Seeing our Chapter grow from year-to-year has been the highlight of my PRSSA experience, and I plan to encourage exponential growth and mold our Chapter into the STAR Chapter, I know it is. I plan to accomplish this goal by applying for as many Chapter awards as eligible. Those being: Star Chapter Award, Teahan Chapter Awards Program, The Pacesetter Chapter Recognition Award, and others that our Chapter may be qualified to apply. Getting involved in national competitions will be another initiative of mine. There are many competitions that are and hopefully will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for our Chapter that’s comprised of many aspiring PR professionals. Challenges I want to involve our Chapter in include The Bateman, and National Organ Donor Awareness Competitions.  Serving as the liaison between my Chapter and National PRSSA will be a constant goal of mine, and reminding Chapter members of scholarship opportunities that are available through National PRSSA, and participating in National PRSSA Twitter Chats will be a top priority.

Presenting at the 2011 PRSSA National Conference in Orlando, FL made me realize how beneficial it was for our Chapter in making endless connections. This year, I plan to attend and present another Chapter Development Session at the 2012 National Conference in San Francisco.  Along with this National event, I will encourage our Chapter to attend Regional Conferences, National Assembly, and participate in PRSA webinars.  I will be traveling to Leadership Rally in June where I hope to bring back an abundance of leadership knowledge that will benefit our Chapter.

I also plan to create a relationship with other organizations on the GVSU campus through co-sponsoring events, and inviting them to special events our Chapter hosts. Creating relationships that have the possibility to enhance and provide benefits for our Chapter will be a goal I work towards accomplishing within the next year

As President, I want to ensure the 2012-2013 PRSSA year is as successful as possible.  I want to manage my executive board to the best of my ability by working closely alongside them and encouraging everyone to set goals for themselves through hosting as many fundraisers as possible, creating effective and beneficial Chapter meetings and events, plan professional development opportunities, create lasting member relationships, and continue to develop a close relationship with our student run PR firm, GrandPR.   This is sure to be a learning experience along the way, but it’s also the chance for me to show my strong passion and drive I have for enriching GV PRSSA.

L to R: Breann Andersen, Jessica Eckler, Andrea Filter, Shelby Schwarzkoff, Liz Studt, Ashley Curd

• President: Breann Andersen
• Vice President of Chapter Development: Jessica Eckler
• Vice President of Public Relations: Andrea Filter
• Vice President of Programming: Shelby Schwarzkoff
• Vice President of Member Services: Liz Studt
• Vice President of Professional Development: Ashley Curd
• CEO of GrandPR: Shayne Boonie

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 2012 PRSSA National Assembly as our Chapter’s Delegate. When getting selected to serve as the delegate, I had no idea what to expect. I just knew I wanted to represent our Chapter to its fullest potential. National Assembly was an experience none like any other I have encountered during my PRSSA career. The four day assembly was filled with a full agenda where I had the chance to network and make never-ending relationships with PRSSA Chapters across the United States. I also had the honor to vote in the 2012-2013 National Committee.

Upon being welcomed by the gorgeous city of Charlotte, NC, Day-of Competition awaited. The Day-of Competition is the opportunity to practice your public relations skills in a fun, competitive environment as you prepare a campaign plan for a client and sponsor. This year’s client was Duke Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the U.S. After the client presented their case study, my group had one hour to develop a communications plan with a five minute time-frame to present.  I gained hands-on case study experience, enhanced my portfolio and networked with public relations students and professionals from around the country.  As this was not a required event for delegates, I am thrilled I signed up to take part in this Assembly tradition.

After Day-of Competition, the Welcome Reception was the official “kick-off” to National Assembly. Here I had the chance to introduce myself and our Chapter to everyone. I can’t tell you how many business cards I received and passed out during just the reception! On Friday, the Chapter Officer Sessions and Leadership Training Sessions offered an abundance of information that I can apply to our Chapter for enhancement in the upcoming year.

Gathering a large group of PRSSA student leaders together is sure to spark creative collaboration. The Chapter Officer Sessions left me with a never-ending list of potential ideas to help grow our Chapter. A few of the ideas included information on paths to take to build membership, engaging the executive board, fundraising, community involvement, and maintaining alumni relations.  There were three Leadership Training Sessions including Exploring Ethics, Communicating Across Campuses, and Maximize Your Benefits, each offering a unique aspect to successful leadership. A take-away from the sessions; learning first-hand the importance of ethical decision making, and remembering not to limit membership to just PR majors; PR relates to everything!

