Blue Ridge Chapter Meetings
The upcoming 2010 meeting schedule is as follows:
August 12 -- noon, Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
October 14 -- noon, Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
December 9 -- noon, Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
Guests and non-members are welcome! Students and Interns: $17.00,
Members: $22.00,
Non-Members: $30.00. Reservations are due to the Hospitality Chair by 11 a.m.
on the Monday prior to the luncheon. Additions can
be made; however, cancellations cannot be made after noon Monday
once the guarantee has been given. To make a reservation
go to
Click & Pledge.
Please make plans to join us. You may
RSVP by e-mailing Thomas Becher at
tbecher@tbtheagency.com.
PRSA August 12, 2010
-- Luncheon Brand Marketing and Its Importance
with VT Brand Marketing Manager Cecelia Crow
Virginia Tech’s brand
marketing manager, Cecelia Crow, addresses brand marketing and the
importance of distinguishable identification and trade marking at the
BRC-PRSA luncheon at Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center.
Crow’s day-to-day
responsibilities include overseeing the university’s brand image and
identity, conducting strategic marketing planning and execution for
student recruitment and opinion leader campaigns, and assisting campus
communications with brand compliance and marketing tactics.
She has more than 20
years of experience in brand marketing and senior executive consulting
for global and regional organizations, including higher education,
economic development, health care, international manufacturing and
professional services. Her experience includes launching and building
brands, directing the strategic planning process, implementing
integrated marketing initiatives, public relations management,
supervising agency account management and creative terms, advertising
media planning and award-winning creative development.
She received a
bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University and an MBA
from Averett University.
To reserve a seat at
the event, please contact Thomas Becher at
tbecher@tbtheagency.com. You
may also reserve seats online at
www.prsa-blueridge.org.The
cost for BRC-PRSA members is $22; non-members may attend the luncheon
for $30. The cost for students and interns is $17.
Reservations are due by 11 a.m. on August 9. A $5 fee will be
added after that for late registrations.
We look forward to seeing you on August 12.
PRSA June 10, 2010
-- Luncheon Ethics in Public Relations
with JMU Communications Studies Professor
Dr. John Stone
Dr. John Stone, communication
studies professor at James Madison University, will speak about
ethics in public relations and the development of an international
code of ethics for the profession. He’s been at JMU for nine years
and has taught at universities around the world. He will share his
unique perspective on international PR while imparting the
importance of ethics in our profession.
Dr. Stone has taught public
relations classes at Penn State, Auburn, Maryland, North Carolina
and JMU. In addition to his teaching career, he has worked in
corporate public relations and ran his own PR firm, HCA Enterprises,
in Raleigh, N.C. This well-loved educator is the author of dozens of
journal articles and four textbooks in various areas of speech
communication and public relations. He is a member of the
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and
serves as the adviser to JMU’s IABC chapter.
Stone received a bachelor’s degree from
Northern State University, a master’s degree from the University of
Nebraska and a Ph.D. from Penn State.
Please make plans to join us!
RSVP by e-mailing Melinda Mayo at
Melinda.mayo@roanokeva.gov.
There are two ways to pay for this luncheon:
·
Online at
https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d2/default.aspx?wid=30613. We
have now added the ability for non-members and students to pay
online.
·
Send a check for $22 payable to
PRSA Blue Ridge Chapter to me at the address at the bottom of this
message.
Please reply with your reservation no later than
noon on Monday, June 7. A $5 fee will be added after that
date if you decide to attend.
Thank you, and we look forward to
seeing you on June 10.
PRSA
April 15, 2010 Luncheon with
VT KnowledgeWorks
Director Jim
Flowers

Topic: Entrepreneurship in the Blue Ridge
VT KnowledgeWorks
Director Jim
Flowers will give
local public relations professionals a unique view about what
it's like to work with start-ups and entrepreneurs, how PR is
used to build companies - and how you can apply entrepreneurial
thinking to your job. He'll also provide an overview of his
organization.
VT KnowledgeWorks
(www.vtknowledgeworks.com)
is a business acceleration program, located at the Virginia Tech
Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Va.
The luncheon will
be held at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference
Center, in Blacksburg, VA.
Flowers, is now
proudly approaching four decades as a senior executive and
consultant to technology based companies. Under his leadership,
small businesses have cultivated and consummated significant
relationships with companies like Ford, Alcoa, Texaco, General
Dynamics, McDonnell (now Boeing) Aircraft, and Goodyear. He was
part of the top management teams of companies that have been
grown and sold to Citicorp, Orbital Sciences, Altair
Engineering, and MSC Software. And, he has been involved with
technologies as diverse as back-office processing for financial
institutions, finite element analysis, and satellite imagery.
Flowers currently
serves regionally as a Board Member of the NewVA Corridor
Technology
Council, and
state-wide as president of the Board of the Virginia Business
Incubation Association.
He received his
BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT and his MBA from
the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration
at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
Jim blogs at
www.startwithmoxie.com,
and published his first book,
Moxie and other fundamental entrepreneurial concepts,
early in 2009.
Please join us and reply with your reservation not later than
11 a.m. on Monday, April 12th. A $5 fee will be added
after that date if you decide to attend.
Thank you, and we look forward to
seeing you.
The April Luncheon
is presented by
Handshake 2.0 and
Coldwell Banker Townside, REALTORS (R).
PRSA February 11, 2010 Luncheon with
Robert Parker of VDH
Discussing Public Relations and Public Health Issues
The first luncheon of 2010 for the
Blue Ridge chapter of PRSA will be
Thursday, February 11th.
Lunch will begin at noon
at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center.
Robert Parker, public information
officer for the Virginia Department of Health, will discuss the PR
implications of the H1N1 flu virus and other public-health issues.
Please reply with your reservation no later than
11 a.m. on Monday, February 7th. A $5 fee will be added
after that date if you decide to attend.
Thank you, and we look forward to
seeing you on the 11th.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
PRSA December 2009 Luncheon with Eric Earnhart
"The Public Relations Challenges of Carilion Clinic’s Transformation"
Carilion Clinic is in the midst of a
10-year transformation from hospital
system to patient-centered
clinic. This ambitious plan, though
beneficial to patients and the community,
has been a public relations
challenge for Carilion. Add to that
a new clinic building and medical
school and there’s a lot to talk
about.
Join us on Thursday, Dec. 10, at
noon at the Hotel Roanoke for the
Blue Ridge chapter’s December
luncheon as Carilion spokesman
Eric Earnhart describes the challenges
and pitfalls of communicating
change.
The luncheon is sponsored by
National College.
Eric began his career in broadcast
news as a producer, reporter, bureau
chief and ultimately weekend
anchor at WDBJ-Channel 7.
He spent one year as an account
executive for a public relations
firm before joining Carilion, where
he is now Director of Media and
Community Relations, and serves
as the company spokesperson.
His memorable career moments
include: Having to be decontaminated
after getting too close to a
chemical spill while trying to get
video; the Pittston coal strike of
1989; covering his own apartment
fire; spending a day outside the
OJ Simpson trial; reporting live
from top of Bent Mountain during
a 5 a.m. ice storm; writing his
first news release after leaving the
media; the Virginia Tech shooting;
launching the Carilion Clinic reorganization;
and watching the Roanoke
City Mill silos come down.
.