Dear Capital Region PRSA community,
 
I am so excited to begin 2018 as the new Chapter president and look forward to getting you involved -- make it a New Year’s resolution to get active in PRSA! Below please find the list of 2018 board members, committees, and committee chairs. Please consider joining a committee, providing us with feedback on events and programs you would like to see in 2018, and attending PRSA events. 
 
We can't wait to work with you!
 
Sincerely,
 
President
Introducing the 2018 PRSA Board

  • President – Heather Schechter, Director of Marketing at Sunrise Management & Consulting
  • President-elect – Kristin Legere, APR, Director of Marketing and Education at New York State Builders Association
  • Past President – Josh Poupore, APR, Senior Vice President, Corning Place Communications
  • Treasurer – Michael Mullaney, Manager, Public Relations & Digital Communications, St. Peters Health Partners
  • Assembly Delegate – Paul Larrabee, APR, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Corning Place Communications
  • PRSSA Liaison – Jo Ann LeSage Nelson, APR, Vice President, Client Services, Pierce Communications
  • Member at Large – Michael Eck, Publicist, Proctors
  • Member at Large – Michael Bohne, Communications & Marketing Assistant at Capitalize Albany Corporation
  • Member at Large – Tara Burnham, VP of Marketing & Communications at miSci (museum of innovation and science)
  • Member at Large – Nick Crounse, Director of Strategic Communications at BestPass
  • Member at Large – Mary Hunt, Manager of Programs, Office for Public Engagement, University at Albany
  • Member at Large – Kate Schmieding, Project Manager / Account Manager - Healthcare Content Marketing, Aha Media Group
  • Member at Large – Kimmy Venter, APR, Regional Director of Communications at American Red Cross
Introducing 2018 Committees

Membership - Chair Nick Crounse
The membership committee is responsible for growing the membership base and engaging current members to keep them active. Responsibilities include:
  • Identifying prospects for new members.
  • Reaching out to prospects and encouraging them to attend PRSA events, join, and become active. 
  • Surveying members and prospects both formally and informally to find how PRSA can meet their needs.
  • Responding to notifications by PRSA national of people who have added, dropped or are near renewing PRSA membership.
  • Coordinating prospect and member feedback with the board, programming, and communications committees.

Programming - Co-Chairs Mary Hunt , Kate Schmieding , and Michael Bohne
This committee is responsible for planning the full calendar of programs and events that fit the needs of our membership and others who are interested in PRSA programs. Responsibilities include:
  • Working with the membership committee to ensure our events and programming is responsive to our member and prospect's needs. 
  • Coming up with a calendar of programs, both formal professional development events and informal mixers.
  • Planning every detail of events and overseeing them from start to finish, both new events and our signature chapter events, including Speed pitching (May), Summer Mixer (August), Digital Media Summit (October), and the MarCom Awards in Partnership with the AMA (November).
  • Coordinating with the board, communications committee, and membership committee to ensure that the events are fully publicized to our current membership and to the community of PR and marketing professionals who may be interested in our programs.
 
Communications - Co-Chairs Tara Burnham and Kimmy Venter
This committee is responsible for communicating our chapter's events, mission, and news to members and prospects. Responsibilities include:
  • Identifying the Capital Region PRSA’s mission and messages and ensuring they are consistent in our communications.
  • Updating or creating a new PRSA website.
  • Managing our email communications, media outreach, and print communications.
  • Creating and disseminating news releases and other media outreach on behalf of the chapter.
  • Coordinating with the board, membership committee, programming, and accreditation committees to ensure our mission, membership benefits, and programs are communicated to our membership and other area professionals.
 
Accreditation — Chair Kristin Legere
This committee is only open to members who possess an APR accreditation. Responsibilities include identifying eligible APR candidates, delivering coaching and support, scheduling panel presentations, and conducting panel presentations.
Identify Eligible APR Candidates
  • Become familiar with the computer-based Examination and support materials.
  • Recruit, identify and invite candidates. Promote value and benefits of Accreditation.
  • Identify volunteers to work with you as coaches, mentors and Panel Presentation members. 
  • Guide volunteers to ensure that they are familiar with materials appropriate for their roles.
  • Receive names from UAB of candidates approved in your area.
Deliver Coaching, Mentoring, Support Services
  • Download UAB-provided APR Coach’s version of APR Study Guide.
  • Use Coach's Guide in combination with online exercises, reference materials, and Online Study Course to deliver local prep program.
  • Offer prep support, mentoring and other resources to candidates.
Schedule Panel Presentations 
  • Receive notification from UAB of candidate request for Panel Presentation.
  • Receive copies of Panel Presentation Candidate Questionnaire.
  • Distribute candidate's questionnaire and panelists' materials to three panelists 15 business days before Panel Presentation.
  • Explain what is required and time commitment to panel participants, i.e., approximately two hours to review each candidate's questionnaire and develop questions to ask during the session, and one-to-two hours for each Panel Presentation.
  • Designate Panel Presentation Chair.
  • Schedule candidate(s) for Panel Presentation. 
Conduct Panel Presentations
  • Vote to Advance/not Advance candidate to computer-based Examination.
  •  Send original copy of candidate’s questionnaire and scoring forms to UAB.
  • Receive UAB notification of Advance/not Advance status unless the candidate has requested that UAB not send you notification.
  •  If candidate does not Advance, re-schedule Panel Presentation upon candidate's request no sooner than 90 days after first presentation.
  • If candidate is Advanced, provide support and encouragement to proceed to the computer-based Examination while preparation is fresh.