Going “Two for Two” on April 18 PRSA Member Town Hall

The Town Hall Team from PRSA during the April 18 Zoom presentation.

By Edward M. Bury, APR, MA (aka The PRDude)

Okay, I’m not making this up.  During the April 18 PRSA Member Town Hall, I had some success. Actually success “doubled.”

Let me explain. 

I joined the hour-long presentation — as I had done earlier this year, noted in this February 23 PRDude post — to gain insight into a range of developments within the organization and have the opportunity to pose a question. 

Well, I presented two questions and received a response to both.

First, let me offer a quick recap of sorts.  Participants (and there were close to 100 if I recall) heard from elected leadership and staff regarding the upcoming 2024 Icon Conference in Anaheim, opportunities to apply for membership on the Board of Directors, the status of the the Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR) program and more.  A member who recently earned the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) credential shared heartfelt insight on the challenges faced on her journey and the benefit gained. 

With around 15 minutes left in the Town Hall, I saw that participants were invited to share a question through the Zoom platform, so I did. The scope of my question: I learned (from a local colleague who participated in a recent PRSA Midwest District call) that the Society was aware a sizeable number of members earned Accreditation over the years, but have not completed the required Renewal procedures. In essence, these members no longer should be recognized as APRs. What was being done to address this issue?

PRSA leadership and staff on the Town Hall noted that the impact of the recent pandemic may have been a factor as to why some Accredited members let their credential lapse. Efforts were underway to contact these “delinquent” APRs and encourage them to complete the Renewal process, which is required every three years.  A sound and rational response; perhaps this post will build awareness for the need to renew Accreditation, get members to accept the value behind maintaining the credential, and then completing the process. 

Now, onto the second question addressed. 

Prior to the Town Hall, participants were invited to pose a question online.  My inquiry centered on — if memory is correct — what the Society was doing to encourage or inspire honest and accurate communications by members given the assuredly caustic situations that will arise in the upcoming national elections this fall. 

The response certainly was understandable: PRSA does not take sides on political issues. Still, I’m pleased that the subject was addressed, as guaranteeing the free flow of information is one of the Society’s Code Provisions of Conduct.  Well, to be more specific, the Code works to protect and advance “the free flow of accurate and truthful information.”  Italics are mine. 

I look forward to the next Member Town Hall; and rest assured, I will pose questions. 

 

 

 

A Visit to a Place Where Men and Women of Letters Are Honored

By Edward M. Bury, APR, MA (aka The PRDude)

Perhaps it’s somewhat ironic that the following post, which contains ten images and captions but just a few paragraphs as a narrative, centers on a place here in Chicago that honors and celebrates those who are recognized for their role in literature of all types.  Perhaps there should  be lots more words. 

And, perhaps referring to these authors as “men and women of letters” is a trifle outdated and more appropriate for decades past — certainly in this digitally-driven place and time.  But from this perspective, we still employ letters to construct words, sentences and paragraphs, despite the growing proliferation of emojis, images, and video in communications today.

So, without further ado (a phrase that emerged from another era), here’s the background. On April 4, I had the pleasure of attending “Ink + Impact,” a social gathering and casual discussion hosted by the Better Government Association. The theme of the conversation was “A Celebration of Journalism,” and while I didn’t take notes, one topic addressed certainly resonated: The continued dramatic loss of newspapers, especially in rural parts of the nation, and its impact on modern society across America. The BGA team recorded the conversation, which you can access from this link. 

(The decline of newspapers certainly has been prevalent in recent years, and it was addressed in this space with a post published in February of 2023.)

But it was The American Writers Museum, the venue for the BGA evening event, that I focus on below.  Full disclosure: I had not previously visited the museum, even though I certainly knew of its existence and its location in a vintage office building on North Michigan Avenue. Plus, a friend who works there gave me a comp admission pass a few years ago!  As a “writer” of sorts, I should have made multiple pilgrimages over the years.  Rest assured, I will return. 

In the interim, please enjoy this “travelogue” to honor those Americans committed to the written word. 

The “Ink + Impact” event drew a capacity crowd for the discussion on the state of journalism and access to the Museum.

Not much to add to the message on this panel; to employ a cliché — it speaks volumes.  

One of the many way cool features of the Museum: An interactive display that provides a blueprint of sorts on how literature is made.

Somewhat fitting that a copy of the masterful prose poem by one of Chicago’s most revered writers — one who maintained he never received the respect he deserved — was found in a somewhat disheveled conditioned.

Both Chicago icons from the same era. We received the Chicago Sun-Times while I was growing up, so I certainly was familiar with Ann Landers. And, back in the 1980s, while working at a PR firm located in the 303 E. Wacker Dr. office building, I shared an elevator ride with Studs Terkel; I was somewhat stunned and could only say, “Hello.”

Next to Nelson Algren, Bellow is my favorite Chicago author. Like Algren, he set many of his fictional works in and around Chicago. One commonality between Algren, Bellow and myself: We all lived for a time in or around the former Eastern European immigrant enclave of what’s defined by the city as West Town.

This display features the tool many writers employed since its invention some 150 years ago. Those of us who used to compose on a typewriter — whether in a noisy newsroom or alone — can perhaps still hear the somewhat symphonic sounds.

This main gallery features interactive profiles on American writers representing all genres and spanning the early years of the nation to today.

Well said. And, let me add from cities and towns from north to south, from east to west and everywhere in between.

This colorful display highlights a current exhibit, “Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice,” housed in the Meijer Gallery and Roberta Rubin Writers Room. (Try to say that last name fast five times!)