The PRSA Las Vegas Valley Chapter is proud to announce our 2012 Board of Directors:

The board members' responsibilities and contact information are listed in the About Us section of the website.

We need your help!  Volunteering to serve on a chapter committee is a great way to learn new skills and make valuable contacts.  See Committees and contact anyone on the board.

It has been my honor to serve as president of the PRSA-LasVegas Valley Chapter. Despite the challenging economy, dozens of professionals regularly volunteered to help our colleagues network, find jobs and further their knowledge in their careers.

We had wonderful successes in 2011, including:

1. Moving our luncheons from Fridays to Thursdays. This, combined with top-notch speakers organized by our programs committee, netted more attendees than we have had in several years. In fact, our always-popular “Meet The Media” luncheon in August brought in 98 attendees…the highest number we have had at a luncheon in five years!
    
2. Hosting the PRSA Western District Conference. Long-time PRSA-Las Vegas leader Nancy Syzdek, APR, led a team of dedicated volunteers who made April’s Western District Conference one to remember. Speakers from across the country brought in hundreds of attendees. I encourage you to attend the 2012 Western District Conference, which will be held in Denver March 12-13.
    
3. Pinnacle Awards Program. More than 100 people attended this year’s program, which was organized by one of its original creators, Lisa Story, APR, along with Cheryl Persinger, APR and Melody Cannon. It was a night to remember with dozens of professionals and teams being recognized for their professional accomplishments.
    
4. Honoring one of our own. One of our chapter’s original members, Roger Buehrer, APR and a PRSA Fellow, retired this month after a long and stellar public relations career. Led by Susie Black, the chapter held a special program honoring Roger and his accomplishments at our December luncheon. It was amazing to see how many lives and careers he has impacted…and gave me a renewed enthusiasm for my own career in public relations. He was presented with a key to the City of Las Vegas and proclamations from both the city and Governor Sandoval and was fetted by several of his colleagues over the years. Roger was thrilled to be recognized for his illustrious career and impact on the public relations industry.
    

I wish you all a Happy New Year and look forward to continued successes in 2012!

Sarah Thornton, Past President

It’s hard to believe that my term as PRSA Chair and CEO is nearing an end. I’m honored to have represented you and our profession throughout the past 12 months.

PRSA had a banner year, grounded firmly in our Strategic Plan, which will continue to guide us over the next two years. For example, we significantly moved the needle in speaking out on the value of public relations, ethics and diversity — the three focus areas of our re-vamped advocacy efforts. We also launched a collaborative and widely heralded effort to create a modern definition of public relations, in partnership with 12 allied professional organizations and, indeed, public relations professionals from around the world who suggested definitions.

We also experienced a significant increase in member participation at the Chapter level. PRSA members donated more than 100,000 hours of their time in 2011 through Chapter leadership and volunteering initiatives. These hours represent an in-kind donation of more than $2.7 million to PRSA.

In addition, this year’s Leadership Assembly and International Conference produced their highest-ever satisfaction ratings, and the number of Silver Anvil submissions we received approached an all-time high. Finally, PRSA members spoke loudly as to the value they receive from PRSA membership by voting 4-to-1 in favor of a much-needed dues increase.

In a year of many significant achievements for PRSA, we also instituted our first:

• Social Media Policy.
• Best practices guide for the use of statistics in public relations campaigns.
• Video interview series on the subject of internal communications.
• Social responsibility campaign, PRServing America™, to celebrate the best pro-bono work of PRSA Chapters and members.
• Turn-key public relations curriculum, to be taught in the MBA programs atDartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and four other pilot schools, beginning in the 2012–2013 academic year.
• Co-sponsorship of the North American Summit on Public Relations Measurement.

Please know that I greatly appreciate the contributions and commitment of PRSA members in making this year a success. Thank you, too, for your many messages of support, and for stopping to say “Hello!” during my Chapter, District and Section visits. In my view, PRSA is one big family that shares a terrific passion for shaping and advancing the public relations profession.

I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons and all the best for a successful 2012.

Sincerely,

Rosanna M. Fiske, APR
PRSA 2011 Chair and CEO

Wait, wait, don’t tell me…

We know the new year has just begun, so let PRSA Western District be your first order of business in 2012. Prep your 2012 calendar by noting the 2012 Western District Conference in Colorado! You’re sure to be a champion (of creativity, that is) if you attend March 12-13 in Denver, the Mile-High city.

This conference will offer an extraordinary chance to tap your inner talents and rise above as you learn to “Champion Creativity” and take your communications programs to an all new altitude – 5280 feet, to be exact.

There are lots of surprises in store – including great keynotes, a full program schedule a unique venue and food to tempt the palate at every turn. Come in on a Friday and enjoy the amazing outdoors – it’ll be prime spring ski season! – or our thriving urban hot spots. Conference highlights include an evening with Carl Kasell of NPR. And that’s just the beginning. You just aren’t going to believe what else we have in store for you!

Become a fan of our Facebook Page – PRSA Western District Conference https://www.facebook.com/PRSAWDC

Click here to learn more and reserve your spot!

Mark your calendars now!
2012 Western District Conference
March 12-13, 2012

See you in March --
The 2012 Planning Committee

PRSA is accepting submissions from public relations scholars and practitioners for a special issue of the Public Relations Journal dedicated to diversity in public relations. Submissions should make a significant contribution to the profession’s development, offer insight to further the scholarship of public relations and provide practical information to enhance practitioners’ job performance.

Abstracts and manuscripts for the special issue must conform to the requirements of regular submissions to the Journal. All submissions must be sent via email to Journal guest editor Bey-Ling Sha, Ph.D., APR, with the subject line “PR Journal Diversity Issue.”

Your PRSA membership is more valuable than ever before. PRSA national has raised the annual dues, but in return all of PRSA's webinars are now free of charge for members.

Regardless of your career stage, you can broaden your skill set with access to more than 50 free live and on-demand webinars that are planned for 2012. Check them out.

One of the first is "Creating the Online Newsroom" coming up on January 31. Join online newsroom experts Steve Momorella and Pete Codella, APR, as they share best practices and online newsroom examples. Hear tips about leveraging an online newsroom to help increase exposure and decrease content distribution costs. Find out why a centralized, social media-equipped online information headquarters is a must-have part of your public relations toolkit for mainstream journalists and news consumers. Detailed online newsroom case studies will be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of using digital communication tools and integrating social media into your communications efforts. Register today.