eChaser: March 2014/ p3

PEOPLE & PLACES

Texas storyteller/author Carmen Goldthwaite is everywhere you want to be this spring. She’s teaching the five-week creative writing beginning course at SMU, first session Monday, March 17. Contact smu.edu/creativewriting. At noon Thursday, March 20, in the Library at Tarrant County College Downtown, she'll be talking about women's achievements, some of which she chronicled in “Texas Dames: Sassy and Savvy Women Throughout Lone Star History.” Then Wednesday, April 2 (1:30-4:30 p.m.), and Tuesday, April 8 (7-10 p.m.), another round of writing circles cranks up at her West Fort Worth home. Small groups of writers gather to learn, read and receive feedback; cost is $90 for each six-week block. Particulars on her Facebook page. ...

Cindy Vasquez is now marketing coordinator – communications for VLK Architects, a leader in the business of designing exemplary environments, innovative structures and sustainable communities statewide for 30 years. Ragan's PR Daily, the news site on the PR, marketing, social media and media worlds, recently quoted Claire Bloxom Armstrong in an article on networking, "Is PR Success Still About Who You Know?" Armstrong is public relations/social media manager for concussion, llp. She and Vasquez are both members of Greater Fort Worth PRSA.

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GET A JOB

Blue Zones team leader Joel Spoonheim says the project is moving forward to launch later this spring, but first, job openings abound. Seventeen more positions have been posted at healthways.com/careers. ...

VLK Architects seeks an experienced professional to lead the firm’s marketing efforts. Significant experience with marketing strategies for midsize to large companies is preferred, plus a comprehensive knowledge in building market research frameworks and analyzing data on market demand. Info here. ...

Arlington’s First Christian Church is looking for a part-time director of communication to be in charge of creating patterns for reaching visitors and managing the church’s online presence, among other duties. Contact senior pastor Andy Mangum, 817-277-2634, andy@firstchristianarlington.org. ...

Lauren Publications has an opening for someone creative and detail oriented to assign and edit (and often generate) content for DallasChild, FortWorthChild, NorthTexasChild and two ancillary publications. Preferences include area resident with a degree in English or journalism and at least seven years work experience, preferably in magazines. Submit cover letter, résumé and work samples to lauren@dfwchild.com. ...

D Magazine’s arts website, FrontRow, seeks a new editor to guide a daily discussion of Dallas culture and entertainment. Send résumé and cover letter to jason.heid@dmagazine.com.

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NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS

SPJ ... Brian Wooddell, Fort Worth ISD (Trimble Tech High School)

PRSA ... Jennifer Moore, Freese and Nichols ... Leigh Lyons, Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau ... Devon Rosenberry, Lockheed Martin ... Mitch Whitten, Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Richie Escovedo, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

Before we get any further into the year, I want to share our chapter's vision and direction for 2014. Public relations is a lead discipline in emphasizing strategic goals and achieving excellence, regardless of the organization.

Mission: As the preeminent association for public relations and communications professionals, PRSA empowers a diverse community of members at every stage of their career with the knowledge and resources to advocate for the profession, achieve ethical and professional excellence, and drive the strategic outcomes of their organizations.

Greater Fort Worth PRSA will use national’s PRSA Strategic Plan as a starting point and will promote alignment and further PRSA’s priorities of advancing professional excellence, diversity and ethics within the industry. I encourage all of our members (and others interested in what we do) to read our 2014 Chapter Vision Guide to see our target areas.

March reminder: We’re skipping the lunch program this month to partner with our friends at AAF Fort Worth and Social Media Club Fort Worth for a special event Thursday, March 27, Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Fans into Fanatics.

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IABC: STAYING CONNECTED

Betsy Deck, IABC Fort Worth

We know better than to compete with the week after spring break, as parents everywhere will be catching up on work. So we’re skipping March and reconvening April 15 on the beautiful Texas Wesleyan University campus.

We do this every year in conjunction with the student chapter, always to acclaim and smiles all around. The students raise funds while pairing “older” members with the up-and-coming generation of communicators. It’s a great way to get fresh ideas, meet potential interns and have a really yummy lunch.

Our May 20 luncheon at Joe T. Garcia’s will feature Renfro Foods president Doug Renfro, an incredibly interesting guy with tales to tell about product placement on “The Big Bang Theory” and other creative marketing techniques. If you haven’t heard Doug speak, I strongly encourage you to join us. Don’t forget to ask about his experiment with exploding salsa.

This will be a good time, guaranteed. See you there!

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OVER & OUT

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

For college students who want to attend the Excellence in Journalism conference, Sept. 4-6, and gain experience at the same time, SPJ needs 12 interns for The EIJ News. Interns will cover the Nashville conference in a variety of ways, including video, audio, photos and written stories. Apply online. Direct questions to Heather Dunn at 317-927-8000, ext. 204. ...

The Scripps Howard Foundation Semester in Washington application deadline is March 15, and the internship will run Sept. 10-Dec. 16. Six interns will be chosen to find, report and write stories for the web-based Scripps Howard Foundation Wire, take photos, create slide shows and shoot and edit video. Applicants with multimedia experience will have preference. A seventh intern works for the Hispanic Link News Service. Applicants should be juniors or seniors with previous internship experience or extensive work with student media. • The foundation also seeks a postgraduate, multimedia fellow to maintain the website and teach video and photography skills to the undergraduate interns. The fellow reports his or her own stories, creates interactive graphics and coordinates group projects. The yearlong fellowship includes a stipend of $22,155 and free housing. Application deadline is April 1. Info here.

Closing words: “I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer.” — Richard Strauss ... "I guess I'm just an old mad scientist at bottom. Give me an underground laboratory, half a dozen atom-smashers and a beautiful girl in a diaphanous veil waiting to be turned into a chimpanzee, and I care not who writes the nation's laws." — humorist S.J. Perelman

Closing words II, Jesus and Darwin division: “For me, somebody who is a 'show me the data' kind of scientist but also a believer [in God], I don't see a discordance there. In fact, it enriches my experience, each basically harmonized with the other. It gives you a view of life that is actually quite satisfying, and not in any way in conflict.” — Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian and director of the National Institutes of Health, discussing the intersection of faith and science (and evolution, in particular)

Caught my eye. Massive offshore turbine arrays might help harness hurricanes. ... Amazing interactive map shows carbon footprint of all 31,000 ZIP codes. ... Underwater suburbia could help revive Cancun’s struggling coral reefs. ... Finally, affordable solar-powered air conditioning in a neat little package. ... Global warming is going to start shrinking fish. ... MIT researchers devise technique to clean up oil spills using magnets. ... Self-filling bottle harvests water from the air.