PR – Page 2 – Canadian Public Relations Society

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October 5, 2015
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CPRS Toronto Student Steering Committee Profile: Fiona Pswarayi, Vice President

https://cprstoronto.com/wp-content/themes/fildisi/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg 150 150 Admin Admin https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f9a9d30e3678cd4b8295fcb4c358be3ad20be0ff5e7702db165f5166d2a8be56?s=96&d=mm&r=g October 5, 2015 October 5, 2015

Meet your 2015/2016 Student Steering Committee!

Stay tuned for more Student Steering Committee profile postings in the coming weeks.

Fiona Pswarayi

Humber College, Bachelor of Public Relations, second-year

This is my first year working with the Student Steering Committee and I’m so excited to serve as the Vice President. If you see me out and about, don’t let my face fool you. I might look grumpy, but I’m actually a very happy person. So come over and say hello!

Where are you from?
I was born in Zimbabwe, raised in England, and now live in Mimico.

Do you have any other post-secondary education?

I completed a General Arts and Science certificate at Fleming College, and attended both the University of Ottawa and University of Windsor where I studied Communications.

What are you most excited for this year?

I’m really looking forward to meeting students from all the different programs across the GTA. Without the CPRS, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to make those connections.

What event did you enjoy the most last year?

Building Media Relations and 360°: All things connected were my two favourite events last year. I learned so much from the media and PR professionals at both events and can’t wait to attend them again this year.

Have you interned anywhere?

Not yet, but I have had the pleasure of volunteering with a number of organizations and agencies over the past year.

What is your dream job?

This is such a difficult question as my dream job changes from day to day, but definitely somewhere involved with fashion, lifestyle or entertainment.

What do you do outside of school?

You can find me volunteering, exploring Toronto with friends, writing and editing my blog, or spending some quality time with Netflix.

Tell us something unexpected about yourself:

I’m a big adrenaline junkie. I’ve bungee jumped, white water rafted, cliff dived and zip lined. Next on my list is skydiving.

Find Fiona on:

Twitter: @fionapswarayi

LinkedIn: ca.linkedin.com/in/fionapswarayi

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December 27, 2013
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Video: John Betts of McDonald’s to receive CEO of the Year

https://cprstoronto.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/McDonalds_ArchesLogo.jpg 920 697 Admin Admin https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f9a9d30e3678cd4b8295fcb4c358be3ad20be0ff5e7702db165f5166d2a8be56?s=96&d=mm&r=g December 27, 2013 December 27, 2013

Join us January 15, 2014 to celebrate the 21st annual CEO Award of Excellence. This year’s recipient is John Betts of McDonald’s Canada. @mcd_canada #CEOAward

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September 8, 2013
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University of Ottawa lecture: PR and Diversity in Multicultural Societies

In May, Donn Tilson, Associate Professor of the University of Miami, was a guest lecturer at a conference organized by the Interdisciplinary Research Group in Organizational Communication at the University of Ottawa. Professor Tilson will be at the department as Distinguished Visiting Researcher and Fulbright Scholar in the Spring term.

A recording of the guest lecture is available here. Special thanks to Isaac Nahon-Serfaty, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Ottawa for sharing the lecture.

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April 24, 2013
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Pics from #CPRSACE 2013 as taken by you

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January 24, 2013
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Archived presentation: Ups and Downs of PR with novelist @TerryFallis (27:27)

Click the arrows in the bottom right corner to watch in full screen.

Award-winning Canadian novelist Terry Fallis presents his latest novel Up and Down.

Terry Fallis is the author of The Best Laid Plans and The High Road. In 1995, Terry co-founded Thornley Fallis with Joe Thornley, a full service communications consulting agency with offices in Ottawa and Toronto. Terry also used to co-host of the popular business podcast, Inside PR.

For more than 20 years, Terry has counseled corporate and government clients on various fronts including crisis communications, media relations, issues management, marketing communications, public opinion polling, public affairs and stakeholder relations. He has also written speeches for CEOs, cabinet ministers, and other community leaders.

Terry’s recent novel Up and Down was released in September 2012 and has since received notable media recognition across Canada and the United States.

