{"id":7515,"date":"2016-10-28T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2016-10-28T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=7515"},"modified":"2018-08-16T13:32:44","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T17:32:44","slug":"start-relationship-with-prsa-sponsor-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2016\/10\/28\/start-relationship-with-prsa-sponsor-chapter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Kick-Start a Relationship with Your PRSA Sponsor Chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_7516\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7516\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/people-apple-iphone-writing.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7516\" src=\"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/people-apple-iphone-writing-300x201.jpg\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of pexels.com.\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/people-apple-iphone-writing-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/people-apple-iphone-writing-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/people-apple-iphone-writing-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/people-apple-iphone-writing-200x134.jpg 200w, https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/people-apple-iphone-writing.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7516\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of pexels.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The dynamic nature of the public relations profession, coupled with the current market saturation of recent and soon-to-be graduates, requires that students go above and beyond to create meaningful connections and make themselves stand out. One of the most valuable benefits of PRSSA membership is the opportunity to befriend and learn from local PRSA professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The relationship between PRSSA and PRSA Chapters is an important one. PRSA sponsor Chapters provide mentorship, programming and fundraising assistance, training and industry insights, and students preparing for their careers need talented and engaged professionals to emulate. However, the day-to-day rigors of life, school and work can make managing these relationships especially challenging. As a PRSSA Chapter member or leader, here are some things you can do to kick-start your Chapter\u2019s relationship with PRSA:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Help them help you. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PRSA members are working professionals and contribute to PRSSA during their limited free time. They\u2019re happy and eager to help, but it\u2019s up to you to reach out and establish the foundation of a relationship. Don\u2019t be afraid of the follow-up and always come prepared to talk about what help your Chapter could benefit from. Many times, PRSA professionals won\u2019t know how to help you create a better member experience until you tell them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Establish a constant.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Because of the high turnover rate in PRSSA leadership, it\u2019s difficult for Chapters to maintain meaningful relationships with PRSA annually. If you really want to leave a mark on your Chapter, create or utilize assets that can stand the test of time. Here are a few examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a tradition that requires your PRSSA Chapter and PRSA sponsor Chapter to interact at least once each year. You can create an event that brings professionals and students together, and allows the professionals to share and mentor. You can draw attention to your Chapter and create networking opportunities by inviting professionals to an entertaining event on-campus: Think (fun)draising, food and professional development.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Build a constant into your bylaws. If you take your Chapter\u2019s relationship with its PRSA sponsor Chapter seriously, you will make it part of one of your officers\u2019 duties or create a committee. Someone who is not the Chapter president needs to be responsible for making sure members have access to PRSA members \u2014 it\u2019s that essential. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use your Faculty or Professional Adviser to facilitate introductions. These people are tasked with counseling Chapter leadership and guiding members. Your Faculty and Professional Advisers are required to be PRSA members, so they should have ready access to your sponsor Chapter. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Be resourceful. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PRSSA National has a wealth of resources available to you, as both a member and a leader. If you\u2019re a Chapter leader and struggling to contact PRSA, you can reach out to: the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/prssa.prsa.org\/about\/Leadership\/National_Committee\/ProfessionalDevelopment\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vice president of professional development<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/prssa.prsa.org\/about\/Leadership\/National_Committee\/FA\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Faculty Adviser<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or any other person on the<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/prssa.prsa.org\/about\/leadership\/national_committee\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> PRSSA National Committee<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Furthermore, consider reading the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/prssa.prsa.org\/chapters\/leaders\/handbooks\/16_RelationshipManual.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PRSSA\/PRSA Relationship Manual<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or contacting someone in your area through the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/prssa.prsa.org\/about\/champions\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Champions for PRSSA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> directory \u2014 an exclusive PRSSA member benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PRSSA members are the future leaders of the communications industry, and will one day be the CCOs and CMOs of the world\u2019s most influential companies. It\u2019s imperative professionals do a better job engaging, and students do a better job asking for that engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gary Bridgens is a project assistant in APCO Worldwide\u2019s New York office and the former PRSSA National vice president of Chapter development. You can contact him via email at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"mailto:garybridgens@gmail.com\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">garybridgens@gmail.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and add him on <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/garybr\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LinkedIn<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The dynamic nature of the public relations profession, coupled with the current market saturation of recent and soon-to-be graduates, requires that students go above and beyond to create meaningful connections and make themselves stand out. One of the most valuable benefits of PRSSA membership is the opportunity to befriend and learn from local PRSA professionals. The relationship between PRSSA and [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[138,679,1649,2225,15,110],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7515"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7517,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7515\/revisions\/7517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}