Welcome Back PRSSA! Welcome to a brand new school year! The executive board has been working through the break to prepare for an exciting year in PRSSA. We’ve reviewed the feedback from our survey last May and implemented many of your sugges-tions. You asked for more panels, and they’re planned! You asked to hear from Home Depot, and they will be join-ing us this fall! You asked for more networking opportuni-ties, and we are beefing those up, too. I invite you to email a member of the executive board any time (or even better, say hi at a meeting!) and continue to offer your input. We have many passionate peo-ple working to serve the chapter with great programming, and your suggestions help guide us in the right direction. Networking is central to the PRSSA experience. We offer exclusive trips to DC and Atlanta where members are able to meet with representatives of top firms and tour their work environments. Many students have been placed in agencies after attending these trips! This offers excellent exposure and a chance to get behind the scenes. I’ve also reached out to PRSA, and there are some exciting networking socials in the works! Make sure you keep an eye on our website and social media platforms—we’ll be updating you with all of the details. As part of our effort to provide more networking experiences, I am taking responsibility for our mentorship program. This is an endeavor I am really excited about,

because I know first-hand the value of a mentor relation-ship. I hope that every member will take advantage of this unique opportunity to be matched with a mentor who can help lead you toward the beginning of your career. Over time, mentors can become trusted friends and advisors—an invaluable resource at every stage in your career. Our chapter has a great history of mentorship. Older PRSSA members mentor the newest members; our advisor Dr. Jones mentors all of us. In this spirit, I hope I can also serve as a mentor to our chapter. Please feel free to reach out to me any time! There are many ways to get involved in PRSSA. If you’re interested in joining a committee, a Creative Consul-tants team, or participating in our service work, I encourage you to seek out leadership roles in those groups. No matter where you are in your college career, there is a place for you to shine in PRSSA. If you have trouble finding your niche, reach out to the executive board and we’ll help you discover your place. As the largest chapter in the country, we have the benefit of hundreds of unique voices and perspectives. I look forward to your involvement and contribution to our chapter!

Dear members,

Alyssa StaffordChapter President

SpotlightInternship

icture a nationally esteemed PROI member firm with more than 100 em-ployees, major national clients and

nearly 20 years of success. Now picture a firm that makes fun a priority, nurtures relationships between coworkers and even offers month-long “sabbaticals” as a reward for employee loy-alty. Blend these two approaches and you get the sweet spot; you get Jackson Spald-ing. Over the summer, I had the privilege of interning in Jackson Spalding’s Athens office. I call it a privilege not because I gained experience that would prepare me for a career — most internships offer that

— but because I witnessed an unmatched company culture and collaborated with some of the industry’s sharpest agents.

The JS Difference The day of my first interview, I no-ticed that every employee was undeniably bright. There is no weak link at Jackson Spalding, which yields a standard of excep-tional work and sets a high bar for every member. The firm has no titles, which allows for collaboration instead of com-petition. They also have a policy of “man-aging up,” meaning even a lowly intern is responsible for keeping the entire team on track.

Emily Parten (back left) and JS Athens support client Chick-fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day at the Beechwood Chick-fil-A in Athens, Ga.

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JS Athens was particularly special, I learned, because the 12-person team was so closely bonded. So much so that they treated each other more like family than coworkers. Most lunch breaks were spent carpooling to local restaurants, and during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, we often assem-bled in the conference room to follow the games while we worked from our laptops.

Intern Life is Good During my internship, I wrote a 20-page research brief on emerging industry trends, audited web and social content for new clients, composed a biographical nar-rative for a state-sponsored award nomi-nation, created and edited client propos-als, wrote releases, built media lists and pitched stories to hundreds of local and national media. Today, I can reference projects for major corporations like Mattress Firm, Toyota, Orkin, Chick-fil-A and ESPN. I am more confident about tactics that arrive in post-graduate positions but that might not show up in my coursework yet — getting USA Today on the phone, for example. The summer months passed quick-ly, but they were surely well spent. Each assignment unveiled a new lesson. Joining a dynamite team meant I was constantly inspired. I learned that friendly, support-ive environments exist even in the big leagues, and that what makes a company worth working for is the people inside it.

Emily PartenChapter Secretary

This summer was filled with all the cliché hashtags like #love, #happy and #blessed but it was also filled with many hashtags dealing with national and international news. From these stories emerged the in-crease of hashtag activism and awareness. Here is the top four:

#IfTheyGunnedMeDown was one of the first hashtags to emerge after news broke of police killing two unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri.

