Category: News

Kick Off the Holiday Season With PRSA Suburban Chicago at Cooper’s Hawk on November 4th!

Join us to kick off the holiday season with our year ending party and Toys for Tots collection drive. We will be welcoming keynote speaker Brian Basilico, internationally recognized author of B2b Interactive Marketing and the author of “It’s Not About You, It’s All About Bacon! Interactive Marketing in a Social Media World.

B2b helps companies and non-profits market their products and services through the effective use of online tools including websites, blogs, eMail, social networking, Google, S.E.O., YouTube, and more.

Brian’s career spans over 30 years. Since his first production company in 1979, he’s produced thousands of projects for hundreds of companies, ranging from solopreneur to Fortune 100. Brian combines years of marketing experience with technical expertise, to build online campaigns that continue to produce measurable results. As a musician, technician, programmer, producer, and consultant, he has built a reputation for creativity, innovation, and translating “geek” into English. Brian is also an adjunct professor, trainer, speaker, and author of many marketing and social networking blogs and articles.

And Awards, of Course

Putting together the chapter activities for the year is a collective effort that involves many people. Each year the chapter recognizes a few outstanding members for their services to the chapter. Please join us as we recognize these members who give their time to make sure you have professional development opportunities to advance your career.

Toys for Tots Collection

Every year we invite attendees at our holiday party to bring toys to donate to Toys for Tots. Bring a toy and receive a coupon good for $5 any 2018 event. Bring 3 toys and we’ll give you a coupon worth $20 off a 2017 event!

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant
798 W. Algonquin Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(Algonquin & Golf Roads)

Guests welcome at the Member Rate! Register now!

Saturday, November 4th, 2016
Networking 12 pm
Luncheon & Program 12:30 pm

Categories:Events, News

Calling All Members: Content Needed for Our New Members-only Area

We are developing a special members-only area of our website to provide useful information about the chapter and the profession for our members, and we’re looking to YOU to be a resource for your colleagues. Do you have a particular expertise you can share with members? Are you interested in writing short articles on tips that you have found useful that you’re willing to pass along to others? Here’s your chance! Submit your information as a Word file or PDF to news@prsascc.org, and we’ll get it posted for you. And you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’ve helped another.

Categories:News

Crisis Communications in a Natural Disaster: A Conversation With W. Patrick McSweeney, APR Fellow PRSA

“PR practitioners are expected to know how to plan for and execute a crisis communications program. Not everyone has the misfortune to actually experience a major crisis like natural disasters, workplace violence, civil unrest, computer system hacking or a business bankruptcy. There’s only one thing guaranteed to happen in a crisis — the unexpected. 
 
Are you and is your organization prepared? Now is the time to find out with Patrick McSweeney, APR, Fellow PRSA.”
 

Patrick applies his experience as a newspaper, radio and TV journalist to help clients effectively connect with customers, employees, community leaders, vendors, investors and others.

During the past 25+ years he has served as the spokesperson for a government agency in Florida and worked with well-known automotive, high tech, retail brands, vacation destinations and others.

He serves as public relations strategist and counselor for C-suite executives, providing crisis communications planning, message development and media relations assistance to clients. 

McSweeney began working for a weekly newspaper while still in high school, then worked on the copy desks at two major daily newspapers in Ohio and also freelanced as a news and sports photographer for the Associated Press while attending college. He then worked as a radio reporter/anchor, freelancing for National Public Radio, NBC and AP Radio News before working at TV stations in Ohio and Florida as an anchor, reporter and producer covering the military, transportation, government and politics.

McSweeney earned the designation Accredited in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America in 2011 and was elected to the prestigious College of Fellows in 2015. He has won many awards for his work including a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America and was a finalist for the nation’s top Corporate Social Responsibility programs from PR News. 

He is currently the president-elect for the Southeastern Wisconsin chapter of PRSA and twice served as president of the North Florida chapter (1995 and 2013). Besides giving back through PRSA, he has served as an Adjunct Professor teaching PR writing and Writing for the Mass Media at the University of North Florida and mentored dozens of college students and young PR professionals.

A graduate of The Ohio State University, McSweeney earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. He is married to his college sweetheart, Jane, and is the father of two grown sons, David and John. 

 

 

Gene & Georgetti’s
Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017
9421 W. Higgins Road
Rosemont, Illinois 60018

Networking 6 pm
Dinner & Program 6:30 pm

 

Categories:Events, News

Send Off Summer in Style at Thirsty Thursday Unplugged August 24th

How do you follow up with the most talked about natural phenomena in decades? With a PRSA Suburban Chicago social! Let’s send summer out in style at Hofbrauhaus in Rosemont! Join us for brews and Bavarian food. Located at 5500 Park Place, Rosemont. Food and drinks on your own. See you there – grüß Gott! 

 

 

Hofbrauhaus
Thursday, August 24th
5500 Park Place
Rosemont, Il 60018
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Categories:News

You’re Being Attacked on Twitter – Now What?

