best lesson learned in PR Go with your gut instinct (except when you have a stomach virus). The worst
thing that can happen is you’re wrong.
advice to a new PR pro If you want to expedite your career, be a visionary, a strategist, and let
somebody else clean up the mess.
secrets to success 1) Make friends in the highest places; 2) don't take yourself, or others, too
seriously; 3) keep your priorities straight; 4) be true to yourself; 5) learn
the secret to life, and as quickly as possible.
hobbies TCU athletics; writing; cooking; photography; travel; golf; collecting sports
memorabilia, knives, coins and stamps.
I am a part of Greater Fort Worth PRSA because ... I get to hang around and learn from people who otherwise wouldn't give me the
time of day, and I get to eat at the Petroleum Club once a month.
this much I know Everything I need to know, I could have learned in kindergarten, if I had been
given three years instead of just two.
furthermore It's amazing that a guy from Weatherford, Texas, could be so blessed. My life
truly will be complete when TCU wins another national championship in football.
To be featured in the PRSA Member Spotlight, e-mail your responses and a photo
to lauravanhoosier@msn.com.
news/views
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organizations
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UTA Shorthorn exes Tom Fox and Reese Dunklin received the Headliner Award (Star Photojournalist of the Year) and the
Community Service Award, respectively, at the Texas Associated Press Managing
Editors convention March 30 in Galveston. Both work for The Dallas Morning
News. ...
Rita Parson has joined the Tarrant County College District’s PR/marketing staff, reuniting with director Donna Darovich, with whom she worked on the Star-Telegram evening edition in the late 1970s.
...
UTA Shorthorn writers/photographers/editors/page designer/ad designer Daniel Johnson, Gabriel DeWitt, Cliff Hale, Rasy Ran, Megumi Rooze, Robert Rodriguez, John Henderson, Matt Raney, Alexa Garcia-Ditta, Caleb Gremmer, Dominic Bracco, Joe Wilkins, Anthony Williams and Kyle Clothier brought home 26 awards and one scholarship (Ray Buffington) from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention last month in
College Station. The Shorthorn won Best of Show in the newspaper category and
first place in student-produced web site.
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NEW MEMBERS
SPJ ... Mary Gladstone, The Dallas Morning News
PRSA ... Lacey Douglas, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County ... Megan Knight, Justin Brands ... Kelly Drawdy, Arlington Parks and Recreation ... Carroll Burney, Girls Inc. of Tarrant County ... Jerri Robbins, Chesapeake Energy ... Rita Parson, Tarrant County College District ... Ashleigh Whiteman, city of Hurst
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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Laura Van Hoosier, APR, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
Ever wanted something so much, but the unexpected or unknown kept you from going
after it or learning more about it? In April, I joined PRSA colleague Bruce Trimble, APR, from Little Rock in helping present an APR educational session. The title
was so appropriate for what I know many feel when starting this journey: “Face the fear and earn it anyway.”
At 10:30 a.m. May 14 at the Petroleum Club, prior to our chapter meeting, Kim Speairs, APR, will walk interested professionals through the process, from the
application, to readiness review (questionnaire and portfolio), to preparing
for the computerized exam. Attendees will get their questions answered and be
well on the way to knowing how to prepare for test day. Sign up. If you’ve thought about earning your APR, now is the perfect time.
Enjoy your May.
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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Betsy Deck, IABC Fort Worth
If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that spring is fast and furious. I know that you’re working overtime to engage and inspire your audiences. As always, we are
thrilled to offer a variety of programs to support your efforts.
Bronze Quill entries are due May 5, and I’ve included some tips for completing your entry. Online registration is new this year, with the
option of paying with your purchasing card. Completely paperless! Visit bronzequill.com for details.
Two judges will assess each entry and write comments. To be considered for an
Award of Excellence, you must score at least a 60. Be as complete as possible
on your entry. And if you skip any questions in the Work Plan, you could miss
out on a BQ. Keep these things in mind when completing your entry statement,
and good luck!
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
If you couldn’t get enough of the food and the good times ansd the gleeful scholarshp winners
and National Security Archive director Tom Blanton and Open Doors Award winner Diane Wilson at Fort Worth SPJ’s awards banquet in April, go here and here and relive the moment. And thanks, Kay Pirtle and Karen Scott at the Wedgwood News in Fort Worth and Paul Knudsen in Arlington, for providing the photos that will keep the evening forever fresh.
...
O.K. Carter insists he wasn’t forced out, and the grin on his face says he’s telling the truth. But his retirement is a crushing blow at the slow-motion
assisted suicide that is the Star-Telegram. Carter knows and loves Arlington,
and access to his insights was a major reason we subscribers subscribe. Now
that’s just another thing we miss. Jim Wright’s column? Gone. Minnesota grammarian Stephen Wilbers? Gone. Reader advocate and columnist David House, the paying customer’s calm, reassuring, empathetic connection to the newsroom? Gone. And we wring
our hands in circulation and wonder why we can’t sell more papers. ...
A freelance writer shares her struggles with creating her own Web site on The Independent Journalist blog. See how SPJ member Kathy Ehrich Dowd dealt with self-promotion, decided what clips to use and designed the site. ...
Hundreds of U.S. Marines have been killed or injured by roadside bombs in Iraq because Marine Corps bureaucrats refused an urgent
request in 2005 from battlefield commanders for blast-resistant vehicles, an
internal military study concludes. The study, written by a civilian Marine
Corps official and obtained by the Associated Press, accuses the service of “gross mismanagement” that delayed deliveries of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks for more
than two years. Support the troops, indeed.
Closing words: “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” — Douglas Adams, notoriously unpunctual writer ... “Mike Hammer drinks beer, not cognac, because I can’t spell cognac.” — Mickey Spillane ... “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” — Robert Frost ... “Never eat at a place called Mom’s, never play cards with a guy named Doc, and never go to bed with anyone who
has more troubles than you.” — Nelson Algren
Closing words II, tragicomic Star-Telegram division: “If it wasn’t for all the sucking up in here, there wouldn’t be any breeze at all.” — overheard at O.K. Carter’s April 24 retirement party in downtown Arlington at J. Gilligan’s, which was packed to the walls with city leaders and pretenders, candidates
and kingmakers, and not much air conditioning ... “I had hoped to get laid on my birthday, not laid off.” — a Star-T worker who last month became a year older and unemployed, both on the
same day
