PRAM

pramfebnewsletter.pdf

•  February Food Drive Information
• PRism Entry Information 

pram-impressions-january-2009.pdf

• Two Public Relations Professionals Earn Accreditation
• Canned Food Drive

The Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM) has installed its 2009 Board of Directors, including two members of the Mississippi Beach chapter.

Serving as president of the association is Pete Smith, director of communications at the Mississippi Department of Education. Other officers are Caron Blanton, APR, vice president of Programs; Kelly Scrivner, vice president of Awards; Kristie Aylett, APR, vice president of Communications; Meagan Coughlin, secretary; Keith Guillot, treasurer; and Celeste Cade, member-at-large (scholarships); and Jarrod Ravencraft, immediate past president.  

Aylett and Guillot are also members  of PRAM’s Mississippi Beach chapter.

Accreditation coordinators for each region of the state are Kim Collins, APR, North; Lisa Shoemaker, APR, Central; and Kurt Brautigam, APR, South.

John Forde, PhD, APR, and Pam Swain will join Smith, Ravencraft and Aylett to represent Mississippi on the board of the Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF).

The installation ceremony took place Jan. 23 during the board’s first meeting of 2009. Ravencraft, in his role as the president-elect of the Southern Public Relations Federation, conducted the installation.

PRAM consists of approximately 600 public relations professionals from advertising and public relations agencies, corporations, non-profit organizations, government, education, industries and others throughout the state of Mississippi. PRAM is a source of expertise and inspiration, and a forum for networking with public relations practitioners throughout the state and the region. The association is composed of 11 local chapters geographically located throughout the state’s major population centers. Membership in PRAM includes membership in SPRF, which brings Mississippi public relations practitioner together with others in Alabama, Louisiana, and the Emerald Coast of the Florida Panhandle. For more information about the organization, visit http://pramonline.org.

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April Lollar, communications specialist with Coast Electric Power Association, recently earned the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) designation. She joins 10 other members of the Mississippi Beach Chapter of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM) who are Accredited.

To receive the APR credential, Lollar completed a comprehensive program that included a portfolio presentation before three Accredited public relations professionals and a computer-based examination—both assessing the knowledge, skills and abilities of the public relations profession.

APR, administered nationally by the Universal Accreditation Board, is a mark of distinction for public relations professionals who demonstrate their commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice. The designation is earned based on broad knowledge, strategic perspective and sound professional judgment. Nationwide, approximately 6,000 public relations professionals have achieved Accreditation since the program began in 1964. Among the membership of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi, there are approximately 35 Accredited professionals statewide.

“April is an exemplary professional who has demonstrated a mastery of the knowledge, skills and abilities required for Accreditation,” said Susan Lepoma Perkins, APR, 2008 Accreditation Chair, PRAM-Mississippi Beach Chapter. “As the 2009 Accreditation chair of the PRAM Mississippi Beach Chapter, April will take the lead in mentoring others through the Accreditation process.”

April Lollar has served Coast Electric Power Association and its members as a Communications Specialist since 2005. Prior to her career at Coast Electric, April worked as an Information Services Specialist for InDyne Inc. at Stennis Space Center and was the Associate Editor of Coast Magazine and Coast Business Journal. April received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi in 2000 where she majored in journalism with an emphasis in magazine service.

The Universal Accreditation Board (UAB), a consortium of nine professional communication organizations that directs this competency certification program, has announced that Ron Barnes and Mary Anne Caldwell are the two newest Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF) members to successfully complete the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).

In order to complete the accreditation program, which assesses competence in 60 areas of knowledge, skills and abilities associated with the profession, each had to complete a rigorous process that included presenting a portfolio to a Readiness Review panel of three peers and sitting for a computer-based exam.

Professionals earning the APR must maintain their credential through continuing professional development, providing leadership to the profession and serving their local communities. SPRF counts more than 100 Accreditated professionals in its membership and another 15 candidates are currently in the pipeline to test for APR.

Barnes is the 2007 president of the MS Beach chapter of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM), and has served for two years on the PRAM state board of directors. Barnes has received numerous awards for his work in public relations, and was recognized as one of Sun Herald’s “Top 10 Business Leaders Under 40” and the Home Builders Association MS Coast Chapter named him its “Associate of the Year” and “Presidential Leadership award winner.”

“I was fortunate to have a great mentor in the APR process and two other candidates in my study group that were a great support,” Barnes said. “I believe all PR practitioners would benefit from experience of preparing for Accreditation. Earning Accreditation in public relations has been one of the most educational and rewarding achievements in my career.”

