WINTER 2018 Vol . 50 , Issue 2 www . prssa . prsa . org / forum
Start Your High School Outreach : From the President ’ s Desk
By Andrew Cook PRSSA National President During this year ’ s National Conference , I was joined by Vice President of External Affairs Andrew Young , Vice President of Chapter Development Marley Vawter , and PRSA 2017 Chair Jane Dvorak , APR , Fellow PRSA , on a visit to a local high school A few days before the Conference began , we arranged a visit to East Boston High School where we presented to students about public relations and PRSSA . I loved watching the students react as they realized that using social media or handling a communications crisis was a career that they could pursue .
Since our visit , I ’ ve thought a lot about high school outreach and its potential to change our industry . Simply put , we need to accelerate our efforts . Placing a greater focus on paving the way for the future students of PRSSA will have tremendous long-term benefits for each member and Chapter , and the Society as a whole . Let me share with you my vision for this .
Advocacy As a profession , we often encounter people who misunderstand our profession . Despite the fact that we specialize in storytelling , we often struggle to share our own story with all the members of our community . By visiting high school students and sharing with them the basic definitions of public relations , and giving them a vision of what this work entails , we are able to advance the profession and the public ’ s understanding of it . Whether a student is a future accountant , engineer or public relations practitioner , the sooner they understand what public relations is , the better it will be for our profession and for the future public relations relationships they develop . High school students are a great audience because they are entering the stage of life when they begin to consider future career paths . In order to attract and recruit the best talent to our industry , we need to connect with high school students and teach them the basics of public relations .
See High School Outreach , Page 3
The Plank Center Continues to Give Back
By Olivia Kelley FORUM Editorial Assistant
Back in the early 1960s , public relations students did not have the opportunity to belong to a student society of their own . The plethora of public relations resources that professors and students have available now to utilize in the classroom and in Chapters had not even been thought about .
Public relations pioneers like Harold Burson and Betsy Plank paved the way for today ’ s practitioners . While many of the earliest public relations icons are now gone , their counsel and insight will live on forever , thanks to the Plank Center for
Crises and Controversy : Planning Ahead
By Teghan Simonton FORUM Content and Graphics Coordinator Public relations practitioners are expected to plan for crises . They imagine the worstcase scenario , and they brainstorm strategic communication plans to remedy hypothetical situations . But planning for natural disasters — events that are unpredictable and completely out of human control — are completely different .
Unfortunately , we know this firsthand . In 2017 , the United States has been ravaged by tropical storms , floods and wildfires , unleashing a slew of complications and environmental concerns for nearby organizations .
In a complete whirlwind of misfortune , United States territories were hit thrice consecutively , by three different tropical storms . Each one caused catastrophic damage to their respective areas , and caused public relations
Leadership in Public Relations . The Plank Center for Leadership has been an essential resource for public relations practitioners of all levels since 2005 . In honor of PRSSA ’ s 50 th anniversary in 2017 , the Plank Center recently produced “ Legacies from Legends in Public Relations ,” a book full of wisdom from successful practitioners . This resource was compiled in hopes of imparting the knowledge of these public relations legends to the new generation of practitioners . When asked which public relations legend he admired most , PRSSA National President Andrew Cook said he admires something about all of them but expressed that three in particular have impacted him the most .
debacles for local companies . For example , Hurricane Harvey decimated Houston , Texas , and surrounding towns . One of those towns was Crosby , Texas , the location of an Arkema chemical plant . The loss of power in the storm caused a massive fire in the plant . According to the Washington Post , 19.5 different volatile chemicals were no longer able to maintain the refrigeration necessary to avoid combustion . Additionally , due to the flooding , officials were unable to access the plant and take preventative measures . They could only warn locals in a 1.5-mile radius to evacuate .