#GazaUnderAttack came from the 50 day war that filled our social media with gut wrenching images of civilian suffering including the nearly 500 children killed.

#RIPRobinWilliams came with the shock-ing and sudden death of comedian and actor Robin Williams. He was beloved and transcended generations, while his death also brought to light the silent struggles of depression.

#ALSIceBucketChallenge has become one of the most viral hashtags to exist and it took over this summer and continues to trend. This hashtag and challenge helped raise awareness and contributed to ALS Donations meeting its $50 million mark. This number continues to grow, as does the reach of this hashtag.

summerhashtags

Kelsey WoodSocial Media Director

WHERE WASAbby Bergquist— The Reynolds Group Christine Boddy— Edelman Steven Coulombe— BBDO Annalise Coronel— Jackson Spalding Ryan Coyle— Invesco Andrea Crump— Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs Megan Deese— Georgia Aquarium Ana Echols— Koncept Design Studio Sophie Frankham-Smith— Children’s Healthcare Joy Glaze— Jackson Spalding Bernadette Green— Attorney General Sam Olens Office Katherine Green— Destination South Event Planning Kendall Griffy— Green Olive Media Julia Hemingway— Porter Novelli Elizabeth Howard— The Reynolds Group Jenna Huckaby— MOVE Media (startup nonprofit)Tobi Idowu— Grady/Turner Social Media Ellen Jackson— Southern Company Abby Jensen— Porter Novelli Whitney Jinks— Porter Novelli Jasmine Johnson— Turner Howard Foundation Brittnee Jones— Coca-Cola Patrick Klibanoff— KPMG Sabrina Lewis— Fleishman-Hillard Maria Martinez— The Reynolds Group Tori McKenney— The Nature Conservancy Selby Merritt— The Reynolds Group Summer Peabody— Children’s Healthcare Stephanie Pham— Porter Novelli Lauren Schuster— Porter Novelli Alexsis Skeen— YMCO Metro Samantha Slappey— UPS Preston Smith— AJGA Golf Maggie Sparks— Senator Jack Kingston’s CampaignNicole Tate— Modern Luxury Publishing Co.

Michael Bragg— Terrapin Brewing Co.Laura Brewer— Epting Events Mallory Ciotti— Hotel Indigo

James Cochran— See.Spark.Go Allie Fionda— UGA Discover Abroad

Kristin Jones— Epting Events Nisha Katti— Community Fashion Boutique

Katelyn Lewis— Grady-Yarbrough Julia Michael— See.Spark.Go

Cody Nichelson— Jackson Spalding Kelly Tran— Athens Nurses Clinic

Cohen Moore— The Around Campus Group (sales)

Leah Moss— Georgia Southern University’s Athletic Marketing Dept.

ATHENS

ATLANTA

STATESBORO

CHATTANOOGA

KEY:internship

fellowship

entry level

PRSSA UGATHIS SUMMER?

Ali Diehl— Social Media Delivered Amy Johnson— Anthony Travel

Simone Banna— NBA Tasia Burroughs— Teach for America

Lindsay Friedrich— Domain PR Jamie Gottlieb— NBC News

Anna Jump— Meg Connolly Communications Lauren Mayo— NBA

Brooke Shearouse— Scholastic Inc. Abigail Whorton— TL Communications

Haley Williams— Chanel

Tana Bosshard— Glover Park GroupKelli Colter— American Telemedicine AssociationKatie Darden— U.S. Chamber of CommerceHadley Dreibelbis— Widmeyer CommunicationsAnnie Swenson— Ketchum John Vaughan— Sen. Johnny Isakson’s Office

