2007 eNews Vol. IX

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What's in this issue?

1) A look at 2007 in Review; Highlights; 2008 Leadership
2) PRSA Location Survey Results - Anticipating Hwy 40 Changes
3) Post-Dispatch Invites You to Submit Stories - Online
4) Welcome New Members & Renewals
5) Job Bank Changes coming in 2008

1) 2007 Chapter in Review; Highlights; 2008 Leadership

"The 2007 Show is Ending with Strong Ratings, Returning in 2008 with a Great Cast."- Rita Holmes-Bobo
As I near the end of my tenure as chapter president, I share the sentiment that Carol Burnett would offer through song at the end of her variety shows: "I'm so glad we had this time together . . . . Seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say so long." (Sorry, if you missed out on those hilarious shows.)
I am glad I had the opportunity to serve as the 2007 PRSA St. Louis President. And when I prepared for my presidency back in December 2006, I had no idea that the next 12 months would seemingly pass at warp speed. I am sure there are several Board members now saying we were so busy that before we knew it, we had arrived at the end of the year. I must thank the 2007 Chapter Board for their phenomenal work this year. Together, we have accomplished the programming, service and operational goals outlined in our annual plan.

Rita Holmes-Bobo
2007 PRSA-St.Louis
Chapter President
Highlights of the Chapter's accomplishments include:
Revamped how we manage our finances to strengthen accountability and improve reporting to members.
Launched a Young Professional's committee MySpace page. The Young Professionals also implemented two community service projects.
Expanded our collaborative efforts by joining with the St. Louis Ambassadors Club and five other professional organizations to produce two mega evening networking events with 300+ in attendance.
Restructured our organization to increase the role of at-large directors while providing better support to committee chairs.
Expanded the role of our Publicity Committee to include advocacy and proactively reaching out to the media with our stance on local issues.
Implemented a digital back-up procedure for chapter records to ensure business continuity in the event of a chapter crisis.
Formalized Job Bank procedures and increased revenue from this service.
Approved allocation of funds for a redesign of the chapter web site and e-newsletter (watch for the unveiling of both in 2008.)
Updated bylaws to align with national goals and to meet requirements for local chapters. (Revised by-laws to be presented for approval at the Dec. meeting of the chapter.)
Intensified efforts to become a "user-friendly" organization with defined value for members.

We can all look forward to even more chapter enhancements in 2008 as members have elected a fantastic 2008 board. The cast of characters is listed below. If you have any suggestions for those of us serving in chapter leadership roles, I encourage you to send an e-mail to prsa@prsastlouis.org. I have enjoyed my year of serving as president and, of course, will continue to serve as a volunteer on the board. I encourage each of you to support the chapter by searching for a way to volunteer and contribute to the success of this great professional organization. You'll be glad you did. "...So Long."

Rita Holmes-Bobo
Sr. Mgr., Public Affairs
Express-Scripts

2008 PRSA St. Louis Board

President - Jim Braibish, Braibish Communications
President-Elect - Carolyn Green, C. Green & Associates
Secretary - Billy Brennan, Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Treasurer - Chuck Reitter, UGG Associates
Immediate Past President - Rita Holmes-Bobo, Express Scripts
Director - Regina DeLuca-Imral, Edward Jones
Director - Jeanne Howard, Commerce Back
Director - Melissa Barreca, Ameristar Casinos, Inc.
Director - Ron O'Connor, O'Connor & Partners
Delegate - Rob Staggenborg, Christian Brothers College High School
Delegate - Dawn DeBlaze, DeBlaze & Associates
Delegate - Jeff Waldman, Bethesda Health Group
Accreditation Committee Chair - Michelle Yates, The Lawrence Group
Community Outreach Committee Chair - Nez Savala, Hazelwood School District
Diversity Committee Chairs - Val Joyner, Planned Parenthood; Cameron Satterfield, St. Charles County Health Department
Ethics Committee Chair - Gary Ford, Webster University
Job Bank Committee Chairs - Stephanie Huff, Huff Communications; Heather McClurg, Monsanto
Meetings & Arrangements Committee Chairs - Maria Bingaman, The Lawrence Group; Christine Winter, American Cancer Society
Membership Committee Chair - Joan Hicks, Independent Consultant
Pro-Am Committee Chair - Liese Hutchison, Saint Louis University
Programming Committee Chair - Carolyn Green, C. Green & Associates
Publicity Committee Chairs - Carrie Trammell, Weber Shandwick Worldwide; Mark Weinstein, Maryville University
Seasoned Professionals Committee Chair - Vicki Biggs, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Social Committee Chairs - Brian Swift, Swift Incentives; Nancy Schnoebelen, St. Louis County Economic Council
Strategic Planning Chairs - Holmes-Bobo; Kelly Doria, Scottrade
Student Activities Committee Chairs - Michelle Mason, Hughes; Ashley Gammon, Hughes
Young Professionals Committee Chair - Stephanie Flynn, Cushman/Amberg Communications

2) PRSA Location Survey Results - Looking Ahead to 2008 & Hwy 40 Challenge

Thanks to the 89 PRSA St. Louis members who completed the survey on chapter meeting locations. Your chapter board will utilize this input as we select our meeting location for 2008.

