instructors from Jack Yates High School’s Communications, Photography & Journalism Magnet Program

HOUSTON (Oct. 6, 2009) -- Communications professionals are invited to attend the Nov. 4 Public Relations Society of America Houston Chapter’s (PRSA) monthly meeting that will showcase the Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) magnet program for communications, photography and journalism and students from Yates High School. The talented students enrolled in this program are being groomed for careers in PR, journalism, and communications and will soon be entering the workforce as employees, journalists, PRSA chapter members, and clients. Attendees will walk away with a better awareness of the types of pre-college training these future communicators are receiving and will be able to share perspectives about the skills and competencies needed by communicators of tomorrow.

The meeting is being presented by the Public Relations Foundation of Houston, the philanthropic arm of Houston PRSA that awards the chapter’s annual $3,000 college scholarship to a student studying communications disciplines at area universities. The luncheon will be held at The Briar Club, with networking starting at 11:30 a.m. followed by the lunch and presentation. Reservations may be made at http://www.prsahouston.org.

HISD is in the process of refining the curriculum at the Yates Magnet School of Communications to better integrate current media technology with communications staples like writing and photography. As such, the students will lead a significant portion of lunch presentation that will include a multi-media show highlighting their reasons and goals for entering the profession. Instructors will share success stories and their ambitious plans for improving 21^st century communications education.

Supporting the Yates effort is a robust group of volunteers that are providing mentoring leadership and guidance. They include current and former members of the media community: Andrea Georgsson, former editor, Houston Chronicle; Carolyn Campbell, formerly with KHOU-TV; Jodie Sinclair, veteran broadcaster and Director of Communication for Jim Adler; Kathy Williams, assistant news director, KPRC-TV; Laurie Kendricks, formerly with KTRH-Radio. Communications community volunteers including Raymond Gayle; James Ward, TSU; Pam Thorne, president, the Throne Group; Wendy Adair, TSU; Jeanine Wilson. HISD leadership including Caleen Allen, General Manager, Strategic Partnerships; Paula Harris, HISD Board of Trustees; Jim Landureth, HISD TV; Tracey Lewis, Assistant Principal; Ronald Mumphery, Principal; Josephine Rice; Adriana Tamez, Central Region Superintendent; Norm Uhl, manager, Media Relations; Lee Vela, Assistant Superintendent for Communications and Publications.

CNN contributor Roland S. Martin, a Yates alumnus, is assisting HISD’s efforts to raise awareness and funds for this magnet school program.

###

For more information or images contact:

Susan Schmaeling, APR, susan@saspr.com (713) 349-0780

For registration information contact:

Paula Ruth, APR, pruth@paularuth.com (281) 870-1717

Editor’s Notes:

About HISD: The Houston Independent School District serves a diverse student population of more than 200,000 making it the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Its schools are dedicated to giving every student the best possible education through an intensive core curriculum and specialized, challenging instructional and career programs.

About Public Relations Foundation of Houston: The PRFH was formed in 2001 by the Houston Chapter of PRSA to support the growth and development of the PR profession. Its chief activities are to award an annual $3,000 scholarship to an undergraduate or graduate student studying PR/communications at an area university and to administer a grants program to benefit communications educators. In May 2009, the PRFH Board of Trustees announced that McKenzie Watkins as the recipient of the 2009/2010 PRFH Scholarship, which this year is being awarded in honor of founding trustee Sabra Gill. Watkins is a senior at Texas A&M University majoring in Ag Communication and Journalism with a special concentration in Public Relations.

5-Oct-09 7:00 PM

PRSA Houston - September ePRo

Stephanie Pertuit — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:19:40 GMT

Welcome to the September edition of ePRo, the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston). Join us each month for great programs, networking and professional development opportunities that can't be beaten.

PR Day 2009: Don’t Miss this Premier Event Featuring Some of the Nation’s Top PR and Marketing Pros!

It’s just a few weeks away! PR Day 2009 – Delivering Value: Maximizing the Role of PR – will take place at the Westin Galleria on October 7 and will offer a top-notch lineup of speakers, including social media guru Peter Shankman. Not only will Shankman serve as keynote speaker, he will lead two breakout sessions!

TO SIGN UP NOW, GO TO: http://www.prsahouston.org/PRDay/2009/ .