Allie Windom— Warner Music Group/Nashville Songwriters Assoc. International

Hannah Tosch— PR Boutique

Mason Burril— BearWater Brewery

Yura Choung— Erwin Penland

MacKenzie Clark— Disney (college program)Ashleigh Sinclair— Disney

Chris Lewitzke— U.S. Tennis Association’s Mid-Atlantic Region

Carey McKay— Fundacion Zambrano

Chelsea Merris— American Caribbean Experience

Jordan Schlanger— Raburn Publishing

Kelsey Schmidt— Study Abroad ProgramNEW YORK

DALLAS

NASHVILLE

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

DURHAM, NC

AUSTIN, TX

WAYNESVILLE, NC

GREENVILLE, SC

ORLANDO

WASHINGTON, DC

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

JAMAICA

When I joined PRSSA as a freshman, I did not realize how much that choice would impact my life. As I look back at my career as a student and now as young professional, the most significant points on my timeline are related to PRSSA in some way. I met lifelong friends and mentors, as well as gained leadership experience that I continue to foster and grow after graduation. Now, I’ve been asked back to Grady to serve as your professional advisor. Using my experience in PRSSA as a reference point, here are the top five things you can do to make the most of your membership. Come to the Meetings: This may seem obvi-ous, but it’s an important point to make. PRSSA meetings give you exposure to the professional world and help you understand the industry beyond what you may learn in the classroom. Especially if you are a lowerclassman, you can use these meetings as inspiration to get through the drudg-ery of pre-reqs and get excited about what you’ll learn once you get to Grady. Join a Committee: PRSSA committees are fun! Think about your passion or skillset, and join a committee that plays to those strengths. It’s also a really great way to meet friends within the chapter. You learn how teams work, take on a bit of responsibility and PRSSA will slowly become more than just a club. It’s also a nice bullet point on your resume. Meet a Mentor: Mentorship is important throughout your entire career. Don’t wait to start once you’ve graduated. PRSSA has a mentor program to pair you with a working professional to help guide you in career de-cisions. Student-alumni mentoring is not the only version, though. Seniors and juniors, whether you believe it or not, you actually have a lot of advice and perspective to offer a younger student. Consider yourselves mentors to them.

Network: The PRSSA network is by far one of the greatest benefits offered by the chapter. Use it to your advantage. After each meeting, go up and speak to the visiting professional. If you have a PRSSA business card, exchange cards with the professional and follow up with an email or handwritten note over the next 24 hours saying how much you enjoyed their presentation. And don’t forget your peers! They will enter the professional world when you do, so it’s important to build those genuine relation-ships with each other early. The PRSSA at UGA website also has an updated list of networking events in the Atlanta area. Find a friend and go! Write for the PRecedent: When you go to interview, companies will expect you to bring a robust writing portfolio. Use the PRecedent as a way to become published, over and over again! If you can’t figure out what to write, you aren’t thinking hard enough. Talk about trends, have a point of view on something, recap your fall internship, or have a Q&A with a local professional. There are endless possibilities! While PRSSA provides many professional growth opportunities, it is up to you to optimize them. This is your chapter. If you think of something the chapter could or should be doing, suggest it to a member of the E-board. PRSSA at UGA is successful because students have invest-ed and grown the chapter. I’m always here for you, too. Feel free to email me at katherine.strate@sparksgrove.com if you have a question or want to chat. Looking forward to a great year!

MEET PRSSA’sprofessional advisor

Making the Most of PRSSA

Katherine Strate, PRSSA Professional Advisor

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Alyssa Annie Sophie Michael

Elizabeth Emily Amy Kelsey

HELLOmy name is

MEET PRSSA’sexecutive board

2013-2014 Executive Board

PresidentAlyssa Staffordalyssas@uga.edu@AlyssaStafford

Vice PresidentAnnie Swensoneswenson@uga.edu@AnnieSwenson

Creative Consultants DirectorSophie Frankham-Smithsophiefrankham@gmail.com@Sophiefrankham

PR DirectorMichael Braggmichaelsbragg@gmail.com@Braggg

TreasurerElizabeth Howardewhoward@uga.edu@Eliz_howard

SecretaryEmily Partenecparten@uga.edu@EmilyParten

Publications EditorAmy Johnsonajohns37@uga.edu@Aimee_37

Social Media DirectorKelsey Woodkelsey.mwood20@gmail.com@Kwoodvb

HistorianAbbey Fergusonaferg17@uga.edu@AbbeyFergFaculty AdvisorDr. Betty Jonesbetjones@grady.eduCreative Consultants AdvisorKristen Smithkmsmith@uga.edu

Professional AdvisorKatherine Strate, Sparks Grove katherine.strate@sparksgrove.com

Next Issue:

If you would like to submit an article for the next PRecedent, email aejohns37@gmail.com.

Fall Schedule: 250 MLC, 6:30 p.m.Sept. 17: DisneyOct. 1: Agency PanelOct. 15: Home DepotNov. 5: Health Care PanelNov. 19: Member Appreciation

Other Important dates:Oct. 10-14: National ConferenceNov. 11: ADPR Connection

PRSSA Tips of the Month

&Research companies before meetings

Come prepared with questions for the speakers

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