Saturday was a long 13 hour day, but very rewarding. Having the chance to meet the current PRSSA National Committee and vote-in the 2012-2013 National Committee was a great experience. These are the leaders of the PRSSA organization, and being selected to serve as the delegate meant the chance to be included in the process of selecting who will lead the organization in the year to follow. The newly elected National Committee all had exceptional speeches and I even had the opportunity to “take-away” ideas they presented to apply to our Chapter. Concluding the Assembly was Keynote Speaker, Mary Tribble, Chief of Events for the Democratic National Convention.

Sunday was bitter-sweet for me; the last day of the first National Assembly I have attended, and having an exceptional and motivating keynote speaker.  Mary Tribble’s theme was “When Something Goes Wrong…”  She is an extremely experienced professional, and an individual that was easy to relate with. She offered advice such as “everyday you’re preparing yourself for the future,” “sometime you just have to let go of the branch and have faith,” and “always think about the intentionality of your path.” Everything she presented related to the public relations career field, and Ms. Tribble left us with this thought: “Companies are becoming more strategic and content driven, their staying lean and mean. It’s your job to be part of the solution.”

As an aspiring public relations professional, National Assembly was an experience that offered me with the chance to network, make lasting relationships not only for myself, but for our Chapter, gain and enhance my leadership skills, and vote in the upcoming leaders of the PRSSA organization, National Committee!

Our April #MIPRSSA Twitter Chat will be on Tuesday, April 10 at 9pm!

[View the story "March #MIPRSSA Chat" on Storify]

Spending my senior year as the leader of a pre-professional organization like PRSSA has been the most challenging but rewarding experience in my college career. Being President means so much more than just a hierarchical title to me. PRSSA has been the reason that my young career has seen tremendous growth and molded me into the professional that I want to be. When I first applied for this position, I wanted to be able to show other people just how beneficial being a part of this organization really is. My involvement began in GrandPR and from there blossomed into a passion for not only PR but for our PRSSA Chapter. I want my colleagues to succeed and enjoy the careers that they are going to embark on. If you are considering applying for President, there are a few skill sets that are important to have.

The first would be a willingness to travel. Our Chapter frequently travels to both regional and national events and the President has to be willing to be at most if not all events. These events include Leadership Rally in June, National Conference in October, Region 6 Regional Conference and agency tours/trips that we frequent.
Managerial skills are also very important. The President has to be able to successfully manage the other Eboard members while also being aware of not micromanaging. Simple things such as scheduling meeting times, communicating via email and setting deadlines for specific tasks are ways what the President manages. Also being able to think on your feet and know how to handle sensitive situations without damaging the relationship between your VPs is important. You all work as a team and it’s important to maintain cohesion and a productive team environment.

The President is the liaison between National PRSSA and the Chapter. Any events, scholarship opportunities, awards, competitions, Twitter chats and more are perks that members need to know about, it is important that members know and are encouraged to participate in National initiatives.

The President also has do understand basic budgeting. The President works alongside the VP of Member Services to create the yearly budget to ensure that the Chapter has enough funds to be successful in the year.

Being President, I have had the opportunity to network not only with professionals but other PRSSA members across the United States. I got to attend great leadership workshops and expanded my knowledge of current PR trends. This is a great opportunity for any public relations student looking to be a leader and develop their future career.

To contact Stacey with any questions, email her at StaceyNardozzi@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @StaceyNardozzi.

Our March #MIPRSSA Twitter Chat is TBD, with special guest moderator @FerrisStatePR. Stay tuned for more details!

[View the story "February #MIPRSSA Chat" on Storify]

Burson-Marstellar written by Paige Fagan

This weekend GV PRSSA traveled to the windy city for our annual Chicago agency visits. Our first stop of the day was at Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm.

We were first greeted by Joseph Tateoka, an Associate for the Technology practice. Upon entering the conference room, we saw the PowerPoint presentation they had prepared for us, which included GVSU’s logo. It was a small touch that made us all feel extremely welcomed at Burson-Marsteller.

We were then joined by Aisat Sherrod, Client Executive for the United States HR Team.  She gave us wonderful insights on how to find a job from the stance of someone in human resources.  It was extremely beneficial to hear what she searches for in resumes and applications.

