Letter from the President

Welcome to 2010! I am so honored to serve as your chapter President this year with talented, creative people on the executive board who are ready to "make a splash" on behalf of this organization. The executive board held our first meeting last month and we are excited about the programming opportunities and special events planned for the year ahead!

Thank you to Tony Castillo, immediate Past President, for his guidance and leadership in easing my transition into this role. Thanks, too, to all of the board members for their enthusiasm and passion toward maximizing membership value this year. I sincerely appreciate that the good ideas and hard work that will make this one of our best programming years.

Making a splash in your career has perhaps never been more important. With local layoffs and businesses leaving town, making an impact every day is critical. Luckily, PRSA can help! In addition to educational programming, the networking opportunities at luncheons and other events will help you maintain connections to other professionals in the region. Managing those relationships - in good times and in bad - is important for each of us.

I encourage you to participate in PRSA a little more this year than you did last to get the most out of your membership. There are plenty of ways to be involved, including:

• Volunteer to be on a committee.
• Attend more luncheons.
• Sit with someone new at a luncheon.
• Reach out to fellow PRSA members for advice and support.
• Start working toward your APR.
• Offer to mentor a PRSSA member.
• Submit a PRism entry.

Want to be involved but aren't sure what you'd like to do? Have additional ideas on how to get more value from PRSA? Feel free to contact me sarah.hibner@mwv.com. I look forward to seeing you at events this year. Together, let's make a splash!

Giving Presentations That Deliver Results: Ten tips to help you own the room

by Robbie Hyman

This article appeared in the October 2009 issue of Tactics. For a full version of the text, go to www.prsa.org and select Tactics from the Intelligence drop-down menu.

Do you have to give a presentation, conduct a meeting or lead a conference call? Here's how to make the room become your domain, hold your audience's attention - and get results.

1. Greet attendees as they arrive - Get there early and introduce yourself to people as they arrive.

2. Make your statistics interesting - Rather than running through a list of figures, try to spice up the information.

3. Tell stories - To be an effective presenter, you need to engage your audience intellectually, but also emotionally.

4. Use concrete language - Whenever you speak, your goal is for the audience to hear what you're saying, remember it and take whatever action you want them to take.

5. Create images with your words -The more important your message is, the more important it is for you to provide them with images that they can hear, visualize and remember.

6. Make eye contact as often as possible - Make direct eye contact with each member of your audience for three to five seconds, and then move on to the next person.

7. Pause - Many speakers are in such a hurry to get through their presentations that they hardly stop to breathe. A well-placed pause can be highly effective.

8. Don't apologize - If something goes wrong during your presentation, then just move on. There is no need to apologize and call more attention to the mishap.

9. Make your audience members partial owners of the presentation - Involving the audience in your presentation will make them feel as if they're a part of it.

10. Be visual, and interact often - To deliver an effective and memorable presentation, you need to engage your audience on several levels.

Robbie Hyman is a copywriter and PR manager. His PR work has led to coverage for his clients in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Fortune. E-mail:

Robbie@RobbieHymanCopywriting.com.

 John Davis Receives Accreditation

Katie Lewallen Member Profile

For second year PRSA member Katie Lewallen, the past year has been full of learning new skills and facing new challenges. As public relations specialist for the City of Fairborn, Lewallen has witnessed the changing demands on media and public relations.

"Getting coverage isn't just about sending out press releases anymore," Lewallen said. "I've expanded my media contact base to include more radio stations, and we launched a City of Fairborn Facebook page in October. I've found this to be one of the most productive forms of getting information to citizens. Word of mouth, or rather word of text, seems to be the route for immediate access of information."

Lewallen has worked for the City of Fairborn for the last five years, and she relies on PRSA to learn new skills and fine tune her practice of public relations.

"I like getting information about using social media and receiving emails on different topics in PR through PRSA," Lewallen said. "The best part is attending local monthly meetings and getting to see people and get their first-hand experience. I try to apply what they've learned to areas I think I can improve in what I do."

In addition to being an active member of Dayton Area PRSA, Katie serves as an interpreter for the deaf at her church, Cornerstone Baptist Temple. She is also an active member of the Dayton Mothers of Twins Club and was crowned as the group's  Mother of the Year in 2007; she went on to be crowned the Ohio Federation Mothers of Twins Club Mother of the Year later that year. 

On January 22, Lewallen was named City of Fairborn Employee of the Year for the administrative, clerical and technical divisions. Congratulations, Katie!

Looking for an intern? Wonder what the next generation of PR professionals are like? Want an opportunity to provide students with real-world opportunities and knowledge?

