Little, who is president of a public relations firm in Jacksonville, Fla., was in town to promote the kickoff of the PRSA national diversity committee’s nationwide initiative and to offer ways to make diversity work for the St. Louis Chapter provide information to attendees regarding ensuring diversity has a proper place of importance in our work environments. His presentation to the St. Louis chapter was the 10th he has made as vice chair of the national diversity committee.

“Diversity is an attitude,” said Little. “To celebrate diversity is to appreciate and value individual differences. Diversity encompasses an infinite range of individuals’ unique characteristics and experiences, including communication styles, physical characteristics, and speed of learning and comprehension.”

During his presentation, he explained the importance of defining diversity and recognizing that it is more prevalent than many people think. He mentioned that though many people think of the Chinese and Japanese cultures when they hear the term “Asian-American,” there are in fact more than 40 cultures evident that would fit that description.

Little also emphasized, that because of our jobs as communicators it makes sense for PR practitioners to lead the way in implementing diversity initiatives. Little noted, “We understand the importance of effectively reaching our target audiences and the economic impact to our companies and organizations of falling short in our diversity efforts.”

Among the helpful hints that Little suggested to those interested in implementing some of the diversity initiative’s tactics were to access the National Diversity Committee’s 2004 Diversity Plan, which includes the PRSA Diversity Tool Kit. Information on the plan and the tool kit can be found on the organization’s website (*). He also suggested accessing for additional ideas as an additional diversity resource.The program was brought forward as a joint effort between the Programming Committee and the Diversity Committee of PRSA. Rita Holmes-Bobo, the chair of the Diversity Committee, introduced Little prior to his presentation.

For more information on the activities of the chapter’s Diversity Committee or to join the committee, please contact Rita at Rita.Holmes-Bobo@osioutsourcing.com.

* The easiest way to get to the PRSA Diversity Tool Kit:
1) Go to www.prsa.org
2) On the home page, access the area that says "PRSA Launches National Diversity Initiative"
3) Here, you can access a number of diversity activities, but you need to be a member to do so.
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Marc Little