You wake up one morning to find that your company is trending on Twitter….and it’s not good. The attacks are coming fast and furious, and it seems like you’ve become the focus of every angry person on social media. Are you prepared for this? Find out!
Vivika Panagiotakakos, Medline Industries

The new administration has changed social media forever, and brought companies a new awareness of the dangers of social media attacks. It seems that weekly another company becomes the target of online attacks. This ’new normal’ has forced crisis management to go beyond traditional public relations.

Now companies must prepare themselves if and when an attack comes through on social media from a high-powered official. Learn from Medline Industries Vivika Panagiotakakos and Caroline Matis how to stay ahead of an attack and how to roll a social media crisis management plan into your established public relations crisis management plan.

Caroline Matis, Medline Industries

Learn how to determine your company’s vulnerabilities and what could be attacked, how to create a communication tree to inform key stakeholders in the company of what happened and prepare statements based on the level of an attack. If an attack comes over Twitter, learn how to respond over Twitter and be prepared to post about positive things going on in your company.

 

 

 

DOC Wine Bar Lombard
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
DOC Wine Bar
326 Yorktown Centre
Lombard, Illinois 60148

Networking 6 pm
Dinner & Program 6:30 pm

Categories:News

Happy Anniversary to PRSASCC!

 

25 is…

 
The atomic number of manganese
The number of players on an MLB team
The silver wedding anniversary
The number of cents in a quarter
The date of Christmas
The number of days it takes the sun to completely rotate
The 13th sequential odd number
World Pasta Day (in October)
The 89th & 90th digits of pi
The name of the national game of India
The sum of the first five odd numbers

And…the anniversary PRSA Suburban Chicago is celebrating this year!!!
Categories:News

PRSA Suburban Chicago Call for Nominations

Don’t be shy: take your career to the next level!

Do you have what it takes?  PRSA Suburban Chicago needs leaders who believe in the value of networking and professional development. If you believe in our profession and our chapter, want to strengthen your career and have ideas that can benefit others within the suburban Chicago PR community, you might be a great candidate for a leadership role with the Suburban Chicago chapter of PRSA.

The Suburban Chicago Chapter of PRSA is your premier resource for public relations networking and professional growth in the greater Chicagoland area. Our mission is to advance your career through providing professional development. If you share in that mission, then the time to join us is now.

Elections for the 2017 chapter board of directors are in January, and nominations are now open for the following positions:

President
President-elect
Secretary
Treasurer

Director
Assembly Delegate
Ethics Chair

Membership Chair
Publicity Chair

 

 

Categories:News

PRSASCC Holiday Event with Annual Toy Drive

Join us November 15, to kick off the holiday season with our year ending holiday party and Toys for Tots collection drive.  We will be welcoming PRSA National Board of Directors member Sonja Popp-Stahly, of  Eli Lilly’s Global Employee Communications team as our keynote speaker.PRSA Sonja Popp-Stahly

We’ll hear from Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR, of the PRSA National Board of Directors, as she addresses the evolving role of the public relations professional and current state of our profession, including where public relations and PRSA has been headed in 2016 and beyond. Join us to learn more about the national perspective and the ongoing efforts of PRSA to elevate the profession and steer the association.

Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR, works in Global Communications at Eli Lilly and Company, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis. She has more than 20 years of extensive corporate communications and public relations agency experience in New York City and Indianapolis, working in health care, consumer products, professional services, education and nonprofits. A PRSA Silver Anvil award recipient, Sonja currently serves on the PRSA National Board of Directors. She previously served on the PRSA Foundation Board of Trustees, the PRSA Health Academy Executive Committee, the PRSA Hoosier Chapter Board of Directors, and as PRSSA National Professional Adviser, among other leadership roles.

Toys for Tots Collection

Every year we invite attendees at our holiday party to bring toys to donate to Toys for Tots. Bring a toy and receive a coupon good for $5 any 2017 event. Bring 3 toys and we’ll give you a coupon worth $10 off a 2017 event! 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Sheraton Suites
121 Northwest Point Boulevard
Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007

Spouses welcome at the Member Rate!

Networking 6 pm
Dinner & Program 6:30 pm

Click Here to Register!

Categories:News

Working in Total Chaos, Leaning In, Leaning On and Finding your Why!

Three years ago, a book called Lean In by Facebook’s Cheryl Sandberg became the hottest read in business publications. “Lean in” became synonymous with leadership, particularly for women – but what is it, exactly? Lisa Wagner has lived it in the worlds of politics and fundraising.

Join us Tuesday, October 11, for a compelling presentation on working in total chaos and leaning in, leaning on and finding your” why” with Lisa Wagner, as she will talk about her career in politics and how she thrived in total chaos – especially when a few of her clients blew up – and how she learned to lean in on others and found her “why” along the way. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/working-in-total-chaos-leaning…

She is the founder of Lisa Wagner and Company, a fundraising solutions, project and event management company that provides a wide range of services including board and staff retreats and training, research, networking instruction, individual philanthropic audits, grant writing, and overall strategic planning services. Her company spearheads complex fundraising programs and major events of all kinds, including but not limited to presidential events, capital campaign events, galas, book tours, rallies and sporting events.

DOC Wine Bar Lombard
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
326 Yorktown Centre
Lombard, Illinois 60148

Networking 6 pm
Dinner & Program 6:30 pm

October 11, 2016

 

Categories:News