Check out the PR Day 2009 lineup—(panelist info at http://www.prsahouston.org/PRDay/2009/):

8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.: Media Roundtable: Social Media’s Role in Newsgathering; Moderator: Garth Jowett, professor of Communications, University of Houston

10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.: Breakout Session #1

The Media Minefield: Do’s and Don’ts for Communicating During a Crisis; Terri Ammerman, president and chief executive officer of The Ammerman Experience
PR: Forget About 44% of What You Know; Peter Shankman, founder, CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc.

11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.: Breakout Session #2

Why You Deserve a Big Piece of the Advertising Budget; Angela Jeffrey, vice president of editorial research, VMS
Panel Discussion: Diversity: A Business Imperative; Moderator: L.M. Sixel, business reporter, columnist, The Houston Chronicle.

12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.: Luncheon and Keynote Address: It’s Not Web 2.0. It’s Not Web 3.0. It’s Simply Life; Peter Shankman, founder, CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc.

1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Breakout Session #3

Social Media: The New Realities of Crisis and Emergency Response Communication; Gerald Baron, founder, G. R. Baron & Company and PIER Systems.
Social Media: It’s Kind of Like Trying to Befriend a Rabid Monkey…, Peter Shankman, founder, CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc.

2:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Breakout Session #4

Panel Discussion: Proving PR’s Value to the Executive Suite; Moderator: John Sousa, vice president for communications and community relations, El Paso Corporation.
He Stuck Cheese Up His Nose? The Brand Impact of Web 2.0 and Social Media; Robin Tooms and Stephen Banks, Savage Branding +Corporate Design.

3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. New Pros Roundtable: The Changing Face of PR: Understanding Generational Differences; Moderator: David Casey, PR consultant and PRSA Houston New Pros Chair.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR PR DAY 2009 SPONSORS:

Major Sponsors
CenterPoint Energy, Verizon Wireless, Brookwoods Group, El Paso Corporation, Shell Oil Company

Breakout Session Sponsor
Comerica

Scholarship Sponsors
Schipul-The Web Marketing Company, LifeGift

Exhibitors
Business Wire, CISION US, INC., Customer Research International, Globe Newswire, GVP Media, Marketwire, PR Newswire, VMS, Zephyr-Salvo

In-Kind Sponsors
GoGo Business Communications, PremierIMS, Inc., Disc, Inc., Kronberg Flags & Flagpoles, JeffDesign

Again, you can register for PR Day 2009 at: http://www.prsahouston.org/PRDay/2009/ .

For more information, contact PR Day 2009 Chairs Lisa Dimond Vasquez or Margot Dimond, APR, at 713-426-4111 or e-mail: info@doubledimondpr.com.

PRSA Houstonians Around Town

PRSA Houston and its members have been very busy in the last month. Check below to see if you've been spotted.

An audience of about 25 turned out to hear tips from the media panelists at the August Media Breakfast.

(L to R) Nissa Darbonne, executive editor of Hart's Oil & Gas Investor; Capella Tucker, program director for news at KUHF, and Kim Davis, senior producer and host of "Beyond The Headlines" at KPRC-TV Channel 2, provided insight on how to deal with them best at the PRSA Houston August media breakfast. These informal sessions tend to cover everything from nuts and bolts of press releases to the needs for blogs and other less promoted media with which the media executives are involved.

PRSA Houston's leadership conducted an orientation session prior to the August luncheon. PRSA Houston Board Secretary Laura Frnka, APR, PR Day Co-Chair Lisa Dimond Vasquez, President-Elect Stephanie Dedeaux, APR, listen as Board member and Membership Chair Emilee Fontenot provides an overview of the chapter.

Former President and PR Day Co-Chair Margot Dimond, APR, chats with former President and Assembly Delegate Dr. Barbara Langham, APR, during lunch. PRSA Houston offers opportunities for people at all levels of their career and welcomes continues participation.

Carolyn Mayo, APR, Vollmer Public Relations, Claire Bassett, Baylor College of Medicine and Mark Singer, Shell Oil Company led a lively discussion on managing public relations in a downturn.

Past presidents Sally Ramsay, Pierpont Communications, and Carolyn Mayo, APR, Vollmer Public Relations, chat during lunch.

Crawford Bunkley, III, APR, ExxonMobil, moderated the August luncheon on "Managing PR in a Downturn."

New (transfer) member Carrie Stallwitz and Travis Harper, PR Newswire, chatted at the August luncheon.

