March President’s Message

Happy March!

It seems that Punxsutawney Phil (groundhog) missed the mark this year. As we grapple with whether Phil informed the chirping birds and budding plants, here are a few things we can count on!

First up: It’s awards season!

During our January luncheon, we gave away three award submissions. If you missed the freebie, it’s not too late to save a buck on submitting an entry. If you haven’t started working on your entry for the Virginia PR Awards, you have just under a week to meet the first deadline (March 6). The final deadline is March 31.

I’m not only excited to celebrate your accomplishments but I’m thrilled that we will host our awards in a new location on June 7th at the Dominion Energy Center.

Monthly Innovations

As I mentioned in January, I’ve challenged the board to think outside the box and improve value for our members. I’m proud to say that we are stepping up to the plate.

• This month, we are hosting a Government Section event – “Networking at Nine.” In my former life, I worked for the Virginia state government for 15 years. I’m thrilled we are finally hosting small group activities targeting government professionals. This is a simple meeting – no agenda, no presentation, just a safe space to build connections with like-minded professionals who understand limited budgets and FIOA requests.
• Understanding the Monsters under the Bed: We are also hosting a session to help us understand how to work with and appreciate the AI technology – ChatGPT that has us up at night.
• Last word: We will finish this month out at our luncheon, which will explain why I write my monthly messages using bold headers and small paragraphs. The session will help us understand Axios: Smart Brevity Writing Techniques.

Worth a Thousand Violations 

Our chapter Ethics Officer Jennifer Guild, APR wrote a timely piece on the implication of using stock photos. Its a 2.5-minute read. Check it out here.

What’s In It For Me? If you are interested in having a seat at the table, please join one of our committees. If you have an innovative idea to improve our chapter, please contact me at president(at)prsarichmond(dot)org.

Wishing you good luck + fair work,

Taya M. Jarman, APR
PRSA Richmond President