Many of my clients gather in August to regroup and plan for the months ahead. It is usually a quiet time of year, with many companies still in vacation mode and projects in their final stages of preparedness for a September/Fall launch.
I love this month because of the anticipation of new things to come: school courses, projects, major initiatives and, full-disclosure, I celebrate my birthday.
Your CPRS Toronto board also takes time out in August to plan for our new programming year starting in September. We will look at our services and programs and evaluate how we can best serve you, our members.
After a positive PanAm Games, I sense a feeling of confidence in the city that I feel can be extended to CPRS Toronto — particularly with the excitement of CPRS hosting the World Public Relations Conference here in Toronto in June 2016.
I felt this confidence at the CPRS national conference with public relations practitioners and academics from around the country asserting and advocating the role of public relations.
Let’s set the record straight — #that’sNotPR
What started out with a denunciation of unethical PR practices and the harm these practices (e.g.the Lesley Roberts affair) and the labeling of PR as spin by some journalists came the birth of a new hashtag: #that’sNotPR. So when you see something labelled as PR, when it clearly isn’t, I encourage you to use the hashtag to help set the record straight.
This confidence was also seen in discussions by academics at the conference where they called for a re-opening of the debate to regulate our profession. As I overheard said: “what are we afraid of?”
Heady times, and I hope you will make sure your voice is heard so that you can be part of the change that is taking place within our profession and our chapter by getting involved and Letting me know what you think. If you are in the city this month, join us for an informal mixer at Jack Astor’s on August 27th.
I step down as president next month after working with a committed and passionate board of directors for the past two years. The confidence I feel about our city, our profession and chapter is built on past success. I look forward to our future.
Maryjane Martin, APR,LM