Green Bay, Wis.  – Krissy Lillie, public affairs and marketing communications manager at Aurora Health Care in Green Bay, has successfully completed the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations, entitling her to use the APR professional designation. The announcement was made by the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB), a consortium of nine professional communication organizations that directs this competency certification program.

Lillie’s background includes working as a public relations counselor at Aurora Health Care, including Aurora BayCare Medical Center, and as an account executive at Leonard & Finco Public Relations in Green Bay. She has a master’s degree in business from Lakeland College and an undergraduate degree in communications from St. Norbert College.  Lillie is a graduate from Marinette High School.

A member of the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, Lillie is the eighth member of the chapter to attain Accreditation. More information about the group is available at www.prsanewis.org.

The Accreditation program aims to improve the practice of public relations by assessing competence in 60 areas of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the profession. The Examination is designed for public relations professionals with five to seven years of job experience and/or a bachelor’s degree in a communication field. Candidates who successfully complete the rigorous process, including presenting his/her portfolio to a Readiness Review panel of three peers and sitting for a computer-based Examination, are granted the APR.

“Earning the APR reflects a mastery of the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to succeed in our increasingly complex profession,” said Felicia Blow, APR, chair of the Universal Accreditation Board. “Practitioners who achieve the designation are demonstrating their commitment not only to our profession, but also to a strong code of ethics and to the betterment of their organizations and clients.”

The computer-based portion of the Examination is administered throughout the year at more than 300 Prometric Testing Centers. The Readiness Review is conducted prior to the computer-based portion of the Examination by a panel of three Accredited members of one or more of the nine organizations participating in the UAB. Professionals earning the APR must maintain their credential through continuing professional development, providing leadership to the profession and serving their local communities.

About the Universal Accreditation Board

The UAB was established in 1998 by a coalition of public relations professional organizations that today includes the Agricultural Relations Council, Asociación de Relacionistas Profesionales de Puerto Rico, Florida Public Relations Association, Maine Public Relations Council, National School Public Relations Association, Public Relations Society of America, Religion Communicators Council, Southern Public Relations Federation and Texas Public Relations Association. Each organization contributes resources and senior-level volunteer members who represent all segments of the public relations profession.

For more information about the UAB and the APR designation, visit www.praccreditation.org.

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Happy 2012, fellow PR pros!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and entered the year feeling rested, renewed and energized for all that the next 12 months have in store. Since those of us working in public relations are cut from the same cloth, my guess is that many of you did what I found myself doing as I hung up my new wall calendar: made a to-do list – written or mental – of things I’d like to accomplish before Dec. 31. I also suspect that at least one thing on your to-do list was related to your career. Because I have the honor of serving as PRSA Northeast Wisconsin’s president for the next year, that’s exactly where our to-do lists overlap.

For the Chinese, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. The Mayans believed it’s, well…something even scarier than that. But PRSA Northeast Wisconsin is touting 2012 as the Year of MORE! What does that mean? Simply put, we are enhancing nearly every element of our organization this year, which means YOU get MORE out of your membership and MORE tools to advance yourself professionally.

I’m really proud of the hard, smart work that our committees have been doing to prepare for 2012 over the last few months. They have heard the feedback our members shared during last year’s survey and are executing initiatives designed to give you, our members and future members, MORE of what you need and want to enhance your professional skill set and network.

One example is the first programming meeting of the year, which will be held Tuesday, Jan. 24, over lunch at The Marq in De Pere. We will be doing something we’ve never done before: a PR fire drill. Renowned PR and crisis management guru Evan Zeppos of Zeppos & Associates in Milwaukee (whose firm managed the Miller Stadium Big Blue disaster among many other crises) will lead us through an interactive exercise that both tests and teaches us. Oh, and did I mention that some members of our local media (Rich Ryman and Nathan Phelps of the Green Bay Press-Gazette and Brian Kerhin, news assignment manager at Fox 11) will participate, as well? This glimpse into how media minds work in a crisis will be invaluable to any PR pro! I think we’ll be talking about this meeting for years to come, so don’t miss out – register today!

I promise you’ll be seeing and hearing more about our new initiatives in the weeks and months to come. Until then, keep connected with us by coming to our meetings, reading E-News, and visiting prsanewis.org or our Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin pages! You’ll find MORE of what you’re looking for!

