At last week’s FPRA Annual Conference, the membership approved the proposed slate for the 2010-2011 FPRA Executive Committee. Please welcome your statewide leadership team for the next year:

President – Jennifer Moss, APR, CPRC (Central West Coast Chapter)
President-Elect – Melanie Mowry Etters, APR, CPRC (Capital Chapter)
Immediate Past President – Sheridan Becht, APR, CPRC* (Orlando Area Chapter)
VP Annual Conference – Terri Behling, APR, CPRC (Central West Coast Chapter)
VP Golden Image – Ginny Cooper (Southwest Florida Chapter)
VP Communications/PR – Jennifer Fennell, APR (Capital Chapter)
VP Chapter Services – Cindy Rodriguez (Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter)
VP Accreditation & Certification – Rachel Smith, APR, CPRC (Capital Chapter)
VP Finance – Wendy Crites Wacker, APR (Gainesville Chapter)
VP Member Services – Ryan Gerds, APR (Ocala Chapter)
VP Planning & Research – Linda Herridge (Space Coast Chapter)
VP Professional Development – Jan Luongo, APR, CPRC (Tampa Bay Chapter)
VP Technology – Chris Gent, APR (Orlando Area Chapter)
FPRE Foundation – Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC (Treasure Coast Chapter)
Counselors Network Chair – Joe Curley, APR, CPRC* (Central West Coast Chapter; selected by Counselors’ Network)

*Previously set

It’s not too early to begin planning for next year’s FPRA Annual Conference. The 73rd annual conference will be held at the same hotel as this year’s conference — the Naples Grande Beach Resort — on August 7-10, 2011. Now is the time to add the conference to your company’s budget!

Thanks to the donations of dozens of organizations combined with the generosity of those who attended last week’s FPRA Annual Conference, we are proud to report that this year’s fundraiser raised $7,928 to benefit the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation.

The Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization which awards scholarships to deserving college students, who through academic achievement, extracurricular activities and involvement in FPRA, demonstrate their commitment to professional development.

Likewise, the Foundation offers its professional members Annual Conference scholarships and other professional development opportunities including helping to underwrite a portion of the costs for those members seeking their Accreditation in Public Relations.

A special thanks to Kathleen Giery, APR, CPRC who coordinated this year’s fundraiser.

We took a lot of photos at this year’s FPRA Annual Conference — several thousand to be exact!

All the photos have been uploaded to FPRA’s Flickr photo account. To access a variety of sizes of each photo taken, simply click on the thumbnail photo to bring up a larger image of the same photo. Click “Actions” in the top left corner of the photo and then select “View All Sizes”. You can download whichever size you desire. The photo size labeled “Original” is the full size image and is suitable for printing.

You can access photos at the following links:

Golf Clinic & Outing

Tweet-up with Deirdre Breakenridge

President’s Welcome Reception

Sunset Social

Monday Photos

Presidents’ Luncheon

Tuesday Photos

Reception of the Presidents

Golden Image Awards

Wednesday Photos

FPRA’s 72nd Annual Conference has drawn to a close. We’ll be posting a few recap items over the next day or so. We hope you enjoyed the blog coverage.

Special thanks again to our awesome blog team who worked throughout the conference — day and night — to ensure a continuous flow of conference coverage.

Are you creative?

Get in the creative mindset: detox time. Conference attendees are doing the octopus, crab and flying fish dance to loosen up and get into a creative frame of mind. We need to strategically invest the time to dance like an octopus.

Google innovation, creativity and you’ll see thousands of results.

“The only way to predict the future is to create it.”

“Every organization must be prepared to abandon everything it does to survive in the future.” -Peter Drucker
read more »

Joe Hice, APR, CPRC recently completed his first 100 days in a new job as Chief Communications Officer at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. During that time, Joe learned a little about the complexities and challenges of making the switch. Prior to joining the “Wolfpack,” he was the architect of The Gator Nation campaign at the University of Florida (UF).

The focus of his presentation was his transition to a new university and the “golden rules” he followed during his first 100 days in a senior public relations job.
read more »

Listed below is the schedule for Day 4 – Wednesday, August 11, 2010 of FPRA’s 72nd Annual Conference:

7:00 am – Noon: Registration Desk Open

8:00 am – 9:15 am: Power Networking Breakfast

8:15 am – 9:15 am: Counselors’ Network Business Meeting

9:25 am – 9:30 am: Announcements

9:30 am – 10:35am: General Session D, 100 Days in the ‘The Wolfpack Nation’

10:35 am – 11:35 am: Closing Session, Big Ideas, Creativity and Innovation

11:30 am – 11:45 am: Conference Finale

All the awards have been given out at the 53rd anniversary Golden Image Awards banquet and the evening’s activities have drawn to a close.

Pictured above is this year’s Dick Pope All Florida Golden Image Award winner: Salter>Mitchell and the Florida Commerce Credit Union for their WeLiveFIT! Challenge Campaign. And rest of the winners are…

Special thanks to the following individuals and organizations: Rebecca Mueller, APR and her committee for putting together a wonderful evening… to the Georgia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for judging our entries … to the Gainesville, Ocala and Tampa Bay chapters for their financial support of the reception and banquet… to FPRA President Sheridan Becht, APR, CPRC; Immediate Past President Lanette Hart, APR, CPRC; Ginya Carnahan, APR, CPRC; Erin Comerford, Michelle Foley; Jennifer Gammage; Jan Luongo, APR, CPRC; Angeline Strait; and Ryan Wiggins who served as this evening’s presenters.

The final individual award given out tonight is the John W. Dillin Award.

The John W. Dillin Professional Award for service to the Florida Public Relations Association has been established as the highest, most prestigious award of the Association. The award honors the spirit and dedication of FPRA’s first president and founder, Lt. Col. John W. Dillin, and his lifetime of service to and support of the Association.

The purpose of the annual award is to recognize an FPRA member for his/her outstanding contribution to the Association and the field of public relations.

Drum roll, please… the winner of the 2010 John W. Dillin Award is:

Leah Lauderdale, APR, CPRC
Polk County Public Schools
Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter

Send Leah a congratulatory email at leah.lauderdale@polk-fl.net