Author: WWPR

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Washington Women in Public Relations

In March I wrote about the continued controversy over the Boy Scout of America’s (BSA) ban on gay members and leaders.  At the time, the BSA Council was due to vote in May on lifting the ban and I explored the ramifications of how this would affect the BSA’s overall image as the country’s oldest and largest youth scouting organization.

Former and present Boy Scouts, leaders, parents, and community leaders waited over the next few months for the decision to come through.  In the end, the BSA Council tallied 757 yes votes and 475 no votes on ending the ban on gay Boy Scout members.  But, to the dismay of many and relief of others, the BSA Council refused to allow gay men and women to serve in Boy Scout leadership positions.  A decidedly unequal victory, in other words.

In the weeks that followed the historic vote, news stories reported on church groups vowing to drop all ties with BSA while others were opting to take a different, more welcoming approach.  However, well-known corporate sponsors such as Caterpillar opted to drop their financial support completely.  But it was plain for everyone to see that the Boy Scouts would be forced to continue dealing with challenges to its image and reputation for years to come.

I must admit my view on the Boy Scouts is personal, in part because my son was a Cub Scout for two years before the gay member and leader ban was put to a nationwide vote.  I wanted him to have a similar experience as I did in the Girl Scouts growing up—one that was memorable, educational and formative in all the ways that scouting can be.  But, I remained uncomfortable with the fact that he was part of an organization that discriminated against the very same people I count as dear friends and relatives.  And that is important for one key reason: in public relations, regardless of the client, issue, message or spin, everything is personal to someone, somewhere.

Last month, the Supreme Court’s decision that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional will only serve to bolster those promising to continue the fight to allow gay men and women to serve as Boy Scout leaders.  Why?  Because some of those gay men and women are parents of boys who want nothing more than to be part of the long scouting tradition that instills values of leadership and citizenship and experiences that will forever shape their childhood and future as young men.  Intolerance to discrimination against gays is fast becoming the norm, not anomaly, in this country.

Communicating why the ban was lifted on some, but not others, is something the BSA will have to work hard on and so far, the jury is out on just how well they’ve done.  The optics, therefore, of this lopsided victory in which the BSA has said yes to gay members but no to gay leaders, remains no less controversial and decidedly unequal.

Jessica Williams is Vice President at C.Fox Communications, a mission-driven strategic communications agency with offices in Silver Spring, MD and Washington, DC.  Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/oysterviewpoint

Trends of the Trade is a monthly column written by WWPR member Cory Churches exploring, well, trends in PR.Follow her @Coricita or reach her at Cory.Churches@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Washington Women in Public Relations

If you attend any of the networking events hosted by the myriad of PR and Communications groups, including WWPR and PRSA, you’ll likely hear discussions about audience engagement. It’s the ultimate goal for any public relations campaign and the ever-elusive goal for many organizations.

The sweet spot to achieving successful audience and client engagement lies in the intersection between content marketing, targeted communication, and technology.

While creating quality content that customers and audiences want is always the challenge, sometimes the larger challenge is ensuring that they are receiving said content.

More than a few tools exist that can help you organize, track, distribute and proliferate your messages. Here are some that can get you started.

Gaggle Amp is “the social marketing platform that lets companies amplify their social media reach by leveraging individual employees, customers and partners.” The application allows companies, non-profits, political campaigns, and major brands share information and engage more of their audience by managing their social media channels and measuring the impact of campaigns.

Zamba.me Soapbox^TM is a service that helps expand your Twitter network by introducing you and your tweets to a new community of like-minded individuals. By refining your profile to identify the types of individuals and organizations with whom you’d like to converse, Zamba.me Soapbox finds quality new followers who are tuned into your message, resulting in more robust sharing and conversations. Greg Chase, an advisor to vTricity, the company that created Zamba.me, says that Zamba.me Soapbox lends a hand in building quality and credible audiences by engaging users and promoting Twitter handles to an as yet unknown network of influencers. The result is the same if you had the time and energy to do it yourself, Zamba.me just makes it easier in a shorter amount of time.

Kapost is a content marketing platform that allows users to plan, organize, manage workflow, distribute, and analyze content across a variety of platforms. Managing where content exists, who’s seeing it, and how successful campaigns are in achieving their goals is invaluable to an organization. Kapost also has a wealth of resources for companies in any stage of the content marketing process. From strategy and ideation to distribution and analytics, Kapost has eBooks, videos, presentations and blog entries to help users refine and plan their best approach to their audiences and messages.

Creating, delivering, and measuring messages can take teams of staff to ensure an organization is spending valuable resources in the right place and on the right messages. The tools above can help an individual or a team maintain and manage messages to maximize return on investment.

Leading PR Society for Women Adds Debra Silimeo to Senior Leadership

WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 25, 2013 – Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR), a leading resource for communications professionals in the nation’s capital, today announces that Debra Silimeo, executive vice president of Hager Sharp, will be joining the WWPR Advisory Council. The council, established in 2012, provides strategic advice on the direction of the organization focused on networking and peer-to-peer mentoring.

“WWPR is in a pivotal time of change to ensure it is meeting the needs of its members as women in the PR industry continue to achieve new professional heights,” said WWPR co-president Tina McCormack Beaty. “Almost half of PRWeek’s recent 50 Power List were women – as more women take strong leadership roles nationally and here in DC, it will be important for them to have a professional network of peers to learn from and lean on.”