Since its inception 11 years ago,  Caldwell has been the public relations and marketing director for the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, Mississippi’s only children’s museum. Caldwell’s education degree from Ole Miss and her extensive experience in the travel and tourism industry have been important assets in her chosen profession. Working with a non-profit, she understands how vital volunteers are for such groups to succeed and thus, she is a life member of the Junior Auxiliary of Biloxi-Ocean Springs, has been active with the Boy Scouts in Biloxi and is passionate about literacy initiatives.

Founded in 1972, SPRF is a regional network of nearly 1,400 public relations professionals from Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and north Florida who share a common interest in the public relations profession.

SPRF exists to further the professional and networking interests of today’s public relations and communication professionals in private, public and nonprofit businesses and organizations. Along with networking, SPRF serves to advocate on behalf of and assist its members through ongoing professional development and defining ethical behavior. SPRF is the umbrella organization for the Public Relations Council of Alabama, Public Relations Association of Mississippi, the Public Relations Association of Louisiana and the Emerald Coast Public Relations Organization.

SPRF, along with eight other regional and national public relations organizations, is a participating member of the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB), the national body which administers the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) mark. Members certified as APRs have successfully demonstrated competency in the knowledge, skills and abilities required to practice public relations effectively in today’s business arena.

ImPRessions newsletter, December 2008

Articles include:

• December meeting features networking and gift exchange
• Community service project gathers educational gifts for children

Scholarship Winners Recognized
PRAM-MS Beach recognized its 2008 scholarship recipients during its October meeting.
Carmelita Hanshaw, recipient of the chapter’s $1,000 Thomas V. Fredian Memorial Scholarship, is a graduate student pursuing her master’s degree in public relations at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast campus. Hanshaw earned a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Dillard University in 2004.
Hanshaw is currently employed as a program officer for Enterprise Corporation of the Delta and HOPE Community Credit Union, where she is responsible for outreach in the lower three coastal counties, developing partners and providing financial literacy. A dedicated volunteer in the community, Hanshaw serves as treasurer for the Biloxi Branch of the NAACP, entertainment committee chair for Coastal Women for Change, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., member of the National Council for Negro Women, Urban Coast Connection and the National Alumni Council.
Jace Ponder, recipient of a $500 scholarship, is a student at the University of Mississippi working toward a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Currently, Ponder serves as a staff reporter and photographer for the Daily Mississippian, the campus newspaper. Among many other accomplishments and activities during his undergraduate years, Ponder is a former AmeriCorps member, completing more than 1,700 community service hours during a 10- month commitment. While serving with AmeriCorps, Ponder handled media relations for the National Civilian Community Corps service group based out of Denver, Colo.
Upon receiving the scholarship, Ponder said “having this scholarship would ease the stress of working long hours part-time to pay rent, tuition and book fees. Money for tuition would allow me to focus on my studies and afford me time to work with the Daily Mississippian.”
“Jace and Carmelita are outstanding examples of the next generation of public relations professionals, and we are pleased that we can support their studies as they pursue degrees in the field,” said Kristie Aylett, APR, chapter president.
The PRAM-MS Beach chapter has awarded scholarships to Southern Miss students since 2001 and established a second scholarship for students attending Mississippi universities and residing in Hancock or Harrison counties in 2006.
The chapter established the USM scholarship in memory of Thomas V. Fredian, a founding member, senior practitioner and chapter president who died in 1999. In honor of the chapter’s 15th anniversary this year, the chapter doubled the amount of the scholarship given in his memory to $1,000.

ImPRessions newsletter, November 2008

Articles in the November 2008 issue of ImPRessions include:

More than 50 pre-register for Nov. 10 “Weaving the Social Web” seminar.

Officers proposed for 2009.

Community service projects continue with “Santa’s Elves.”

Chapter awards $1,500 in PR scholarships.

Lunch ‘n Learn teleseminar Nov. 21 focuses on Social and Cause Marketing.

ImPRessions newsletter, October 2008

Articles in the October newsletter include:
Representatives from Southern Miss and Tulane PR programs to speak at Oct. 6 meeting.  2008 scholarship recipients to be recognized.

Social media seminar, “Weaving the Social Web,” scheduled for Nov. 10.

School supply drive continues.

ImPRessions newsletter, September 2008

Articles in the September issue include:

• Erin Moseley, of the Oak Crest Mansion Inn, will speak at the chapter’s Sept. 8 meeting.
• Members asked to bring school supplies for next community service project.
• Dues reduced to $30 for new members for remainder of 2008.
• Lunch ‘n Learn seminar scheduled for Sept. 19.