PRSA recently became aware that six of its members have formed an ad hoc committee and are circulating a petition in support of an amendment to PRSA’s Bylaws. The amendment would remove the requirement that PRSA’s national officers and Board members be Accredited in Public Relations (APR).

The committee is following a time-honored, democratic tradition of bringing forward important issues for the PRSA Assembly to debate and decide — on behalf of all Society members. Like it or not, this is the way that the egalitarian governance process functions at PRSA. It’s possible that still other proposed amendments will be brought before this year’s Assembly.

Continue reading " To Remove — or Not To Remove — the APR Requirement for Board Service "

The PRSA Board of Directors met in New York on July 24 and 25 to launch a third quarter buoyed by significant progress on major initiatives in governance and member service.

The board heard about significant strides to enhance professional value through organizational and member initiatives, along with careful stewardship of the Society’s long-term stability. Focused on governance and infrastructure, second quarter activities aimed at boosting PRSA’s capabilities to exceed member expectations through targeted research and nimble decision-making and delivery.

Continue reading " PRSA Board Eyes Third Quarter Driving Governance and Member Initiatives "

As professional communicators, we’re keenly aware of the importance of keeping key constituencies thoroughly informed. It’s what we do. In serving our organizations and clients, we all convey messages that at times are complex and challenging to explain. But, of course, best practices call for the professional diligence and creativity to get those messages to audiences. And, it’s no different when those constituents are PRSA members.

That’s why PRSA has employed a variety of communications strategies to engage its members in the process of rewriting the organization’s Bylaws. While the underlying concepts can be complicated, this initiative is critical to modernizing PRSA’s governance structure. PRSA’s bylaws have not been thoroughly revised since they were first ratified more than 60 years ago. The rewrite is intended to bring PRSA in line with current best practices and make the organization nimbler, stronger and better equipped to fulfill its mission of advancing the profession and the professional.

Continue reading " May I Have Your Attention, Please? "

Three months ago, PRSA began communicating with its members about a series of proposed changes to our national Bylaws, which are intended to modernize our governance structure and make us a nimbler and stronger organization.

Our communications outreach started with a simple blog post, but has now broadened to include a leadership briefing, an e-Group discussion forum on Membernet, a Q&A in PR Strategist and Tactics Online and extensive background information in the Bylaws area of PRSA’s Web site. As the process of rewriting PRSA’s Bylaws continues, we’ll make even more information and resources available to our members.

Continue reading " We’re Counting On You "