Silimeo was named the 2010 PR Woman of the Year by Washington Women in Public Relations, an award recognizing a public relations strategist whose achievements have reached a pinnacle in the profession. As a member of the Hager Sharp’s management team, Debra leads the firm’s education practice and client services, including comprehensive national campaigns, and has helped the firm more than double in size and revenue. She has extensive experience in public policy communications, as a senior member of the Congressional Leadership staff and at two Cabinet level agencies. She began her career as a radio and TV journalist (WAMU, WTOP, NBC4/WRC-TV) covering local and national issues in the Washington region.

“WWPR is an extraordinary organization, I am looking forward to helping it expand its potential,” said Silimeo. “It’s great having a seat at the executive table, but it’s equally important to help the next generation of leaders fill more of those seats.”

Silimeo joins fellow industry titans on the advisory council including:

• Martha Boudreau, President Mid-Atlantic & Latin America, Fleishman-Hillard
• Frank Kauffman, Senior Counselor, Edelman
• Catherine “Kiki” McLean, Counselor, Porter Novelli
• Polly Sherard, Manager-Special Projects, ABC7-TV and wjla.com

For more information on the Washington Women in Public Relations or its advisory council, please visit www.wwpr.org.

ABOUT WASHINGTON WOMEN IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) is the first and only D.C.-based professional organization advancing women in the communications industry. WWPR is committed to delivering outstanding professional development, networking, marketplace positioning, and leadership opportunities to area communicators. Visit us at wwpr.org, “Like” us on Facebook.com/WashingtonWomeninPR, and follow us on Twitter @WWPR.

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Announcement Culminates Reception Honoring Rising Stars in Communications

WASHINGTON, D.C. — July 24, 2013 — Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) proudly named Nell Callahan, Rachael Glaws and Lauren Wesley Wilson the 2013 Emerging Leaders Awards (ELA) honorees at their fourth annual ELA reception on July 18. The signature WWPR accolade honors young women (ages 23-30) who have significantly impacted the communications field and show the potential to make their mark on the industry as a whole for many years to come.

WWPR congratulates the 2013 Emerging Leaders Awards honorees:

Nell Callahan, Senior Vice President, SKDKnickerbocker

Nell leads award-winning campaigns for corporations, trade associations and issue advocacy clients at SKDK, including the award-winning Center for Constitutional Rights campaign to promote the Center’s legal work in defending Guantanamo Bay detainees. She also provides pro bono counsel to 826 National, a network of nonprofit writing centers founded by award-winning author, Dave Eggers.

Rachael Glaws, Principal and Founder, RGI events & public relations

Rachael is the founder of RGI events and public relations, a company recognized as a top events firm by Washington Life Magazine in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and placed on the Washington Business Journal’s Top Meeting & Event Planners lists from 2009 to 2012. Rachael was also named on the Apex Awards Top 30 Under 30 list in 2010 and was an Event Solutions Magazine-recognized Rising Star in 2011 and 2012. She is currently writing her first book, “Work It! A Chic & Savvy Script for an Ultra Successful Startup,” focusing on women entrepreneurs.

Lauren Wesley Wilson, Communications Strategist and Account Supervisor, MSL Group

Lauren leads successful media relations campaigns for her clients at MSL Group and she was recently named one of WKYS 93.9’s “30 Under 30.” Lauren is the founder and Chief Networking Officer of ColorComm, a networking organization for women of color in communications. ColorComm has received mentions in the National Journal, The Washington Post, Black Enterprise, and Washington Informer.

“WWPR is pleased to recognize these exceptional honorees who blew the judges away with their professional success and dedication to other nonprofits and groups,” said Kendra Kojcsich, WWPR Co-President. “We know the communications industry is in good hands with these honorees and finalists shaping the field.”

The honorees were named at the National Press Club reception from a distinguished group of finalists that also included Kristine Austria, Account Executive at Ketchum, Liz Bartolomeo, Media Director at Sunlight Foundation and Jackie Titus, Vice President at Powell Tate.

The event’s keynote speaker was Kori Bernards, Senior Vice President of Communications at Universal Pictures. Bernards gave a lively address that focused on lessons learned and behind the scenes stories from her illustrious career. She ended on a personal note with advice for attendees to “Dream big, revise often.”

WWPR thanks the companies who supported the 2013 ELA:

Gold Sponsors

Central Michigan University

Z Communications

National Press Club

Boss Ladies Mean Business

Edelman

DS Simon

PR Newswire

Porter Novelli

Hager Sharp

Strauss Radio Strategies

Pepco

Silver Sponsors

JPA Health Communications

WestGlen Communications

Ketchum

Powell Tate

Ogilvy

Vocus

Bronze Sponsors

McBee Strategic Consulting

Widmeyer Communications

National Restaurant Association

NAPS

Keenan PR

WestGlen Communications

Event Partners

Stanton Communications

Haley Tobias Events

Wally Dyer Photography

Uber DC

About Washington Women in Public Relations

Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) is the first and only D.C. based professional organization advancing women in the communications industry. WWPR is committed to delivering outstanding professional development, networking, marketplace positioning, and leadership opportunities to area communicators. Visit us at wwpr.org, find us on Facebook.com/WashingtonWomeninPR and follow us on Twitter @WWPR.

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