September President’s Message

Welcome back from our summer hiatus. It seems like before I could unpack my beach bag, we were off and running again!

Leadership and Labor Day: I hope you all enjoyed Labor Day, recognizing our American workforce. Speaking of workers, earlier this summer, our website administrator, Jenny Pedraza, APR, announced her resignation to focus on her independent communications practice. As past chapter president, Jenny has served in many board positions for our chapter. Since 2015, she has graciously served as our chapter’s web administrator. During her tenure, she spearheaded bringing our chapter into the 21st century. She led the chapter in adopting a web-based CRM, created our monthly newsletters, maintained consistent website updates, sent email blasts and managed our event registrations. Jenny’s continuity allowed PRSA Richmond to remain sharp year after year. She has been an integral part of our team. Her hard work, commitment, expertise, and around-the-clock service has been truly invaluable to both our members and the organization.

Chapter Management: This summer, several past presidents, the executive board, and the Board of Directors worked tirelessly to provide thoughtful recommendations to replace our website administrator position and outline the chapter’s management. With the help of our dedicated team, we launched a request for proposal for consultant services to support the chapter’s administration, digital management – including website, and member communications. If you or someone on your team is interested, please pass this along.

Fall in Line: When we weren’t looking through bylaws, handbooks, and strategic plans, our board planned a busy slate of activities to enrich your member experience. We will kick off this season, with learning about PR and LEGO. Then we will host our fall happy hour on Thursday, September 14th at 6 p.m. at Tazza Kitchen.

Last word: If you have any innovative ideas or are interested in serving on our board, please contact me at president(at)prsarichmond(dot)org.

With grit + commitment,
Taya M. Jarman, APR
PRSA Richmond President