2009 Vol. II

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What's in this issue?

1. April is Accreditation Month at PRSA
2. New Member Orientation Set
3. Dressing for Success - Volunteer Opportunity, April 15
4. Spring Social Hour set with Press Club, April 23
5. Say hello to our newest Chapter members
6. And welcome back these renewals and reinstatements
7. What others are doing:

• PRSA Health Academy, Washington, May 14-15
• Vote for St. Louis Media Halls of Fame Advertising/PR

Faces in the Crowd

Kim Brandt Stern Brothers & Co.	Tammy Donelson Medicine Shoppe Int.	Monica Green Independent	Toni Hatch Vatterot Educational Center, Inc.	Molly Hyland Commerce Bancshares, Inc.

1) April is Accreditation Month at PRSA

During the month of April, PRSA will host special opportunities for you to learn about the Accreditation in Public Relations program, including:

• Accelerate Your Career in Public Relations 

Steps You Can Take Now to Prepare for Your Future
Free Webinar, 3:00-4:00 p.m., (EDT), Thursday, April 9.

• Open House Webinars to familiarize yourself with the Accreditation in Public Relations Online Study Course

Open House for potential candidates - 3:00 p.m. (EDT), Tuesday, April 21.

• Accreditation Power Play 
  Get prepared for Accreditation
  1-Day Seminar
  Friday, April 24, New York City

For additional information about Accreditation, you may contact Kathy Mulvihill at our national office; or locally, our APR co-chairs, Pat Feeney or Tina Carroll.

2) Next New Member Orientation Set

If you have joined PRSA recently or are thinking of joining, join PRSA-St. Louis' Jeff Waldman and other officers for an introduction to PRSA, the St. Louis Chapter and how to get the most out of your dues and participation. Our next orientation will be at 11 a.m., just prior to the April 15 monthly luncheon at Ces & Judy's. Please e-mail Jeff at if you plan to attend or have questions.

3) Dressing for Success - Volunteer Outreach Project - April 15

Our first service project of the year is April 15 with a professional clothing drive to benefit Dress for Success and The Salvation Army. Dress for Success is a national non-profit that provides work-related clothing to low-income women seeking employment. The agency collects clothes for clients for interviews and new jobs. Not to leave the men out, we will collect professional clothes for men and donate them to the Salvation Army. William Becker, communications director for the Midland Division in St. Louis, and a PRSA member, said that the men's clothes should be worthy of being '"saleable." For more information on the needs of the women check out the Dressed for Success Drive (pdf) flyer. Envelopes for financial donations to each group will also be available at the April luncheon. As a courtesy for the agencies, please consider bringing your donated clothing on hangers or folded neatly in shopping bags or boxes. Bring clothing for either group and one lucky donor will have their name drawn for a gift card.

4) Spring Social Hour Set with the Press Club, April 22

The St. Louis chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and the Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis invite you to PRSA's first collaborative social happy hour of 2009. Come celebrate the start of warm weather with fellow communicators across the St. Louis area, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at CJ Muggs, 200 S. Central, in Clayton, MO 63105. Please RSVP Corrie Hendrix by April 16. Light appetizers provided. Cash bar available. (NOTE: Originally annouced as April 23.)

More Faces in the Crowd

Mike Knopfel Ameristar	Cathy Orta Rockwood School District	Paul Peterson Independent	Lisa Sesti Medicine Shoppe Int.	Marie Yancy Lambert International Airport

5) Meet our Newest Chapter Members

• Cathy Levendoski, President, Constant Communications
• Jessica Simmons, Executive Communications Mgr, Monsanto Company
• Diane Williams, Director of Communications, Metro
• Joseph Paul Zydio, Jr., Independent

6) And Welcome Back These Renewals & Reinstatements

(02/01/09-02/28/09) Denise Bentele, APR, Common Ground Public Relations Pam Bolden, YWCA Metro St. Louis Rich Buckley, Missouri Chapter, March of Dimes Katie Burckhalter, APR, St. John's Mercy Medical Sonia Coleman, Coleman Unlimited Corrie Hendrix, St. Louis County Economic Council Jim Hubbard, The Hubbard Company Molly Hyland, Commerce Bancshares, Inc. Kimberly Kendle Marcia Evers Levy, St. Louis Jewish Book Festival Michelle Mason, APR, Hughes Group Sandy McBride, Centene Corporation Ted Siegel, Ascension Health Maryann Taylor-Crate, Added Dimension Mica Veihman, Monsanto Jeff Waldman, Bethesda Health Group Kristy White, Carpenters' District Council

(01/01/09-01/31/09) Vicki Biggs, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod John Boul, Edward Jones Pam Childress, Laclede Gas Co. Allison Hawk Collinger, AHC Consulting LLC Heather DeHart, De Smet Jesuit High School Mike Drohlich, Drohlich Associates, Inc. Linda Gladden, American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Trudy Hamilton, Ascension Health James Heine, Editorial Solutions Art Hoffman, Hoffman Creative, Inc. Gayla Hoffman, APR, Gayla Hoffman Associates Heather Kemper, Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition Jackie Knolhoff, Edward Jones Karen Marshall, APR, Retired Brenda Murphy-Niederkorn, Murphy Communications Jim O’Donnell, O’Donnell Communications Maria Palumbo, Express Scripts, Inc. Jennifer Petroff, Hardee’s Food Systems, Inc. Barbara Pierce, Hughes Group STL Rebecca Ray, Allsup, Inc. Chuck Reitter, UCG Associates, Inc. Iris Salsman, I. Salsman PR, LLC Greg Scott, SIU-Carbondale Erica Stelling, Susan G. Komen for the Cure St. Louis Melanie Winograd, IMPACT Group

7) What others are doing

PRSA Health Academy Conference, May 13-15, 2009. Washington, D.C.

Rethinking your communications strategies is becoming more critical by the day, and getting critical tools for this will not only help your health care organization and clients save time and money, but also succeed in this challenging economy. Leveraging Social Media in Health Care Public Relations with innovations and stategies for enhanced consumer engagement in the theme of the PRSA Health Academy Conference set this May in Washington, D.C. For details and speakers, go here. Register online by April 21 and save $100.

The St. Louis Media Halls of Fame - Advertising/Public Relations
Current PRSA-St. Louis members Jerry Byran, Karen Marshall (retired) and Glynn Young are among 24 public relations and advertising nominees for recognition in the next "class" of the St. Louis Ad/PR Hall of Fame. The names, submitted by the Hall of Fame Board will be voted upon by PRSA and Ad Club members online before April 18, 2009. There will be no write-in candidates and each voter can choose no more than seven. Other names familiar to many PRSA-St. Louis members include active and former PR names: Marc Abel, Gary Ferguson, Dan Forrestal, Susan Gallagher, Ruth Jacobson, Glen Jamboretz, Sid Savan, Harry Wilson and Arthur Wright. Current and recent PRSA-St. Louis members were to receive their ballot April 1. If you are not a current member but would like to vote, e-mail info@prsastlouis.org, subject: Halls of Fame, and we'll e-mail you a ballot.