Don’t let PR voice get lost in season

Friday, Dec. 14, 2007

Holiday gatherings are abuzz with networking conversations; mailboxes are stuffed with holiday cards and letters from family, friends and colleagues; or with coupons and catalogs appealing to last-minute shoppers.

Do you feel like your PR voice may be getting lost in the din? Here are some quick tips from several members of the Public Relations Individuals of Southern Maryland to carry you through the month.

As you prepare and send holiday greetings, PRISM President Karen Everett with the St. Mary’s County government advises using your end-of-year message as a reflection of your year’s accomplishments or an opportunity to share your contributions to your community.

PRISM Secretary Robin Kendall of St. Mary’s College of Maryland reminds communicators to tailor messages to the preferences of the intended recipient. Moreover, she cautions that one should not assume that everyone uses the same communication tools. Remember, tools that exist today include everything from e-mail to text messages, instant messages, telephone messages, handwritten notes and her favorite — personal, face-to-face communication.

Chaney Enterprises Marketing Manager Steven Tripp suggests using this time to gear up for next year. He views December as a good time to reflect and evaluate what worked this year, then build on these successes as you plan for continuous improvement.

A final reminder by one anonymous PRISM networker at the organization’s holiday gathering Dec. 10 is to maintain a sense of humor. That includes providing a smile and positive greeting to those caught up in any final frenzy of the season.

Happy holidays!

With regard to giving, the holidays came early for PRISM members and their guests this week. These PR and marketing individuals became anonymous Santas when they brought new, unwrapped gifts as part of the December holiday networking at The Crossing in La Plata on Dec. 10.

The gifts were provided to Alternatives for Youth and Families staffer and PRISM member Sarah Winter-Koble, who accepted the packages on behalf of the organization to benefit the families and youth they serve in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties.

The Big Read

Several members of PRISM are involved in the Big Read in Southern Maryland of the novel, ‘‘A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines. Featuring book discussions, movie matinees, performances and writing and art contests during February and March, The Big Read will bring together young and old in the community to restore reading to the center of American culture as well as to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

Southern Maryland organizations in addition to the local grant recipient — the College of Southern Maryland — who will host or sponsor activities during The Big Read include the public libraries, the public schools and the literacy councils of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties, as well as the Office of Aging in St. Mary’s County, the Charles County Arts Alliance, the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, Big Brothers⁄Big Sisters of Southern Maryland, Southern Maryland Newspapers, the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

‘‘A Lesson Before Dying” poses the question that ‘‘Knowing we’re going to die, how should we live?” The story explores how two men named for presidents — an uneducated young black man named Jefferson and a college-educated teacher named Grant Wiggins — discover a transforming friendship.

Information will be available in January at www.neabigread.org and at www.csmd.edu.

PRISM 2008 news

PRISM officers report they are in preliminary planning stages for 2008.

Since the group includes individuals from throughout Southern Maryland, bi-monthly lunch meeting locations rotate among the counties. The first meeting for 2008 is planned for Feb. 21 in Calvert County. Details will be posted to www.prismonline.info and e-mailed to PRISM members.

PRISM membership for 2008 is now being accepted. PRISM is the organization of public relations and marketing professionals in Southern Maryland, fostering professional development and networking opportunities for its members.

Membership is comprised of more than 55 individuals serving in various industries such as economic development, defense, retail, health care, government, nonprofit, education, media and professional services.

For information, contact Membership Chairman Marc Apter, associate vice president of marketing and public relations for St. Mary’s College of Maryland, at 240-895-4381 or mlapter@cmcm.edu.

Karen Smith Hupp is the immediate past president of PRISM and is the director of community relations at the College of Southern Maryland. Go to www.prismonline.info.