In just a few months, I’ll take the reins of PRSA Northeast Wisconsin and serve as the chapter’s 2012 president. The current board of directors has done a phenomenal job setting the stage for us incoming officers and committee chairs. On top of that, we’ve already been hard at work, ensuring that 2012 is full of great programming and enhanced value for you, our members. It’s a fun time to be leading such a vibrant chapter!

Though I plan to spend most of my presidency looking forward and growing the chapter for the future, right now, I’d like take you on a brief trip back in time. The year was 1994, I was 16 years old, and the PR profession wasn’t even on my radar yet. Instead, I was determined to carve out a career in broadcast journalism for myself and had already landed a gig as the Teen Reporter on Fox 11.  I was pretty lucky to have this job, and I knew it: While most kids my age were waiting tables or flipping burgers, I was getting picked up from school in the Live truck and being ushered across town for fabulous stories. We went everywhere: to Lambeau to interview the Packers, to the airport to fly a private plane, and to the mall to preview back-to-school fashions.

After my stand-up was in the can, we’d go back to the newsroom to put the package together. That was the hardest part of the job. Not only were those big editing bays scary and hard to work for a technologically inept teenager, but the stress level in the newsroom just before airtime always had me on edge. All the producers, reporters and anchors were shouting to each other and flying around the building, trying to make deadline. Ultimately, that lifestyle (plus the fact I saw so many people come and go, living the “you have to move out to move up” philosophy of TV news) caused me to seek out another career path. But in the midst of that chaos, one reporter always tried to make me feel at ease: Bill Weir, the sports guy.

Bill was so nice to me, in fact, that I asked him to be the keynote speaker for the student council convention I was in charge of organizing, as the Ashwaubenon High School student council president. He was an absolute hit with the kids – he was his funny self, yet had a great message about the importance of pursuing your passion.

As we all know, Bill clearly did just that…and made his way to the Nightline anchor desk in 2010.

Now we’re back in 2011. A few months ago, our fellow PRSA member Janet Bonkowski told me that my old pal Bill was going to make his way back home to Green Bay to speak at the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. She encouraged me to invite him to talk with our group of PR pros, so I sent a note off to him – fully expecting him to say he would be too busy or even ignore me altogether.  Imagine my surprise and delight when he wrote back almost immediately and – for the second time in my life – told me YES, he’d speak to my group!

Those of us who were lucky enough to sit around the table with Bill will never forget this unique experience. Due to his commitments with the Chamber, we were limited on time and space, so unfortunately, we had to reserve the chance to talk with Bill to just the chapter’s board of directors, committee chairs and members. But we captured nuggets (and photos) to share with all of you. Some of the gems that came from his brain – can be found below.

Enjoy!

• Like most media folks, Bill gets 1,200 emails a day – 70-80 per hour. So in order to make yourself stand out, you have to be a good storyteller and have the courage to use your own voice – not business-speak.
• It’s important to match your story pitch to the recipient.  Avoid the generic, blanket message that gets sent to everyone.
• Always find the personal story within the story. For example, he said that the top story in Green Bay the night before our chat was the new security procedures at Lambeau. Instead of just talking about what those procedures were, he would have followed a few particular people throughout their experience going through the line and see how the procedures impacted their day.
• In an interview, never start a question with a verb. So “Do you…” is off limits. Why? It limits the responder. Instead, put the weight of the inquiry on the interviewee and start questions with “how” or “why.”
• When it comes to social media, Twitter is the most effective way to pitch.
• Innovation fascinates him. He tried for years to land the Steve Jobs interview and just landed an interview his biographer.
• Bill told some interesting anecdotes about the famous people he’s interviewed. He cautioned that sometimes when you meet your idols and interview them, you realize they are human like the rest of us so your opinion might change.

Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc. wins Grand Award at 2011 PRSA Northeast Wisconsin PRemier Awards
More than 20 awards presented to local public relations professionals during 11^th anniversary event

This guest blog post is from our Professional Development Conference keynote speaker, Geno Church. The event takes place from 2-8 p.m. on October 25th at Brett Favre's Steakhouse in Green Bay. Click for more information and to register.

On October 25 I have the great pleasure of speaking at the annual northeast Wisconsin PRSA Professional Development Conference.