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January 23, 2013
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Terry Fallis rings in the New Year with CPRS Toronto

By Robin Smith, Coordinator at NATIONAL Public Relations

Members can also listen to the full presentation in the members’ blog. (27:27)

Terry Fallis is a jack-of-all-trades. After 25 years in the business, he is the consummate communicator. He is co-founder of the Thornley Fallis consulting agency, former co-host of the popular Inside PR podcast, and a three-times published award-winning author. He joined the CPRS Toronto community on January 15 at the Albany Club to talk about his new book, Up and Down and to field questions about his experience in communications.

In a lighthearted and humourous presentation that showed off the articulate communication skills that have brought him so much success, Fallis opened up about his childhood love of aviation and space travel, a subject that he recently brought to life in his new comedic novel, Up and Down.

Up and Down follows the tumultuous tumble of a former politico into the world of public relations consulting. Thrown into the fire, David Stewart has to learn fast as he joins the ranks of Turner King, a fictional consulting firm located in the heart of Toronto. His task: revitalize the waning public interest in NASA and space travel. If that’s not hard enough, throw in cross-border tiffs, office politics, and a dash of bold personalities and the job just keeps getting harder.

In Up and Down Fallis gives vivid detail to the quirks of agency life that many of us are familiar with, and shines a light on a business that is often misunderstood by members of the public. As he explained the craft of his writing, it became very clear how influential his experience in public relations is on the rest of his work.

Like any good practitioner would, Fallis injects elements of his own experience into his work as a novelist. He likes to make it clear, though, that while characters in his previous novels have dipped a toe into S&M, it’s tough to be in the agency business and not get whipped once or twice. Also, as a firm believer in planning, Fallis outlines his plot months before putting pen to paper. He credits having a clear and well-thought-out plan as being the key to a successful novel.

After explaining his methodical approach to writing, the conversation turned to Fallis’ experience as a practitioner, and he ended his time with very clear guidance for those looking to succeed.

“Pace, challenge and working with people smarter than myself. There lies the path to success.”

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December 18, 2012
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Bilingual PR student? This scholarship may be for you

The Communications + Public Relations Foundation awards the Torchia scholarship annually to a student who best exemplifies the spirit and practice of bilingualism in the Canadian communications and public relations profession.

Inspired by the career of Armand Torchia, who cofounded The Houston Group with Stan Houston, and Torchia Communications with his son Jean-Claude, the $1,500 scholarship is awarded by September 15.

Apply in English or French by April 30, 2013.

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December 18, 2012
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#Volunteering

Fantastic news everyone, it looks like volunteering is trending! Over the past five years volunteer rates among Canadians have increased. But after digging a little deeper, I discovered that it is the 19-24 year-olds who are doing the majority of the work. On average, they are donating 20 per cent more of their time versus the 25-34 year-old demographic. We have all been made aware of the benefits of volunteering, so why is it that the numbers start to drop as we age?

It could be argued that the benefits of volunteering are far greater for the individuals aged 19-24; these are the people trying to gain experience, enhance their skills and develop their professional network. This is all very true, and I couldn’t agree more. But I also think I would be hard-pressed to find a career-oriented individual, between the ages of 25-34 who isn’t chasing after the exact same things.

If you are looking to advance your career, develop your personal and professional connections and help out the community, why not make time in your calendar to volunteer. The sense of accomplishment coupled with the fact you are helping out others will help you move your career forward and will most definitely make you feel better than sucking up to the boss, or taking on a ridiculous work load. (Not to say that being polite and offering to help out when it is busy should be ruled out)

Let’s take a look at few scenarios…

Scenario #1

Meet Erin, she is 26, has a degree in English and a certificate in PR. Erin has worked in a few different intern roles and is now doing media monitoring full time for her company. As much as Erin likes her job she really wants to be writing, but unfortunately there is a team of writers on staff and not much of an opportunity for her to get involved.

Well Erin, instead of getting frustrated and letting those writing skills go to waste, consider volunteering. There are numerous opportunities out there for you to get involved in, and the CPRS would be an excellent place to start your hunt! There are opportunities to write copy for marketing material, blog posts and member communications, all of which are excellent ways to keep your writing skills up to date and expand the reach of your work. Erin, before you know it you will be SWAMPED with requests because of your newly-found writing expertise!

Scenario #2

Meet James, he is 31 and has a business background with a focus on strategy development. James has recently been promoted to national PR Manager. Congratulations James! In his new role he will be managing a team of seven and of those seven two make up the national events team. James has worked for his company for five years, has been to many of the events but has never planned one. Needless to say, he is a little nervous about overseeing all national events.