To increase networking between UD PRSSA and Dayton Area PRSA, a PRSA/PRSSA Mentor Day is being planned for Friday, February 19. We have over a dozen students interested in hearing your experiences and learning more about public relations outside the classroom.

Morning and afternoon shadowing sessions are available, and students and PRSA members will be matched for a half day of shadowing based on interests, prior relationships and availability.

If you are interested in hosting a student, either for the morning or afternoon sessions (or both), please respond with what sessions you would like to be involved with by Friday, February 5 to UD PRSSA president Meghann Heft at meghann.heft@gmail.com or (937) 423-4730.

Kristen Wicker

Downtown Dayton Partnership

"Oregon Arts District Web Site"
Category: Web Sites

In February 2008, an effort was launched to establish the new Oregon Arts District, an innovative approach to transforming this downtown area into a unique urban entertainment destination for the Dayton region. Throughout 2008, new creative spaces, such as art galleries, and new programming, such as monthly art hops dubbed First Friday, enhanced the District's existing business mix. This was part of a strategy to increase visitation to the District.  

A key component of that strategy was the development and launch of a new Web site. At the time, no Web site existed for the Oregon Arts District. An integral part of the Web site development and launch planning included the creation of a unique and distinctive brand for the Oregon Arts District. The Downtown Dayton Partnership worked with Hafenbrack Marketing to develop the web site and a brand that reflected the diverse, urban and fun nature of the Oregon Arts District.

At its core, the development of the Oregon Arts District brand and Web site had three objectives:  increase visitation to the District, particularly during monthly First Friday events; enhance the visitor experience; and improve the public's perception of the Oregon Arts District. It took approximately six weeks to develop the brand and approximately 12 weeks from the start of development to the launch of the Web site.

The new Oregon Arts District brand and Web site have been well-received by business owners, residents and visitors. Business owners continue to submit their events for calendar listings and news for press releases. Attendance at First Friday continues to grow, as does the number of venues and organizations participating.

Traffic to the Web site is continually growing - at a pace that's quite impressive for a new, unknown Web site. In October 2008, when data collection began, there were 141 unique visitors to the site. By January 2009, that number had grown to 1,119. Overall traffic also is on the rise, growing from 7,932 hits in October to 91,730 in January. When searching online for "Oregon Arts District," the site is now the first returned entry when using Google, whereas in October it wasn't even on the first page of Google's listed results.

Join us Thursday, February 18 for the next Dayton Chapter PRSA luncheon. The topic will be Managing Your Personal and Professional Reputation in Social Media with speaker Matt Massie. Location TBD. 

 Also, our first PRSA Happy Hour of 2010 will be in February. Watch for more details soon!

Make a Big Splash! Call for PRism Entries!

If you worked on a PR project that made a "big splash" in 2009, we encourage you to enter the Dayton Area PRSA PRism Awards. A PRism Award is a great third-party validation of your capabilities that can distinguish you from the competition.

Be on the lookout for a Call for Entries postcard. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, February 24. For more information, contact Liz Long, APR at 937-367-2233 or elong@ball.com.

Wanted: PRism Judges

The Dayton Area PRSA Chapter will be judging entries for the San Antonio PRSA Chapter's PRism awards and we need you to help judge entries. Judging is a great way to contribute your talents to further the public relations profession, get a look at other practitioners' innovations, and help our profession set the standard for public relations excellence.

Accredited members can earn one point toward APR maintenance. It falls under the Professionalism category, Leadership in Public Relations sub-category.

If you are interested in serving as a judge (please, oh please), contact Liz Long, APR at 937-367-2233 or elong@ball.com.

Are you a public relations student living in Cleveland or Dayton this summer? Consider spending your summer with Fahlgren Mortine. We are looking for two outstanding PR students - one to support our team in Dayton and one to assist the Edward Howard group in Cleveland.

If you are a rising public relations student and are at least a sophomore in college looking to learn more about life at an agency, send your resume and cover letter to careers@fahlgren.com. The deadline for submitting your information is Friday, April 30. We look forward to hearing from you and hope to work with you this summer.

Interested in getting a sneak peek at what it's like to be an intern at Fahlgren Mortine? Join the Fahlgren Mortine PR Interns Alumni group on Facebook.

http://ow.ly/1AeSQ

COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER

Responsibilities may vary depending upon the goals, skills and interests

of the intern as well as current priorities and projects of Community Blood

Center/Community Tissue Services Human Resources team. These may include:

1. Works with the Communications Group to determine different mediums to be used to

communicate effectively with all CBC/CTS® employees

2. Works with the Communications Group to determine appropriate content. Interact with

departments to receive newsworthy information that should be communicated and

distributed.

