PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Marc Flake, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
Earlier this year, GFW PRSA asked members how we've been doing and how we could improve the services we provide. Have a few highlights of the survey, on me.
Of about 190 members, 67 participated. Two-thirds of those like the monthly luncheon meetings the second Wednesday of each month. A whopping 83 percent approve of the current location, the Petroleum Club.
A little less than half (47 percent) said they would participate in a chapter mentorship program, but another 38 percent said they would like more information before deciding.
Two topics tied for future chapter meetings at 39.4 percent of the votes -- "Integrated Marketing/PR/Communications" and "Measurement and Accountability." In descending order, the next five topics were "Media Relations," "Crisis Communications," "Trend Spotting," "Strategic Planning" and "Effective Writing."
Ethics remains a cornerstone of good public relations and must stay at the forefront of our programs and discussion. For the chapter's annual ethics meetings in 2007 and 2008, those who responded preferred listening to a panel of experts (47.8 percent) or participating in roundtable/small group discussions (25.4 percent).
Let's emphasize these over the coming year: networking events (43.9 percent), professional development programs (39.4 percent) and accreditation/APR preparation (34.9 percent). And what improvement did respondents think would give them the most value for their time and investment in PRSA? It was providing updates on PR trends and information.
We also received great suggestions for community service projects as well as ideas for programs, activities or initiatives for the chapter to address.
I'd like to thank everyone who responded to the survey. This is a valuable tool that will enable the board to tailor activities to the membership's needs. And the porch light's still on. Contact me at mflake@tarrantcounty.com with any fresh thoughts.
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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Betsy Boyett, IABC Fort Worth
This mild summer continues to fly by at the speed of light. Fortunately, IABC takes July off to regroup and analyze opportunities for the upcoming year. I hope you have appreciated your IABC membership as much as I have mine. Our membership is steady with a 76 percent retention and 24 percent membership increase. It seems others are realizing the benefits of IABC.
IABC truly attempts to arrange practical programming so that our membership will be able to utilize the advice from our speakers. We encourage our presenters to talk about the negatives and share what didn't work or what they would do differently. It's great to learn from others' experience. You can't get a better education than that!
We already have lots of great ideas in the works for more events that will allow us to exchange ideas with other organizations and utilize this great network of communicators that is at our fingertips.
On behalf of the IABC Fort Worth Board of Directors, I thank you for your support of IABC this past year and hope you will continue with your membership and will take advantage of the many opportunities planned during the upcoming year.
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
Good job, Gayle Reaves-King, Paul King, Carolyn Poirot, Jack Strickland, Kay Pirtle, guitar strummer Jeff Prince, picture taker Brenda Davis and Mother Nature for hospitality, organization and breathtaking lake weather at Splash Day '07. Even the Fort Worth Boat Club fajitas had a little extra snap, as did Gayle's brownies for dessert, but then, the latter always do. Truly a great time. ...
Speaking of which, a great time is pretty much guaranteed when living legend Mike Cochran takes the stage Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Joe T.'s to sneak-preview his new book on 1990 Texas gubernatiorial candidate Clayton Williams. Williams himself might even be there, a fitting setting for a character who reportedly urged Hispanics to support his candidacy because he met his wife, Modesta, in a Mexican restaurant. What a bang-up way to start the FW SPJ year. Programs VP Paul LaRocque is at the top of his game, and it's just the first inning. ...
Life imitates art. Celebrated now-they've-got-him, now-they-don't freelance journalist Josh Wolf, recipient of the largest Legal Defense Fund grant in SPJ history, has announced plans to run for mayor of San Francisco. ...
Not the most uplifting (or surprising) report from SPJ member Stephanie Kanowitz, web editor at Federal Computer Week magazine. FOIA requests filed almost 20 years ago are still pending, according to the Knight Open Government Survey released July 2 by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. In January the archive filed FOIA requests with 87 federal agencies for copies of their 10 oldest open or pending requests. Five agencies -- the State Department, Air Force, FBI and CIA and the Justice Department's Criminal Division -- reported FOIA requests that have been pending for at least 15 years, according to the report. Other findings: Ten agencies misreported their oldest pending FOIA requests to Congress in their fiscal 2006 Annual FOIA Reports, which are required by law; 10 agencies misrepresented their FOIA backlogs to Congress; several agencies contradicted their own responses to the archive's two previous "10 oldest" audits by reporting requests this year that were significantly older than those they produced in 2003 or 2005. Bipartisan congressional efforts to solve some of the problems exposed in the archive's audits have stalled in the Senate, with Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., holding S. 849 from an up-or-down vote, according to a press release from the archive. The bill would impose penalties for agency delays, mandate accurate and timely tracking and reporting of FOIA requests, and give FOIA requesters new tools to hold agencies accountable. The House passed its FOIA Amendments of 2007 with a significant bipartisan majority. ...
Throughout the year, SPJ seeks nominations for its highest national honors. Members may leave feedback on candidates for the SPJ executive committee to see. Log in to the "For Members" section of the SPJ web site; anonymous feedback will not be accepted. More from programs coordinator Heather Porter at hporter@spj.org.
Closing words: "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." -- mathematician and mystic Blaise Pascal ... "There is not enough time to do all the nothing we want to do." -- Bill Watterson, who drew the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" for 10 years, then retired to devote his time to painting
Closing words II: "I was really gobsmacked when I got the call. ... I was thinking we were doing better, cranking out a lot of copy." -- William M. Reilly, 66, on learning that United Press International's long-running United Nations bureau will close after 62 years; Reilly joined UPI in 1961 and covered beats ranging from the Vietnam War to New York City courts before taking the U.N. beat 10 years ago ... "This is all bogus, because we won't have an economy if we destroy our environment." -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, refuting claims that protecting the environment will hurt the economy
Closing words III, one civilized man regarding another: "That fashion he has of brushing his hair and goatee so resolutely forward gives him a comical Scotch-terrier look about the face. ... But that queer old head took on a sort of beauty ... as I thought of the wonderful mechanism within it ... that could create men and women ... murder them, marry them, conduct them through good and evil, through joy and sorrow, on their long march from the cradle to the grave, and never lose its godship over them, never make a mistake! I almost imagined I could see the wheels and pulleys work." -- Mark Twain, one of the people who went to see Charles Dickens perform when he came to America
