Oklahoma State University PRSSA

When: September 29 at 5:30                                

Where: JB 208                               

What: We will be looking at positive and negative images and comments on a social media Web site that employers watch for.

FREE SUBWAY

I recently attended the OKC PRSA chapter’s Shadow Day in Oklahoma City. Shadow Day is a great concept, and I found the day to be very informative and fun.

I was assigned to shadow a PR professional named Tabbi VanHoutte, who works at Allegiance Credit Union. I will be honest, at first I was a bit disappointed to be going to a credit union, because one thing I have always known is I don’t want to work in the financial industry. My father was a bank president, and I hated working at his bank in the summers! Regardless, I tried to convince myself it would be a valuable experience, and I couldn’t have been more right!

I had a great time shadowing Tabbi, and learned so much from her. It was actually a bit overwhelming because she had so much great advice and experience to share with myself and the other girl who was shadowing. She has only been at the credit union for about a year, and it is her third job in the PR industry. Since she has worked in other areas, I felt that I got a well rounded look at what my future could hold. She described how she arrived at the job she has now, and all that she has learned along the way. She also described what her job entails, and I must say it looks like a lot of fun! She is the Electronic Marketing Specialist and is in charge of all of the credit union’s social media, occasionally designs materials they hand out, as well as many other things. She made the remark that she enjoys the job because it is something different everyday, which I was happy to hear because this is one of the main reasons I am in PR. I hate routine, and hope for a job that is constantly changing and challenging me.

After we spent the morning shadowing Tabbi, we went to the Bricktown Brewery for the monthly PRSA luncheon. There were quite a few OSU students there, which I was happy to see. It was a great time for networking, and I actually made a couple of contacts that I feel will be very helpful in the future. All of the professionals were very friendly and seemed happy to have us at their meeting. There was a panel discussion on ethics in PR, and it was very interesting and informative, since this is something we all know we will be dealing with in our professional lives.

Overall, I thought it was definitely worth my time. I learned a lot, and am even more excited now to graduate and get out into the “real world”. PR is a great field to be in, and the possibilities are endless when it comes to what you want to do. I highly suggest that every PRSSA member take advantage of the opportunity next year. You won’t regret it.

Every year, PRSSA participates in a philanthropy within the Stillwater community in the fall and spring semester.

This year, PRSSA served as the public relations committee and volunteer coordinators for the 2008 Stillwater Walk MS. This our third year to be apart of the Stillwater Walk MS.

Background: Multiple Scelerosis is a chronic disease that affects the central nervous system. Two-hundred people are diagnosed with MS every week and there’s no cure. Many men and women in the Stillwater community is affected by this disease, which no one really highlights.

The event was held Saturday, Sept. 20 from 9 a.m.-noon at Boomer Lake. PRSSA members assisted with event preparation, collecting donations and goodie bag items and publicity for the 2008 Stillwater Walk MS.

Sponsors included: Chic-fil-a, McAlister’s Deli, The Links, Kicker, Tan and Tone and many more.

This year’s committee did an amazing job and was praised by the National Multiple Sclerosis Oklahoma City Chapter and also the director of communications for the chapter. The walk was a major success . PRSSA helped increase walker participated by 5 percent and increased last year’s donations for MS research by $200.

For more information and ways to get involved with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society visit http://www.nmss.org/

Great Job Team!

Best,

Germaine Paul

OSU PRSSA Vice President

The Tulsa PRSA Chapter is having its Professional Development Seminar Thursday, Oct. 23 from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Tulsa Convention Center.

Hot topics and breakout sessions include: It’s a Baby Boomer’s World, Jumpstarting Your Creativity: From Concept to Campaign, Communicating with Lawmakers and State Agencies,Words from the Wise and Getting Big Media Coverage Using Social Media

Students can attend for $10, which includes lunch. Lunch will include keynote speaker, Giovanni Gallucci, Social Media Ninja for viewzi.com. Gallucci will be discuss “Getting Big Media Coverage Using Social Media.”

This is a great opportunity to network with PR professionals in the Tulsa area. Professionals include Stan Whiteford, Region Communications for the Public Service Company of Oklahoma; Chris Payne, APR, Senior Manager of Corporate Communication for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc; Barbara I. Sorochty, APR, Vice President of Marketing and Communications with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma; and Aimee Mehl, Director of Public Relations for Littlefield.

Deadline to Register:

Monday, October 20

Register online at prsatulsa.org

or print this form and mail your

registration to:  Ashley Antle

4509 W. Freeport Place

Broken Arrow, OK

74012