3. Determines what departments and people need to be contacted and work with them to

receive their input

4. Writes, edits and proofs to insure all communication standards are met: professional

style, accuracy, completeness, proper grammar, appropriate level of detail, etc.

5. Insures deadlines are met and communications materials are sent to printer and

distributed

6. Seeks employee feedback and input about the preferred methods of communication and

topics

7. Evaluates quality dimensions of each communication

8. Maintains high standards of confidentiality.

9. Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Strong writing, proofreading, and research skills

2. Ability to meet deadlines and work independently as well as part of team

3. Proficient at Microsoft Office skills; primarily Word and Publisher

TRAINING:   On-site training and support as needed

HOURS:       8 - 12 hours per week

BENEFITS:  Free parking, background check, training, opportunity for references or a letter of

recommendation if needed after completion of 30 hours of volunteer time, a copy

of all work product produced for your portfolio, and the personal satisfaction of

knowing you assisted in the process to save a life through a blood or tissue

donation.

CONTACT: Cissy Hansen, Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services, 349 S. Main St., Dayton, Ohio 45402. You must attach a resume and completed externship application. Email to chansen@cbccts.org. No phone calls please. You will be contacted by email for an interview.

Externship Application Page 1

Externship Application Page 2

https://www.timewarnercable.com/corporate/about/careers/search.ashx

TIME WARNER CABLE 

JOB VACANCY NOTICE 

Post Date:  January 11, 2010    Deadline: January 21, 2010  

Position: Communications Manager (117251) Department: Public Affairs/Marketing 

Level: Exempt Level M     

JOB FUNCTION:  

Manage the earned media and internal communication efforts for TWC’s Southwest Ohio division. As a member of  

the communications department, the selected candidate will proactively identify and develop media opportunities to 

promote division products, services and business initiatives; pitch and place stories to a wide range of print and 

electronic media; write media advisories, news releases, pitch letters & press kit materials as needed; maintain 

effective media relationships throughout the area; serve as media spokesperson as directed by vice president of 

communications and senior leadership. 

Additionally, this position is responsible for ensuring effective internal communications by developing and executing 

effective plans to inform and educate associates about company and department programs, TWC products and 

related initiatives. 

RESPONSIBLITIES:  

•Manage additional media relations tools: enhance division’s media presence on external website; maintain current  

media database; monitor and manage division news coverage. 

•Develop and implement promotional/PR campaigns around products, services and community relations initiatives  

(including the “Connect a Million Minds” education initiative) to increase customer/community awareness; manage  

and implement special events to promote products and services. 

•Support the development of strategic messaging, key talking points and FAQ’s. 

•Develop and implement a comprehensive internal/employee communications plan utilizing the division’s e- 

newsletters, websites, internal blogs, talking points, speeches and other materials as needed to ensure that all 

Time Warner Cable employees are notified of company initiatives; communicate via email, Internet, Intranet, 

newsletters and any other means as necessary. 

•Track and monitor key messages from competitors and key audiences to assist in development of a strategic 

communications plan; counsel the management team of issues that may affect our local business. 

•Support regional initiative and projects as assigned. 

•Maintain strong base of influential relationships with the division’s media, peers and regional/corporate contacts. 

•Perform additional duties and special projects as needed or assigned. 

•Manage educational projects, including but not limited to handling all school requests for installation and service.  

•Attend public functions as a representative of Time Warner Cable as directed by the V.P. of Communications;  

note, events may occur during the evening or on weekends. 

REQUIREMENTS:  

•Related Bachelors degree or equivalent related work experience and training. 

•Five years of corporate communications, public relations agency or print/broadcast journalism experience. Must  

have a passion for writing and editing. 

•Superior verbal and written communications skills. 

- Adept at breaking down complex concepts and making them easy to understand 

- Ability to track down details and facts 

- Working knowledge of new media techniques 

- Strong editing and proofreading skills 

•Passion for meeting deadlines and deliverables 

•Basic design and layout skills 

•Proficient on all necessary software (Microsoft) 

•Ability to anticipate issues with people and vendors 

•Ability to have the vision to activities that appeal to a diverse audience 

•Ability to successfully manage multiple priorities 

•Position will be located in Cincinnati, but will also cover the Dayton area. 

•Valid drivers license with good driving record. 

EOE 

Apply on-line via Employee Self Service and submit completed Job Bid Application to Deidra Bartlett – Human 

Resources.  Late and/or incomplete Job Bid Applications will not be accepted. Job Bid applications and On-line Bids 

must be submitted by the deadline date.  

For further information, please contact Mike Pedelty, VP, Communications at (513) 386-6757