Volunteer suggestion; get involved with one of the planning committees for a CPRS event such as the CEO Awards or the ACE Awards. The only credentials needed here are a positive attitude and the willingness to learn. James, this will give you the opportunity to brush up on your event management skills and leverage some of your past strategy work. You are going to be a superstar before you know it!

You can greatly benefit from volunteering with CPRS Toronto, no matter the stage of your career. By taking the time to give back you also have the opportunity to develop strong networks, work portfolios and discover new employment opportunities.

In closing may I suggest, the next time you are feeling a little restless in your job, or would like to learn a new skill, consider volunteering as a viable option. To find out how to get involved with CPRS Toronto e-mail Parm Chohan or read more online.

“Not everything that counts can be counted. And not everything that can be counted, counts.” Albert Einstein

Geoffrey MacNeil is a marketing and communications professional with a background in financial sales, currently studying public relations at Ryerson University.

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November 26, 2012
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Dumb ways to die viral video

Melbourne Metro Trains launched a video titled “Dumb ways to die” that is gaining a lot of attention for its PR approach in promoting safety.

What do you think? The video has almost 26 million views on YouTube.

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November 2, 2012
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2012 APEX Scholarship winner announced

The Communications + Public Relations Foundation and APEX jointly announced the recipient of the 2012 APEX scholarship. Below is the news release, also posted on CNW on October 31, 2012. Congrats Cole!

TORONTO, Oct. 31, 2012 /CNW/ – Toronto resident Cole Douglas is the 2012 winner of the APEX Scholarship, established by APEX Public Relations in 2010/11 for launch in 2012. The scholarship assists a student in need of financial aid who has demonstrated high academic achievement following completion of the first year of a four-year public relations degree program at the Toronto-based Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. The scholarship offers $3,000 per year over a three-year period to the same student contingent upon academic achievement. It is offered on a three year cycle.

In his first year at Humber, Cole was a lead ambassador in the Recruitment Office at the College and served on the Student Board of Directors for the Humber Students’ Federation.

He has consulted on social media work with Hearth Place, a support centre for cancer patients and their families to assist the organization to better understand how to use social media tools and the use of monitoring analytics, which resulted in a Canadian Public Relations Society 2012 Silver ACE Student Award for campaign of the year.

This past summer, Cole was a communications intern for Humber’s Student Recruitment and Advising Office where he researched and developed a plan to engage students to share their first year experience with their high school, revised the College recruitment brochure and tour scripts, among other activities.

“The jury felt that Cole’s early involvement and interest in the public relations industry was inspiring and his community involvement and grade point average demonstrated the qualities we look for in a young practitioner,” said jury Chair Scott Bonikowsky, Vice President, Corporate, Public and Government Affairs, Tim Hortons Inc. “Cole is an outstanding scholarship candidate who will make a difference in public relations in Canada.”

“There are a number of talented students who have the potential to be leaders in our industry”, emphasized Pat McNamara, CEO, APEX Public Relations, “but might not have the financial resources to obtain the education they need. We hope this scholarship will help Cole in his pursuit of a public relations career, and look forward to supporting his progress.”

The Communications + Public Relations Foundation, manager of the scholarship, promotes the advancement of communications and public relations as vital functions in society, is dedicated to the public interest, and is committed to increasing public knowledge and awareness of the role of public relations in daily life. The Foundation accepts individual and corporate contributions towards research and educational initiatives nationwide.

“We are delighted to be working with both APEX and Humber College in establishing and managing this Scholarship,” said Dr.Gordon McIvor, chair of the Foundation, especially, when we can support leadership development in our industry”

APEX Public Relations is a high-performance, high energy, public relations firm with an unmatched track record of award-wining campaigns. Its clients include consumer brands, and corporations with a focus on financial and technology communications.

For more information about the Foundation and its public relations educational initiatives, contact Barbara Sheffield, Executive Director, Communications + Public Relations Foundation, Suite 1515, 73 Widdicombe Hill Blvd., Toronto, Ontario, M9R 4B3, or phone 416 242-6146, or e-mail: foundation@prmediaconnection.com.

SOURCE: Communications + Public Relations Foundation

For further information:
Barbara Sheffield, APR, FCPRS
Executive Director
Communications + Public Relations Foundation
(416) 242-6146
foundation@prmediaconnection.com

Pat McNamara, APR, FCPRS
Chief Executive Officer
APEX
416 934-2120
pmcnamara@apexpr.com

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