Congrats to the 2011 Image Award Winners

Congratulations to all the winners of the FPRA Orlando Area Chapter’s 2011 Image Awards! Twenty organizations were honored at the April 28 Gala, with WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA and HD Supply taking home the Grand and Grand All Image awards.

Congratulations also go to Sheridan Becht, APR, CPRC, who was named FPRA-OAC’s 2011 PR Professional of the Year for Career Excellence. Sheridan, the immediate past president of the Florida Public Relations Association, recently retired after a lengthy and accomplished career with the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC). He is well-deserving of this honor!

A complete list of 2011 Image Award winners can be downloaded from the FPRA-OAC Image Awards Web page. Photos from the event are posted on Flickr.

Great Line-Up of Speakers Scheduled for Annual Conference

Things are shaping up for the 73rd Annual FPRA Conference, August 7-10 at the Naples Grande. You won’t want to miss our fabulous line-up of speakers!

We are pleased to announce our 2011 Dillin Keynote Speaker is Danya Proud, Director of Media Relations for McDonald’s USA, LLC. With nearly 12 years in the McDonald’s system, Proud oversees media relations and crisis and issues management that support McDonald’s U.S. Leadership, company and regional departments/offices, national and local PR agencies, franchisees, suppliers and more than 14,000 McDonald’s U.S. restaurants.

A complete line-up of speakers will be available soon, but here’s a sneak peak at some of the companies/organizations we’ll hear from at this year’s conference:
*  Mosaic
*  Florida Department of Citrus
*  AAA South
*  Firefly Group
*  Universal Studios

Topics include grassroots public relations campaigns, crisis management, community relations, and strategic public relations planning.

Also, don’t forget our golf tournament which will have a morning tee-time instead of the traditional afternoon tee-time, so plan on getting to Naples early for your golf outing.

Help PR Education by Supporting the 25th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign

The 25^th anniversary fundraising campaign kicked off earlier this year to increase the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation fund by $25,000.  Since this is the time of year when student members and chapter members are completing scholarship applications at the state and local levels, it’s time to remind you of our request for funding support.

Students are searching for scholarships to assist them in completing their public relations degree programs or attending annual conference.  Our members want to attend annual conference or earlier in the year, Counselors Network, in order to expand their knowledge of public relations through professional development and networking.

The Florida Public Relations Education Foundation has been pleased to award these recipients over the years and recognize their interest in our association and learn how this funding support has broadened their public relations skills.  Remember, your application may be among those seeking the next set of scholarships.

With your donation, the Foundation will be able to announce it has reached the $25,000 goal at the FPRA Annual Meeting at Annual Conference.  Please join other FPRA members who have already supported this goal.

To make a donation, just download a donation form, print it out and send it with a check for $25 payable to the FPR Education Foundation or go online and make a donation at www.fpra.org.  Click on the arrows until you reach the FPREF Donation Page.  Fill in your donation amount / Click add to cart and follow the instructions.

We appreciate very much your support of the Foundation, as well as your hours of dedication to your individual chapter and the State Board.  See you at the Naples Grande in August!!

Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC
Chairman, FPR Education Foundation

Seeking Silent Auction Items to Help Fund Scholarships

The Florida Public Relations Association Orlando Area Chapter is seeking silent auction items of all sizes for this year’s Annual Conference Scholarship Fundraiser event, FPRA University Class Reunion 2011.

All silent auction and event proceeds will benefit the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that funds education programs and scholarships that advance the professionalism of our members.  Professional members benefit from through scholarships for professional development, including the APR rebate.  Funds also support scholarships for our student members.

As the association’s largest chapter, Orlando, let’s provide some of the best silent auction items to support our professional development. Donation items can be large like a vacation or hotel stay or something simple and inexpensive like a T-shirt or pen.  We will be putting together gift baskets on behalf of our chapter, so we welcome all items.

If you have something to donate, please email Wendy Jo Moyer at wjmoyer@wcfla.com to arrange pick up.  Thank you for your consideration.