The Associated Press reported that 13 Superfund sites were flooded — possibly resulting in leaked pollutants . Naturally , this leads to public panic , as locals worry about effects to their health and environmental activists become alarmed . This was not the only environmental accident to result from
“ Two of the legends I was really anxious to read about were Harold Burson and Dan Edelman because of their roles as pioneers in building and developing public relations ,” said Cook . “ I also really respect James Grunig because of his role as an educator and the ways I ’ ve benefited directly from his work and through his mentorship of some of the BYU faculty ; specifically , Dr . Robert Wakefield and Dr . Ken Plowman , who have really been influential in shaping me as a public relations student .”
In addition to “ Legacies from Legends in Public Relations ,” the Plank Center also has released a mentorship guide to PRSSA students that focuses on how students can best benefit from mentorships .
See Plank Center , Page 11
the storm , but it is a prime example of how a lack of planning can contribute to damaged public opinion — even though the situation , at the time was out of Arkema ’ s control .
It is imperative for companies — especially those with critical environmental consequences — to prepare for every possible disaster and communicate those emergency procedures to the public .
See Natural Disasters , Page 9
Open
FORUM3 4 8
‘ TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING Interested in giving back this season ? Learn how to donate
your public relations skills — pro bono .
REGIONAL CONFERENCES Check out where PRSSA ’ s 10 Regional Confereces will be
held this spring and what to expect .
LINKEDIN BEST PRACTICES With internship and job season right around the corner , check out these best practices for connecting on LinkedIn .
WINTER 2018
Vol. 50, Issue 2
www.prssa.prsa.org/forum
Start Your High School Outreach:
From the President’s Desk
By Andrew Cook
PRSSA National President
During this year’s Na-
tional
Conference,
I was joined by Vice
President of Exter-
nal Affairs
Andrew
Young, Vice President
of Chapter Development Marley
Vawter, and PRSA 2017 Chair Jane
Dvorak, APR, Fellow PRSA, on a visit to
a local high school A few days before
the Conference began, we arranged
a visit to East Boston High School
where we presented to students
about public relations and PRSSA. I
loved watching the students react as
they realized that using social media
or handling a communications crisis
was a career that they could pursue.
Since our visit, I’ve thought a lot about
high school outreach and its potential
to change our industry. Simply put, we
need to accelerate our efforts. Plac-
ing a greater focus on paving the
way for the future students of PRSSA
will have tremendous long-term ben-
efits for each member and Chap-
ter, and the Society as a whole. Let
me share with you my vision for this.
Advocacy
As a profession, we often encoun-
ter people who misunderstand our
profession. Despite the fact that we
specialize in storytelling, we often
struggle to share our own story with
all the members of our community.
By visiting high school students and
sharing with them the basic defini-
tions of public relations, and giving
them a vision of what this work en-
tails, we are able to advance the
profession and the public’s under-
standing of it. Whether a student is a
future accountant, engineer or pub-
lic relations practitioner, the soon-
er they understand what public re-
lations is, the better it will be for our
profession and for the future public
relations relationships they develop.
High school students are a great au-
dience because they are entering
the stage of life when they begin to
consider future career paths. In order
to attract and recruit the best talent
to our industry, we need to connect
with high school students and teach
them the basics of public relations.
See High School Outreach, Page 3
Open
FORUM
3
The Plank Center Continues to Give Back
By Olivia Kelley
FORUM Editorial Assistant
Back
in
the
ear-
ly 1960s, public relations
students did not have the
opportunity to belong to a
student society of their own.
The plethora of public rela-
tions resources that professors
and students have available
now to utilize in the classroom
and in Chapters had not
even been thought about.
Public relations pioneers like
Harold Burson and Betsy Plank
paved the way for today’s
practitioners. While many of the
earliest public relations icons
are now gone, their counsel
and insight will live on forever,
thanks to the Plank Center for
Leadership in Public Relations.
The Plank Center for Lead-
ership has been an essential
resource for public relations
practitioners of all levels since
2005. In honor of PRSSA’s 50 th
anniversary in 2017, the Plank
Center recently produced
“Legacies from Legends in
Public Relations,” a book full of
wisdom from successful practi-
tioners. This resource was com-
piled in hopes of imparting the
knowledge of these public
relations legends to the new
generation of practitioners.