The presentation, Lessons Learned Igniting Word of Mouth Movements, will take you through my experiences working with courageous groups to build authentic, sustainable word of mouth marketing programs.

Here’s a quick preview:

In the world of social media marketing, we hear things like…

We need to use our BRAND AMBASSADORS?
so they can get some VIRAL BUZZ
and our ?COMMUNITY INFLUENCERS
can EVANGELIZE ?the PRODUCT SEEDING 
and create some? SOCIAL MEDIA about it.

Then we’ll TWEET? about it and
update our FACEBOOK status as
we check in on FOURSQUARE.

I’m sorry, but…

The focus of your business should not be the technology. It should be the PEOPLE. More on that during my presentation.

I’ll also walk you through how to:

• Be famous for the people who love you for the way you love them.
• Identify passion conversations versus product conversations
• Walk, listen, and talk with your employees and customers.
• Empower your hand raisers.

I look forward to seeing you in Green Bay in a few weeks!

Reminder: PRSA PRemier Award entries DUE FRIDAY 9/9

Don't Miss Your Chance to Win!

The PRSA Northeast Wisconsin PRemier Awards recognize the exceptional practice of public relations that happens every day here in Northeast Wisconsin. Now is your chance to get the recognition you deserve!  Join the ranks of last year’s winner, Schneider National, Inc., and your entry could win the coveted Grand Award!

Consider submitting an entry for a media relations campaign, an internal communications piece, or a special event that got great results. There are 12 entry categories in all – find one for your favorite project and nominate your team:

• Media Relations
• Integrated Communications
• Issue Communications
• Internal Communications
• Special Events
• Branding / Reputation Management
• Miscellaneous PR Campaigns
• Media Relations/Press Kits
• Corporate Publications/Marketing Materials
• Newsletter/Magazine
• Online Communications
• Miscellaneous PR Tactics

Submission Deadline: Friday, Sept. 9, 2010 (5:00 p.m.) 

Eligibility: Both PRSA members and non-members can participate. The bulk of the project work -- including the project completion and results -- should fall between Jan. 1, 2010-Aug. 31, 2011.

Fees: $35/entry for PRSA members. $50/entry for non-members.

Questions: Visit the PRSA Northeast Wisconsin chapter website for complete rules and nomination information. For additional questions, contact Nicole Onesti at nicole.onesti@aecom.com or 920-406-3191.

If you're a PRSA member, I imagine you've heard about the proposal by PRSA to increase the National dues by $30 beginning in 2012. As your delegate to the Leadership Assembly to be held this October, I'll be asked to vote on this proposal on your behalf.

If you have not read about the proposal, I recommend you review at least one of these three sources:

1. PRSA President & COO Bill Murray's piece, "After 10 years, is it finally time for a dues increase?" in the June Tactics newsletter;
2. The PRSAY Blog post by PRSA Treasurer Phillip Tate, APR, "Funding the future: The rationale for a dues increase in 2012"; or
3. The special PowerPoint presentation prepared for Chapter leaders.

Here's a summary of the reasons supporting the increase and some facts to put the proposal into context:

• PRSA has not increased membership dues in 10 years, despite rising costs of doing business;
• PRSA has increased the scope and quantity of member benefits and worked to increase member value, satisfaction and renewal during this period;
• PRSA has explored new ways to diversify its non-member sources of revenue;
• PRSA has cut $1.5 million in operating expenses from the budget via cost and operational efficiencies, elimination of underperforming products and services, staff reductions, a pay freeze, reducing Board travel and cutting sales and marketing expenditures;
• If approved, the membership fee would be $255 versus $225 today, about a 13% increase. [It would be about $270 today if increases were tied to Consumer Price Index since 2001.]
• Among other things, funds from the proposed dues increase will be used to update existing benefits and create new ones; explore new products and services; create additional programming for senior professionals; enhance delivery systems by creating a mobile version of the PRSA website, introduce eLearning and create more digital publications; and otherwise modernize key infrastructure.

The online discussion group of Assembly Delegates has been alive with comments and questions. We're wrestling with this issue and firming up the official language for the proposal ahead of the fall meeting. Our Chapter board will discuss this proposal, too.

I'm interested in what you have to say, so share your thoughts by replying to this post or dropping me a line.