Where you travel from?: It's about equally divided among four areas - Clayton/central (23%), downtown/city (22%), West County north of Hwy. 40 (21%), and West County south of Hwy. 40 (19%).
What's important in a meeting location?: Accessibility is rated excellent or good by 100%, followed by ease/cost of parking (88%).
Best location?: The Hwy. 40/Lindbergh area and Clayton/Galleria tied for first at 61% rating them excellent or good as favorable locations for 2008.
Will the closing of Hwy. 40 impact your attendance?: Almost half of you say no (49%); another 39% say it will impact you somewhat.
Rating of current location: You say the current location is excellent or good on ease/cost of parking (84%), quality of facility (79%) and accessibility (72%).
Meeting cost: Over three-fourths of you (77%) would not reduce your meeting attendance if the luncheon price was increased.

It remains uncertain as to how the pending highway closure will impact traffic patterns and accessibility. However, we will consider your input from the survey as well as our own best forecast to determine the optimum course for the chapter.

Editor's Note: Our January and February luncheons will be away from our normal Ces & Judy's location - in Clayton (Jan.) and on the Saint Louis University campus (Feb.). We will alert you of future luncheon dates and locations as they develop.

3) Post-Dispatch Wants Your News Releases! Submit Them Online

I'm writing to solicit your help on a new service we're launching at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch -- one I hope you'll find useful. We at STLtoday.com, the P-D's Web site, are inviting readers to post their news releases online and make them available to other readers. It's sort of like a local version of BusinessWire or PR NewsWire -- but it's free.
I'm writing to ask that you visit our new section, PR Zone, and submit a news release, as many as you like, as often as you'd like. I'd also invite you to send me feedback on how it works. And I would invite you to forward this to your colleagues. I'm eager to get news releases posted in PR Zone and happy to hear your feedback on how it works.

Right now, we're in a soft-launch period as we invite people to start submitting releases. Soon, as we get content into the system, we'll start promoting the service more aggressively on STLtoday.com. Please visit our site here and see how it works. You'll have to be a registered user to post news releases...but did I mention that it's free? Thank you for your participation and, in advance, for your comments and feedback.

Kurt Greenbaum
Director of Social Media
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(314) 340-8123 (o)
kgreenbaum@post-dispatch.com

4) Say Hello to These New Chapter Members

Madelyn Carolyn Alexander, Communications Director, American Heart Association
Sabrina Prudhomme, Special Products Asst Director

And Welcome Back These Renewals & Reinstatements

Jennifer Bonham, UniGroup, Inc.
Laura Theresa Bryant, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co.
Kathleen M. Cook, The Boeing Company
Timothy J. Fox, Ameren Corporation
Julie Hauser, The Houser Group
Lorraine Kee, SSM Health Care
Mike Knopfel, Ameristar Casino St. Charles
Judy Jasper Leicht, Washington University
Heather A. McClurg, Monsanto Company
Daniel J. McGrath, Adamson Advertising
Holly O'Brien, Harrah's St. Louis
Christy Oldani, RSM McGladrey, Inc.
Michele Lee Parrish, Patrick Davis Partners
Janet J. Protzel, International Order of the Golden Rule
Rebecca Lynn Rodgers, St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission
Michael C. Ruggeri, Westar Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc.
Rhonda Lea Sciarra, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co.
Tammy Stankey, The Standing Partnership, Inc.
Amy L. Wheelehan, Blackwell Sanders LLP
Cheri Elizabeth Winchester, Common Ground Public Relations, Inc.

5) New Pricing for Job Bank Adds Beginning Jan 1. 2008

Employers looking for a targeted audience of local PR and communications professionals can list their job openings at PRSA St. Louis' Web site. The 2008 rate for a 30-day listing will be $75.

TV's Job Doctor Rose Jonas (right) listens to a question from a guest following her Nov. 16 Chapter luncheon presentation.