Aisat’s top 5 recommendations for students searching for a job after graduation:

1. Improve your communication skills
2. Start networking now
3. Focus your efforts
4. Look at companies NOW
5. Intern, inten, intern!!!

After Aisat’s presentation, three client executives met with us to talk about their experience in the Harold Burson Summer Internship Program. All three of the client executives that spoke with us had participated in the HBSI program and ended up getting hired on with Burson-Marsteller. It was exciting for us to see that in a couple of years we could potentially be in a similar position as well (with a lot of hard work).

We were given some time to interact with the client executives and ask them any other questions we may have had. Students exchanged business cards and resumes and were able to make some valuable connections! (@emichalak, @ShaneArman, & @tina_suh)

The Harold Burson Summer Internship Program (U.S.)

• At one of Buson-Marsteller’s US offices
• 10 Week paid internship
• Assigned to a client team or practice group
• Opportunity to gain valuable work experience
• Follow #HBSI2012 on Twitter
• Deadline to apply is Feb. 17^th

More information about the HBSI program can be found here.

MSL Group written by Kelsey Manas

MSL Group is a mid-sized public relations firm that specializes in everything from brands and talent, healthcare, consumer goods, and events. During our visit to MSL Group we spoke with the head of Human Relations, Heather Marros. She discussed what a successful resume entails by keeping it to one page, including dates, and explaining how you’re different from your competition. Marros also supplied information on a summer internship working within a specific practice or department of MSL. We also met with a panel of PR experts who work for MSL. They gave us insight on breaking into the world of PR and a look into their everyday work schedules.

This was my first visit to Chicago along with my first round of agency tours. I was thoroughly impressed with my experience and the information I received! Being a freshman, it can be difficult to get involved in PR due to lack of experience. These tours offered the awareness I have been looking for and have made me excited for my future as a PR major. I look forward to more opportunities such as this to broaden my experience and knowledge.

Walker Sands Communications written by Ashley Curd

Our third agency visit of the day was to Walker Sands Communications.  Walker Sands Communications is a marketing firm that provides its clients with a variety of services including strategic counsel, positioning programs, product launches, web site design and development, SEO, PR, crisis management, investor and analyst relations, media training, and corporate communications.

Due to the fact that Walker Sands Communications is a smaller agency we were given the unique opportunity to meet with and speak to the president of the company, Mike Santoro. He said that working in a smaller sized agency allows employees to move farther up the “ladder” faster compared to that of a larger agency.  Santoro along with other members of the Walker Sands team gave us tips on staying informed when it comes to technology, current events and PR and also discussed what they look for when hiring interns and employees.

Not only did we get the opportunity to speak with most members of the Walker Sands Communications team, but we were included in their Friday “game day” activities.  I have been on multiple agency visits, but Walker Sands Communications was by far one of the most welcoming and entertaining agency’s.

Chicago Cubs written by Jordan Jessen

The final stop in our Chicago PR adventures was Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. Here we got to see a different aspect of PR beyond the agencies, getting insight into sports PR from Kevin Saghy, the Public Relations and Marketing Specialist, and his intern Mary.

At the risk of sounding biased due to my Cubbie love, the experience at Wrigley was invaluable. It’s not often that we get to drill a professional sports PR specialist with any question we want, as the visit began with Q & A.

It was helpful to learn how Mary reached her intern position and the time commitment she had put in, being there for over a year. She began with the Cubs as a tour guide, working her way up to Entertainment Intern and then to her current position.

In any profession, especially sports PR, we can’t just expect to be put into the position we want. It could take some serious time to work up the ladder and build the relationships for that to happen. Mary is only 24, so I think it was a really good example of persistence for us near graduates to see and learn from.

The MLB seems to be lagging with the adoption of social media, so it was interesting to see how Kevin had to deal with the opposition and hesitance to really push forward with Twitter. In our future careers, we may deal with coworkers that don’t understand the importance of social media, so it was helpful to hear how he made breakthroughs.

An awesome use of Twitter that Kevin talked about was how if a fan is tweeting at a game, he will occasionally respond or bring down souvenirs to random fans or strategically to bloggers or those with a high number of followers.

I think the most difficult part of his job would be to keep everything in the same voice of the Cubs. There is a lot riding on every tweet and he has to keep the social media consistent and following standards. He has to be very aware of everything he is putting out to keep the image of the Cubs intact.

