Feeling a 'Gold' Rush

April is Accreditation month at PRSA, an opportune time to learn more about how becoming Accredited in Public Relations can help advance your communications career. 

In this issue, Marcia Paterman Brookey, M.A., APR, manager of marketing and communications at the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, discusses her journey in an article titled “Why I Pursued My APR — and Why You Should, Too.”

We also honor the members who received their APR from January 2021 through February 2022. Among the 180 or so names: Allyson Pittman Gattin, APR, PR director at The Peacock Group, Little Rock, Ark. 

Allyson is a third-generation PR professional, and her grandfather, Bob Sells, and mother, Stacy Sells, were also Accredited PRSA members. This feat is a PRSA milestone: The first three-generational family to earn their APR.

Allyson said she was honored to have her mother present her with the APR pin during a ceremony at the Arkansas Chapter in February. 

“Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away in 2017,” Allyson told me. “So getting my Accreditation continued our connection, even though he’s not physically with us anymore, and I hope it has made him proud.”

Look for more from Allyson in a Q&A on PRsay this month.

Live on LinkedIn

We hosted our second session of Strategies & Tactics Live on March 24 with strategic communicator, educator and entrepreneur Monique Farmer, APR.

Monique is a frequent contributor to the publication, and we delved into her recent articles, including the March piece titled “Channeling Childhood Creativity to Achieve Professional Success.” We also touched on elevating your writing, and teaching at the University of Nebraska.

A playback of the event is now available on our LinkedIn page if you’d like to go back and watch it.

Coming up this month is a discussion with our “Hire & Seek” columnist Christina Stokes, vice president and director of talent acquisition at Rubenstein. The session airs on April 14 at 1 p.m. ET.

S&T Live, which debuted in February, takes you behind the scenes of a story in the paper, offering further insights and takeaways with contributors. Look for more details about upcoming segments on our @PRSAtactics account on Twitter, as well as on PRSA’s social media platforms. 

Gold for S&T

I’m thrilled to announce that Strategies & Tactics received Gold — the highest honor — in the Association Trends 2022 TRENDY Awards in the Monthly Professional Society Magazine category.

In addition, my colleagues on PRSA’s communications team received a Bronze in the Annual Report group for our Year in Review. This honor is the third major award for Strategies & Tactics since its debut in January 2018.

In 2019, we received the Silver in the Newspaper/General Excellence category at the 39th Annual Excel Awards. The program, created by Association Media & Publishing, highlights achievements in association media, publishing and communications. Last year, we happily accepted Silver in the TRENDY Awards.

Thank you to all our contributors who help provide lifelong learning to PRSA members. I also want to thank PRSA’s leadership team for their continued support as well as our talented editorial team: Managing Editor Amy Jacques and Art Director Erika Kendra. ϖ