August has traditionally been a planning month for Public Relations departments (I’ve heard the month described as akin to a Sunday prior to an eventful week and I must admit I often feel that way). Your CPRS Toronto board has also been meeting this month to plan our programming for the year and I am very excited about the year ahead.
Mentoring has always been valued within our Chapter and under the leadership of Lauren More and support from Membership Chair, Hilary Lawton, our approach to mentoring has evolved to maximize protégé access to mentors. Replacing the traditional 1:1 match-ups, two Mentors Circles were established last year – one for Recent Graduates and the other, called Career Builders, for people with more work experience. Each circle meets every other month and different guest mentors attend each session to share their experiences, provide advice and to answer questions. The next Graduates Mentor Circle is planned for October 15. The next Career Builders Mentors Circle will be held on September 17. If you are interested in being a guest mentor or a joining one of our circles, please email Lauren at mentorship@cprstoronto.com.
We are committed to bringing you award-winning speakers at an economical cost and Jeff Rohrer APR, our Professional Development Chair has an exciting PD program planned for this year. Our first event, PR from the inside out: How technology can improve internal communications and the customer experience is planned for Tuesday, September 16, from 6 pm to 7:30 pm, at The Pilot, Stealth Lounge. Cost to members is $20; $10 for student members.
In this session, Senior Consultant, Jas Shukla, and Director of Brand and Experience, Ben Skelton, from Habanero will share how organizations are using technology to align employees with their purpose and vision, support organizational change, foster connections between employees, as well as increase dialogue and innovation. Learn how organizations across Canada are using their intranets, enterprise social networks, crowdsourcing, and mobile solutions to ensure front-line employees create memorable, informed interactions.
Our student steering committee, led by Arden Bagni, has planned a number of events this year. The popular, Passport to PR (always sold out) is scheduled for October 23rd. Students from PR schools throughout the GTA visit PR agencies and corporate offices to get a firsthand look at the world of public relations practitioners. See our Events section for all event dates.
Our student steering committee, led by Arden Bagni, has planned a number of events this year. The popular, Passport to PR (always sold out) is scheduled for October 23rd. Students from PR schools throughout the GTA visit PR agencies and corporate offices to get a firsthand look at the world of public relations practitioners. See our Events section for all event dates.
I look forward to sharing more of our plans in our next newsletter.
On another note, last month, most public relations departments were involved in the implementation of the new Canadian Anti-Spam legislation (CASL). Some members have contacted me to hear how successful others members were in implementing this legislation. Please let me know what your experiences were. What practices have you changed in light of this legislation? I’ll share highlights in an upcoming newsletter.
Maryjane Martin, APR
President, CPRS Toronto