Join Malayna Williams for her online training session, “Digital Media and Today’s Digital News Release,” now available on-demand. This media relations training sesssion is free to PRSA members.  

Recently, PRSA rolled out new webinar offerings along with a shiny new system.  I was lucky to be invited to present their first webinar on the topic maximizing digital news releases. In true PRSA style, everything was buttoned up and well managed. But the most exciting change was a chat feature than enabled hundreds of PRSA members across the country to communicate with each other throughout the webinar.

Being a working mom, I like to think I’m good at juggling multiple things at once. But I have to admit, presenting while chatting was a bit too much for me. So it wasn’t until after the webinar that I really had a chance to read all the comments and appreciate how much the participants likely got from each other. This is our digital world working just as it should!

Participate in PRSA’s online training session, “Getting Ready for the Readiness Review,” on Feb. 14, 2012, 3–4 p.m. EST.  This public relations accreditation training sesssion is free to PRSA members.

The process to achieve Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) is an important experience for anyone practicing in the public relations field. From filling out the application, to participating in the Readiness Review, to taking the computer-based Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations, each step brings new challenges and learning experiences for even seasoned public relations professionals.

It is quite mystifying to think what life would be like if I hadn’t signed on that dotted line back in May of 2005.

I could have easily skipped my university’s first PRSSA meeting to do a number of things — intramurals with friends, hit the books to better understand the differences between minocyclines and tetracyclines or maybe update my profile on this new site called thefacebook.com.

Luckily for me, I went to that meeting and established my membership, which is now approaching seven years as a PRSA/PRSSA member.

PRSSA provided me with ample opportunities to establish my confidence as a leader within my Chapter and later, on a larger scale, as a National Committee member. It also provided me the opportunity to meet my eventual employer at the PRSSA National Conference in Philadelphia.

Once a graduate, I didn’t hesitate signing on that dotted line once more to establish my membership — this time as a PRSA member — and opportunities have continued to emerge. As a young professional in my PRSA Chapter, my membership has meant a few things to me.

As the role of the public relations professional continues to evolve and the profession continues to grow, PRSA is dedicated to providing Chapters with the resources they need to flourish in 2012.

Updated initiatives and improved benefits for 2012 include:

♦ Free Online Training Webinars: Webinars are now free with PRSA membership. This represents nearly $2,000 in annual savings for members who participate in just one PRSA webinar per month. Upcoming webinars include:

• “Digital Media and Today’s Digital News Release: Making It Easy for Journalists to Pick Up Your Story” — 3–4 p.m. EST, Jan. 19, 2012. 
  
• “How to Grow Word-Of-Mouth Movements: People Are the Killer App” — 3–4 p.m. EST, Jan. 26, 2012.
• “Creating the Online Newsroom: Develop a Centralized Information Headquarters for Your Organization” — 3–4 p.m. EST, Jan. 31, 2012.
  

♦ Revamped Chapter support: PRSA National is working toward tailored plans to make recruitment easier for our Chapters. We are developing customized programming guides and easy-to-use social media templates to make administrative tasks less time-consuming and help you better engage with your members.

A new key Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) membership benefit grants members free access to the 50 live and on-demand online public relations training webinars that are planned for this year, and now, there is a more user-friendly way for you to find them.

We have been working behind the scenes on the PRSA Calendar of Events to make virtual programming and in-person training easier and faster for you to locate. You can browse training sessions by date, or fine-tune your search by selecting a category to find a session by category.

Click Narrow By Category to see the categories available.

To access the free live and on-demand online training webinars or pay the member rate for in-person training seminars, first log in to your MyPRSA account and then complete the registration.

Expanded program categories, which are defined on each category page, now include:

• Accreditation Preparation & Maintenance
• Communication Strategy
• Crisis & Reputation
• Leadership & Management
• Measurement & ROI
• Media Relations
• Social Media
• Techniques & Tactics
• Writing