Panelist Claire Bassett, Baylor College of Medicine, greets PRSA Houston Board member Gretchen Weis, APR, Weis Communications.

PRSA Houston's David Casey (right) thanks Suzanne Gibson, spa director of Mokara Salon and Spa, and Desiree Tapping, special events manager, for Omni Houston who hosted the August mixer in the spa. PRSA members and guests were treated to facials and brief massages as well as lots of good food and drink.

(L to R)Keefe Borden, Barbara Novoa and new member Diane Sager networked in the spa.

(L to R) Mike Hoelscher, Stephen Gonzalez and Magen Singleton checked out the spa food and services at the Omni Mokara Spa Event.

2009 Leadership Election Results

The votes are in…thanks to all of the members who voted in the very exciting election for PRSA Houston Chapter leadership. According to chapter bylaws, there is a required quorum of 25 percent of our members who need to vote in order for the election to be considered valid, and this was achieved prior to the September 2 luncheon. Elected to three-year Board of Director terms beginning in January 2010 include:

Tricia Bentley

Ed Davis, United Way of Greater Houston

Leslie Friedman, The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa

Eric Herrera, FrogDog Communications

Lisa Dimond Vasquez, DoubleDimond Public Relations, LLC

Elected to three-year Assembly Delegate terms, also beginning in January 2010, include:

Kelly Papinchak George, APR

Judi Martin, APR

Many thanks for the enthusiasm and willingness to serve from all of the candidates. And thank you to the nominating committee for helping to select the candidates, and for their overall assistance with the election process.

PR Day Sponsors Underwrite a Great Program!

Thank you to Schipulcon09 for sponsoring the September luncheon with Alan Hilburg. The PR Day team has lined up following support: CenterPoint Energy will be CD-Folder Sponsor, Verizon Wireless will be Keynote Sponsor. Brookwoods Group is the Lanyard Sponsor. El Paso Corporation is sponsoring two sessions. Comerica is the Breakout Session sponsor. Shell Oil Company is sponsoring 10 students. Schipul-The Web Marketing Company is sponsoring 5 students and LifeGift is also sponsoring students. Business Wire, CISION US, INC., Customer Research International, Globe Newswire, GVP Media, Marketwire, PR Newswire, VMS and Zephyr-Salvo are already committed as exhibitors. In-kind supporters for PR Day include PremierIMS, Inc.,GoGo Business Communications, Kronberg Flags & Flagpoles, Disc, Inc. and JeffDesign. Other opportunities remain. PRSA Houston appreciates all this support which enables us to maintain prices for members and offer hardship packages for members who are out of work. You can still get on board for sponsorship by contacting Margot Dimond, APR or Lisa Dimond Vasquez at info@doubledimondpr.com.

Sponsorships are available for November and December. Please call Paula Ruth, APR, at 281-870-1717 if you are interested or e-mail her at prsahouston@paularuth.com. In return for your $500 at lunch, we offer the following opportunities:

Mention in promotional e-mail sent to database of 2000-plus subscribers

Mention and text link in ePRo, the PRSA Houston newsletter sent to 2000-plus

Text/Logo link on PRSA Houston Web site for one month

Ability to distribute materials to all luncheon attendees

Table in room to talk with luncheon attendees before and after the event

Opportunity to speak to the luncheon gathering (no more than 3 minutes)

One lunch registration at the President's table; others available at member rate of $30

One time use of an electronically provided member list of physical addresses for all 440 PRSA Houston members.

Luncheon sponsorships do not include PR Day which has a separate sponsorship package available on the PR Day Page at www.prsahouston.org.

Help your Search Engine Ranking with a Business Directory Listing

What is the number 1 or 2 organic ranking for the term "public relations and Houston"? Would you believe that PRSA Houston is usually there? Consider an ad in the PRSA Houston Business Directory to increase the ranking of your own site. For $100, you get one year of exposure on the premiere website for public relations in Houston. See if it doesn’t help your search engine ranking.

Check out the Job Bank, Resume Service

Job openings continue to be posted. If you have openings or internships, please consider posting the job with PRSA Houston. Many employers receive such great response that the advertisers must ask us to take them down early. PRSA Houston also has a free resume service in which one may post his/her resume on the Web site at http://prsahouston.org/en/users/resumes. Employers may go to the same link and search the resumes posted. This is a completely free service that has been offered by PRSA Houston for more than one year.

