SAN DIEGO, CA – The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) honored its Dallas, Orange County and Miami Chapters with the PRSA 2009 Chapter Diversity Award at the PRSA 2009 International Conference.
“We are thrilled to recognize the Dallas, Miami and Orange County Chapters for their ongoing and outstanding commitment to advancing diversity in the profession and in their communities,” said Sonia Sroka, chair of the PRSA Diversity Committee. “These Chapters add value to the Society and raise the bar of excellence for other PRSA Chapters.”
PRSA promotes educational outreach programs for its members and the public relations industry by using diversity as a smart business strategy to achieve and maintain a competitive edge in today’s diverse marketplace. The Chapter Diversity Award, sponsored by the PRSA Diversity Committee, is given to PRSA Chapters that embody and demonstrate key values in diversity, and have:
* Initiated and maintained a successful diversity program in 2008.
* Recruited or mentored members with interests and expertise in diversity.
* Demonstrated a significant contribution toward diversity.
* Showcased diversity as one of the top three strategic goals for the Chapter.
“Our commitment to diversity, in all forms, helps make PRSA stronger, and it serves to advance the profession overall,” said PRSA Chair & CEO Michael Cherenson, APR. “While we proudly recognize individual Chapters for their success in driving local diversity initiatives, we honor all of our volunteer leaders who continue to make a difference each day.”
Each winning Chapter received a certificate of achievement, as well as a $250 award to be put toward the Chapters’ diversity efforts.
Miami Chapter
The Miami Chapter is honored as an Award of Achievement recipient for its initiative “Hispanic Media 3.0: Social, Bilingual and Ready to Mingle, a Professional Development Workshop.”
The Hispanic Market Section committee of PRSA Miami saw the need and an opportunity to address the ever-changing role of public relations professionals, and how the Internet and social media are playing a major role in communications strategies. The group created two initiatives designed to provide Hispanic marketers and communicators with an opportunity to advance their careers and profession — a networking wine tasting event and a professional development workshop. More than 80 attendees from various professions attended the workshop, establishing a link and relationships with various organizations supporting the advancement of diversity in both the profession and the Miami Chapter. The event raised more than $4,000 — the most money ever raised for the Chapter — through sponsorships and workshop fees, and was one of the best attended PRSA Miami events of the year, for the cost of just $80 in expenses.
Orange County Chapter
The Orange County Chapter is honored with an Award of Achievement for its campaign, “Sustaining an Open Dialogue for a More Inclusive Culture.”
The Orange County Chapter has served as a resource for increasingly diverse Southern California businesses since 2004, raising awareness of diversity and inclusion within the public relations profession and the Southern California community. The group has successfully held annual diversity leadership conferences, established and developed partnerships with local Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapters and opened a dialog with the business, academic and media communities in Orange County, emphasizing the impact of diversity on the bottom line.
Dallas Chapter
The Dallas Chapter is recognized with the Award of Honor certificate for its outstanding efforts in advancing diversity through the launch of its signature networking event “Drinks + Diversity.”
The Dallas Chapter set out to create a strategic diversity program that addressed the changing needs of an increasingly diverse business community, and raised awareness that diversity extends beyond race. The casual, yet informational, “Drinks + Diversity” networking event offers the Chapter the opportunity to learn about the newest in diversity from leading experts with firsthand experience in the diversity realm, while also giving attendees the opportunity to meet industry peers and learn about all the different fields in the public relations industry. The kickoff event focused on “Connecting with the Latino Consumer,” and the second program informed attendees of the trends and tactics of diversity in communications as they pertain to the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) community.