Uproar PR Established to Bring Cutting-Edge, Fast-Paced Results to Consumer Clients

Consumer PR, Social Media and Interactive Design Agency Launches

Headquartered in Orlando, with an office in San Francisco, Uproar PR launches today as a PR, social media and interactive design agency. Focused on consumer-facing clients, Uproar was founded to apply a cutting-edge technology perspective for companies who are looking to compete in this always-on, socially driven economy.

The ideal Uproar PR client is in the consumer packaged goods (CPG), hospitality, sports, restaurant or social space. Uproar PR launches with three clients on its roster:

* Dealagio, a daily-deal website that saves consumers 50-90% off the best things to eat, see and do;

* Ma Mi skin care, a natural skin care product line targeted at moms; and

* Poppa D’s Nuts, a national brand of all-natural, butter-toffee redskin peanuts.

Uproar PR is an independent organization, which was founded by the Vantage Group of companies that includes Vantage Communications, a technology PR firm and Vntg Creative, a technology interactive agency. “We founded Uproar PR after receiving dozens of inquiries from consumer companies who were looking for a driven agency with a fresh point-of-view that could keep up in this ever-changing media landscape,” said Catriona Harris, Managing Partner for Uproar PR.

Tom Bryan, Managing Partner at Dealagio said, “The team at Uproar hit the ground running for us and garnered immediate results. They became part of our team instantly and gave us the support we needed for our launch. Working with them has been a huge success!”

Ilene Adler, Partner of Uproar added, “When founding Uproar, it was clear to us that we needed to apply the same cutting-edge perspectives that we used for technology companies, and create sales-driven PR and social media campaigns for these consumer brands.”

One-on-One with Orlando Magic VP of Communications

Learn Media Relations Best Practices & How Communications Played a Role In The Amway Center

Ever wonder what it takes to manage public relations for a major sports team?

While the Orlando Magic’s season has come to a close, the role of the team’s media/public relations VP never ends. On Thursday, June 23, learn more about how communications played a role with the opening of the new Amway Center from the Orlando Magic Vice President of Communications, Joel Glass. You’ll also learn best practices on how to best deal with media straight from the team’s media spokesperson.

Joel Glass, who joined the Orlando Magic in October of 1995, is responsible for directing communication and media/public relations efforts for the Magic. He handles everything from media operations, strategic communications, media releases, publications and statistical material, to also coordinating media interviews with players, coaching staff members and front office personnel on top of overseeing Orlandomagic.com and Orlando Magic broadcasting.

8 a.m. – registration/breakfast

8:30 a.m. – program

The University Club

150 E. Central Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32801

Registration coming soon to www.fpra-orlando.org.

Member News

Congratulations to FPRA-OAC board member, Allie (Stevens) Vatcher who got married on May 7, 2011.

2011-2012 Board of Directors

2011-2012 Board of Directors

President
Amanda Forbes, APR
Fry Hammond Barr

President–Elect
Allie Vatcher
Valencia College

Immediate Past President
Wendy Jo Moyer, APR
WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA

Secretary
Cynthia Lambert, APR
MetroPlan Orlando

Treasurer
Laura Kern
Florida Hospital

Assistant Treasurer
Megan Licata
Fry Hammond Barr

Vice President of Membership
Lenora Spence
MetroPlan Orlando

Assistant Vice President of Membership
Jennifer Gammage
Central Florida Cancer Care Center

Vice President Accreditation
Kristin Jimenez, APR
Florida Hospital

Vice Presidents of Professional Development
Elizabeth Baranik
Hard Rock

Laura Cole
Rollins College

Vice Presidents of Scholarship Fundraiser
Brian Craven
Bright House Networks

Cassie Roach
CFE Federal Credit Union

Vice Presidents of Image Awards
Kerry Martin
Curley & Pynn

Alayna Rivera
Florida Dairy Farmers

Vice President of Media Relations
Steve Triggs, APR
Orange County Government

Vice President of Publications
Nancy DeVault
American Heart Association

Vice President of Technology & Online Communications
Chris Gent, APR, CPRC
Kissimmee Utility Authority

Vice President of Outreach (Roundtables)
Gabrielle Davis
Florida Bar Foundation

Communiqué Advisor
Robin Cusimano
Rollins College-Hamilton Holt School

Quotes Advisor
Ryan Sheehy, APR
University of Central Florida