When asked which public rela-
tions legend he admired most,
PRSSA National President An-
drew Cook said he admires
something about all of them
but expressed that three in
particular have impacted
him the most.
“Two of the leg-
ends I was re-
ally anxious to read about
were Harold Burson and Dan
Edelman because of their roles
as pioneers in building and de-
veloping public relations,” said
Cook. “I also really respect
James Grunig because of his
role as an educator and the
ways I’ve benefited directly
from his work and through his
mentorship of some of the BYU
faculty; specifically, Dr. Robert
Wakefield and Dr. Ken Plow-
man, who have really been
influential in shaping me as
a public relations student.”
In addition to “Legacies from
Legends in Public Relations,”
the Plank Center also has
released a mentorship guide
to PRSSA students that focuses
on how students can best
benefit
from
mentorships.
See Plank Center, Page 11
Crises and Controversy: Planning Ahead
By Teghan Simonton
FORUM Content and Graphics
Coordinator
Public relations practitioners
are expected to plan for cri-
ses. They imagine the worst-
case scenario, and they brain-
storm strategic communication
plans to remedy hypothetical
situations. But planning for nat-
ural disasters — events that
are unpredictable and com-
pletely out of human control
— are completely different.
Unfortunately, we know this first-
hand. In 2017, the United States
has been ravaged by tropical
storms, floods and wildfires, un-
leashing a slew of complica-
tions and environmental con-
cerns for nearby organizations.
In a complete whirlwind of mis-
fortune, United States territories
were hit thrice consecutively, by
three different tropical storms.
Each one caused catastrophic
damage to their respective ar-
eas, and caused public relations
‘TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING
Interested in giving
back this season?
Learn how to donate
your public relations
skills — pro bono.
4
debacles for local companies.
For example, Hurricane Har-
vey decimated Houston, Texas,
and surrounding towns. One of
those towns was Crosby, Tex-
as, the location of an Arkema
chemical plant. The loss of pow-
er in the storm caused a mas-
sive fire in the plant. According
to the Washington Post, 19.5 dif-
ferent volatile chemicals were
no longer able to maintain the
refrigeration necessary to avoid
combustion. Additionally, due
to the flooding, officials were
unable to access the plant and
take preventative measures.
They could only warn locals in
a 1.5-mile radius to evacuate.
The Associated Press reported
that 13 Superfund sites were
flooded — possibly resulting in
leaked pollutants. Naturally, �F��2�VG2F�V&Ɩ2�2�0���6�2v�''�&�WBVffV7G2F�F�V�"�V�F��BV�f�&���V�ЧF�7F�f�7G2&V6��R�&�VB�F��2v2��BF�R��ǒV�f�&��Ц�V�F�66�FV�BF�&W7V�Bg&�Х$Tt����4��dU$T�4U0�6�V6��WBv�W&P�%54 ( �2&Vv�����6��fW&V6W2v���&P��V�BF��27&��r�@�v�BF�W�V7Bࣀ�F�R7F�&��'WB�B�2&��RW�Ц��R�b��r�6��b��Ц��r6�6��G&�'WFRF�F�ЦvVBV&Ɩ2�����( BWfV�F��Vv�F�R6�GVF����BF�RF��P�v2�WB�b&�V� ( �26��G&��गB�2��W&F�fRf�"6��Ц�W2( BW7V6��ǒF��6Rv�F��7&�F�6�V�f�&���V�F�6��Ч6WVV�6W2( BF�&W&Rf� �WfW'��76�&�RF�67FW"�@�6���V�6FRF��6RV�W&vV�Ц7�&�6VGW&W2F�F�RV&Ɩ2�6VR�GW&�F�67FW'2�vR��Ĕ�TD��$U5B$5D�4U0�v�F���FW&�6���B�� �6V6��&�v�B&�V�@�F�R6�&�W"�6�V6��W@�F�W6R&W7B&7F�6W2f� �6���V7F��r��Ɩ�VD���