New Members

Lauren Lovell

Carol Ward, APR, Carol Ward Public Relations (reinstated)

Stephanie Nelson, Marathon Oil (reinstated)

Kim Abey, Spotlight Creative, L.L.C.

Nina Provenzano, Unleaded Communications

Member News

Robin J. Davidson Parker is now director of communications for the YMCA of Greater Houston.

Retiring from the Texas A&M University System after 16 years, PRSA Houston Assembly Delegate and former President Kay Kendall, APR, will continue with her communication career by writing a series of murder mysteries and then publicizing them herself.

Upcoming Events

Oct. 7: PR Day, The Westin Galleria Hotel, Peter Shankman, and others

Oct. 22-24: IABC Southern Region Conference

Nov. 4: Monthly Luncheon benefiting Public Relations Foundation of Houston

Nov. 7-10: PRSA International Conference

Nov. 19: Media Breakfast, 7 a.m., United Way, TBD

Dec. 17: Media Breakfast, 7 a.m., United Way, TBD

ePRo is the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston), and is a tool for you. Deadline for submitting items for the October newsletter is September 25, 2009. We love hearing your thoughts and news, so send generously to Stephanie Pertuit.

22-Sep-09 8:19 AM

2009 Leadership Election Results

Christi Dunn — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The votes are in…thanks to all of the members who voted in the exciting election for PRSA Houston Chapter leadership.

Elected to three-year Board of Director terms beginning in January 2010 include:

Tricia Bentley
Ed Davis, United Way of Greater Houston
Leslie Friedman, The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa
Eric Herrera, FrogDog Communications
Lisa Dimond Vasquez, DoubleDimond Public Relations, LLC

Elected to three-year terms as Assembly Delegates, also beginning in January 2010, include:

Kelly Papinchak George, APR
Judi Martin, APR

Many thanks to all of the candidates for their enthusiasm and willingness to serve. And thanks to the nominating committee for their help in selecting the candidates and with the overall election process.

3-Sep-09 7:00 AM

PRSAHouston.org Articles RSS Feed

PRSAHouston Alert 17-Mar-10

College Students Get a "Break" This Spring With Scholarship Deadline Extended to March 22

Public Relations Foundation of Houston Announces Trustees for 2010

New Pros "Get Happy Revisited" Photos Posted

February 2010 Luncheon Photos Posted

Join PRSA in February and you save $65

PRSAHouston ePro 8-Feb-10

Sweetheart Deals for PRSA Houston Members

Missed the January luncheon?

Thank you February Sponsors!

Help your Search Engine Ranking with a Business Directory Listing

PRSA Houston: Your Career Source

APR Boot Camp Coming to Houston April 21-24, 2010

Excalibur Awards Call for Entries Coming Soon

New Pros Planning Meeting

December Donation

New Members as of Jan. 18, 2010

Member News

Upcoming Events:

Feb. 10: New Pros Get Happy Revisited Mixer, a joint event with TPRA, Laurenzo's Grille, Register here.

March 3: Monthly Luncheon, TBD

March 5: TPRA Conference

March 15: AMA's Marketer of the Year Event

March 18: Media Mixer (breakfast), United Way Community Resource Center

April 7: Monthly Luncheon, Briar Club, TBD

April 15-17: PRSA Houston Southwest District Conference

May 5: Monthly Luncheon, Briar Club,TBD June: Excalibur Awards (TBD)

July 6: Senior Practitioner event with David Grossman, ABC, APR (evening) Location TBD

July 7: Monthly Luncheon, David Grossman, ABC, APR, Briar Club

EPRo is the electronic newsletter of the Houston chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA Houston). Deadline for submitting items for the February newsletter is Feb. 16. Send to Keefe Borden.

January Luncheon Photos Posted

PRSA Houston - December ePRo

Photos Posted from PRSA Holiday Party & HCA Holiday Party

PRSA Offers Free Webinar for Members & Nonmembers

2010 PR Grants Available for Not-for-Profit Organizations

PRSA joins with HCA for Winter Party

PRSA Houston - October ePRo

PR Day: A recap

Memo to PRSA Members From Your 2009 Assembly Delegates

PRSA November Meeting to Highlight the Communications Curriculum in HISD

PRSA Houston - September ePRo

2009 Leadership Election Results