To finish the visit up, we toured the field and went into the press box. The view from there was unreal and inspirational for those wanting to work in sports PR. It took everything in me to not exclaim, “Holy Cow!” seeing where Cub’s legend, Harry Caray, sang the 7^th inning stretch.

All in all, Wrigley was a great experience and the cherry-on-top to a great day of PR tours in the Windy City.

After attending school in Wisconsin for two years, I had returned to Grand Valley State University as a senior. While in Wisconsin, I was a very active member in our UWO-PRSSA Chapter and decided to get involved with our GV PRSSA Chapter. I had obtained a position as an Account Associate with GrandPR and had aspirations to further my public relations skills. Half way through the fall semester, the Vice President of Chapter Development position was made available. I took this as an opportunity to further my leadership qualities and apply for the position.

My position as Vice President of Chapter Development entails membership recruitment, planning and implementing fundraisers, and improving the relationships of our chapter members. It was a little different for me because I started my position more than six months after the other members on E-board. The experience has been challenging, yet very rewarding.

Last semester we held a fundraiser at the library during “exam cram” and sold energy drinks and puppy chow. We were able to reach a large number of students with it being finals week to make the fundraiser a success.

As for this semester, we have been working hard at putting together a “How to Dress Business Professional” fashion show. We want to help communicate to GVSU students how to appropriately dress for interviews, jobs, conferences, etc. The event is going to be open to all students and will take place on Friday, March 16^th at 6:00pm. More information for the event will be released at a later date, please stay tuned!

An important task that Vice President of Chapter Development takes part in is chapter recruitment. For winter semester, I wanted to ensure the same message was being announced to all communication classes that were visited. I created a power point that went over the benefits of joining GV PRSSA and GrandPR. I coordinated with GV PRSSA E-board and GrandPR members in figuring out a schedule and how we can reach the right classes. With the cooperation of professors in allowing us time to give a quick five minute presentation on GV PRSSA and GrandPR, we were able to improve our new membership by over 30%!

Another aspect of my position is the new mentorship program that we have created this semester. I gave all interested members an application to fill out, including their interests in PR. We matched mentors and mentees up with those that have similar interests and aspirations for their career in PR. Members will be receiving their mentor/mentee at the 2/15/12 meeting. I am so excited to how this program is going to help members grow!

This position has opened many doors for me as a public relations student. I have created relationships with my colleagues that have allowed me to feel more confident in my studies. My network has grown, which allows for more input on assignments and feeling more included in the classroom.

I would highly encourage any student to get involved in GV PRSSA E-board. It is a great opportunity to gain leadership experience, network with professors and colleagues, and push your own self limit!

I have been a part of GV PRSSA since my second year at Grand Valley State University. Getting involved early helped me grow as a student and as a public relations professional. I was able to get to know other members who were in my classes, I was able to network with professors and professionals in the area, and I was able to obtain the position as an Account Executive at GrandPR – GVSU’s young professional public relations firm. Holding a different position on the executive board last year has also helped me determine what areas of public relations really interest me. With my current position, I was able to really find where I wanted to place emphasis as I began my career search, which I was quite unsure of until this year.

My position entails updating the website, maintaining our blog, updating our social media and being the media contact for our organization. With Regional Conference rapidly approaching, I will be in charge of distributing media kits regarding our upcoming event throughout the area to media contacts. This is such a good opportunity to grow as a public relations professional, as a large part of PR is media relations and promotion of your organization/company/brand. This type of interaction with the media will build credibility and trust between you and your contacts. This is especially important for those who plan to stay in West Michigan, as you will already have built a relationship with media contacts.

It was also my job to create and execute a plan for Campus Life Night. I had to make decisions on what types of promotional items we would give away, how students would sign up if interested, and ways to get students attending this night filled with tons of student organizations interested in GV PRSSA!

I think this position is great for anyone interested in social media. They should be able to manage their time well and be able to work with WordPress. The website is easily maintained with some practice and getting to know the site. Experience managing other social media pages is beneficial. Members utilize the sites to find out where and when meetings are, to catch up on missed events, and to see what’s coming up throughout the semester. It’s my job to keep these sites up-to-date with the most important and relevant material for members.

I would highly encourage anyone who is interested in getting more involved with GV PRSSA to do so! Not only do I have talking points for interviews, I have established great relationships with my peers, professors, and professionals because of my experiences. I am so proud to be a part of such a well-established and distinguished organization!

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