On Wednesday, September 17th, Utah Valley PRSA members will have the opportunity to hear John Taylor, Director, Public Affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speak to our chapter on “The Romney Campaign and its Affect on the LDS Church.”

Mr. Taylor has over 25 years of public relations and marketing experience, and as a Director in the office of Public Affairs, he oversees national and local community outreach, government relations, and oversight for the Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, California Public Affairs offices.

The September meeting is open only to members of PRSA.  The luncheon will be held on Wednesday, September 17th at noon at the Riverside Country Club in Provo.  The cost is $15.  To RSVP for this event, please send an email to uvprsa@gmail.com.

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Final Week to Redeem Discount for Utah Valley PRSA Members on Upcoming Online Communications Conference!!!

Blogs and social media are cost effective ways of communicating with increasingly fragmented audiences. Perhaps you read blogs. Perhaps you’ve even started one of your own. But have you begun turning audiences in passionate evangelists? Are existing bloggers engaged and excited about your offerings? The Blogging for Business (B4B) 2008 Conference, Friday, June 6^th, is a powerful day of helping professional communicators discover what works, what doesn’t, and how best powerfully and inexpensively communicate their message.

Admission to the day long, multi-track event ($240 for Utah Valley PRSA) includes continental breakfast and lunch. It will be held at the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. More information can be found at http://b4bconference.com . To register and redeem the 20% discount  use the code ‘UTPRSA’ at http://regonline.com/b4b2008 .

We will be hearing from Dr. Laurie Wilson on her recently conducted salary survey on Thursday, June 5th and you won’t want to miss it! This brown bag lunch is free for members of PRSA. Click on the events tab for more information!

The Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum (UVEF) announces that nominations are now being accepted through June 20th for the 2008 “Top 25 Under Five” Awards. Top 25 Under 5 spotlights outstanding Utah entrepreneurs and emerging companies from across the state.  If you or a client qualifies for this award we strongly encourage you to apply!

Who can apply:  All Utah companies less than five years old 

Where it’s held:  Novell Campus Building B

When:  Thursday July 10, 2008

Applications are due by Friday June 20.  Please click here for more information about how to apply and to download an application form.  A member of your organization must be present at the event to win.  Be recognized by one of the premier entrepreneurial organizations in the state of Utah.

Jess Gomez is our workshop trainer this Friday.  He’s an award-winning healthcare communications professional who is director of media relations and chief spokesman for Intermountain Healthcare’s Urban Central Region Hospitals and Clinics. Jess has nearly 30 years experience in healthcare communications, including 10 years as medical editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, the state’s largest newspaper.
 
Jess oversees media relations and strategic external communications for Intermountain Healthcare’s hospitals in the Salt Lake Valley, which includes the new Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Alta View Hospital in Sandy, TOSH–The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray and the new Riverton Hospital in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley. Intermountain’s Urban Central Region employs over 8,500 people, has a medical staff of 1,500 physicians, and treats nearly a million patients a year.
 
In his capacity as director of medla relations, Jess works with national, local and community news agencies on a regular basis. Jess is responsible for crisis communications, and has overseen several high-profile crisis situations that garned national attention, including the siege at Alta View Hospital and the tragic crash of a Life Flight helicopter while on a medical mission. He has prepared numerous clinicians, hospital executives and others for interviews that with journalists from the  Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, NBC Today, and Good Morning America.

Send an email to uvprsa@gmail.com if you would like to register for Friday’s Workshop on “Media Training for Trainers”! 

On Thursday, June 5th, Dr. Laurie Wilson will be presenting her recently conducted salary survey to the Chapter.  The presentation will start at noon and will last about an hour, including Q&A.  It will take place in the Women’s and Children’s Classroom #2 at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. That room is just off the Main Lobby at the hospital. You are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch and drinks will be provided.  This event is free for PRSA members and $10 for non-members.  We will send out an email closer to the event to take RSVPs but wanted to ensure you had plenty of time to get it on your calendar!

Our first workshop in 2008 will be held on Friday, May 16th from 10am-noon with lunch from noon until 1 pm.  The subject of the workshop will be “Media Training for Trainers” and it will be a great opportunity to learn best practices for training your spokespeole (as well as a refresher course in case you are a spokesperson as well)!  The cost of the workshop will be $20 for members and $30 for non-members.  We will post more details, including the presenters and location, very soon.

By joining PRSA in May or June you’ll get your Utah Valley PRSA Chapter membership free

 Utah Valley Chapter members enjoy:

·          Networking with experienced professionals that know the Utah Valley community, the Utah market, and national and international markets.

·          Discounts on chapter luncheons and workshops

·          Exclusive members-only programs. This year’s offerings are:

o         July 23 — Mike Hyatt, Director of Internal Media Networks at Wal-Mart: “Reaching Customers in a Digital Age”

o         Sept. 27 — Bruce Olsen, APR, PRSA Fellow, Managing Director of LDS Church Public Affairs: “The Romney Campaign and its Effect on the LDS Church”

·          Access to free PRSA teleseminars several times a year 

PRSA helps you to:

·          Enhance your skills with targeted professional development including seminars, teleseminars, the International Conference (October 25-28, 2008) and programs offered by Utah Valley PRSA.

·          Stay on top of the latest industry news with the daily online news monitoring report PR Issues and Trends.

·          Expand your professional network through participation in the Utah Valley Chapter and Professional Interest Sections, e-Groups and the online membership directory.

·          Read about the latest PR strategies, technologies and trends in our award-winning publications Public Relations Tactics, The Strategist and the new Public Relations Journal online.

·          Launch effective campaigns and projects with research from the Professional Resource Center and the PRC Search database, both accessible from your computer.

·          Accelerate your career with the relaunched JobCenter, mentoring, RFP Exchange and the Blue Chip Expert service.

Join now, or for questions, contact Julie Howard, Utah Valley PRSA membership chair, at julie.howard1@imail.org or 801.357.7613.