August 21, 2013

Help us support professional development locally

A few of us attended the PRSA Midwest District conference in Omaha this past July. We were all impressed by the networking opportunities, the engaging presenters and the great location. (Trust me - if you haven't been to Omaha - go! It's a great city.)

We're hosting next year's conference and I'm looking forward to exceeding everyone's expectations. But before the large conference next summer we have our annual professional development conference coming up on Sept. 24.  We always strive to put together a conference that provide great learning opportunities. 

Our theme this year is "What's Trending Now?"  We have terrific talent lined up including Online Marketing Giant CEO Brett Curry and Boundless Creative Owner Jen Welton talking about the latest trends in social media.  Missouri State University professor Dr. Randy Dillon, talking about different ways to communicate with different generations. 

As part of this conference we're looking for a few businesses and organizations interested in promoting their services to our group of PR pros; folks  in the position to use their products.


Become a sponsor and help support local professional development.  As a sponsor, we'll make sure we mention you often in email communication, on our website, on social media posts and at the conference.   Contact Professional Development Conference Chair Angela Eden at 417.895.7641 or email her at angela.eden@modot.mo.gov if you would like to learn more. 

-Lori Marble
SWMOPRSA President

May 23, 2013

SWMO PRSA's monthly meeting will be held Tuesday, May 28 at 425 Walnut.
Don't forget to RSVP to rsvp@swmoprsa.org by noon, Friday, May 24.
Here's info on this month's speaker.


Speaker: Brett Curry
Topic: Incorporating video into your social media program

Brett Curry is the CEO of Online Marketing Giant in Springfield, Missouri.  Brett is a featured columnist for the DotComSecrets Journal an online marketing publication and weekly trains a group of over 2,000 Internet marketing consultants.  Brett spends the majority of his time helping small and medium-sized companies design and implement online marketing campaigns that get results. As a certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach™ Brett speaks regularly on the topics of marketing and business growth. He recently spoke at the SEO Mastermind in Austin, Texas. 
In 2005, Brett was awarded a spot on the SBJ’s Top 40 Under 40. As the father of 6 children age 11 and under, Brett is used to addressing audiences of all ages and attention spans.

February 17, 2013

Carnival Cruise Lines: The Importance of Internal Communications

Probably the only good communications to come out of the Carnival Triumph mess is all the positive news reports about the amazing crew.  I can only assume there have been positive comments about the crew on social media.  I haven't looked.  In a roundabout way, this points to the importance of internal communications.  Clearly, Carnival Cruise Lines provides crew training second to none.  This communicates to Carnival employees that the company cares about them.  It cares enough to give them the training they need to do an outstanding job.  Carnival should make that message part of its internal communications, if it hasn't already.  If a company takes care of its employees, the employees will take care of it during the worst of times.  A simple thing like training has given Carnival a silver lining in the midst of a PR nightmare.