Tampa Chapter Delegates Attend National Assembly
Posted on Nov. 18, 2014 / Subscribe 0
By Noelle Fox, APR
On Oct. 11, PRSA Tampa Bay’s three Assembly Delegates – John Dunn, APR, Noelle Fox, APR, and Mary Haban, APR – attended PRSA’s National Assembly in Washington, D.C., along with 250 other chapter, district and national leaders throughout the country. At the Assembly, Tampa Bay’s delegates represented the chapter, voting on issues important to the society including two proposed amendments to PRSA’s bylaws. The following proposed amendments were passed with a majority vote:
Amendment 1401: Removed the APR as a requirement to be a candidate for the two national board-member-at-large seats
Amendment 1402: Allows for the possibility of leaders within other segments of PRSA to be elected as a special nonvoting director by the Board
Also during the Assembly, delegates voted on the society’s 2015 leadership. Mark McClennan, APR, senior vice president, social media services, MSLGROUP, was elected to serve as PRSA’s Chair-Elect in 2015 and Chair in 2016.
“’We are at an inflection point in the public relations industry, and I’m humbled to be selected to lead PRSA during 2016,’” McClennan said in a statement.
According to a PRSA National article, “McClennan has worked with companies ranging from venture-funded startups to large public companies, such as: Ancestry.com, 
BillMeLater/PayPal, LifeLock, Samsung, Epocrates and Filip Technologies. He has guided companies through IPOs and acquisitions and has coordinated successful PR campaigns globally for companies in Europe and Asia.”
“One of the Assembly’s highlights for me was the national board’s statement that increasing diversity in public relations will be a high priority this year – particularly with young professionals.” Dunn said. “And with a new CEO coming in, I’m eager to see how much progress we can make towards achieving this goal over the next 12 months.”
Officers
• Treasurer: Jane E. Dvorak, APR, Fellow PRSA, president, JKD & Company, Inc., Lakewood, Colo.
• Secretary: Marisa Vallbona, APR, Fellow PRSA, president, CIM Incorporated, San Diego.
District representatives
• Director, East Central District: Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR, director, digital media communications, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis.
• Director, Mid-Atlantic District: Janet E. Kacskos, APR, Fellow PRSA, director of communications, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Millersville, Pa.
• Director, Northeast District: JoAnn S. LeSage Nelson, APR, vice president, client services, Pierce Communications, Albany, N.Y.
• Director, Tri-State District: Lea-Ann O’Hare Germinder, APR, Fellow PRSA, president, Germinder & Associates, Inc., New York
• Director, Western District: Todd A. Cooley, APR, principal, The Todd Cooley Company, Santa Ana, Calif.
Director-at-large
• T. Garland Stansell, APR, chief communications officer, Children’s of Alabama, Birmingham, Ala.
They join the current Board of Directors returning for 2015, including:
Officers
• Chair: Kathy Barbour, APR, corporate director, public relations and marketing, Baptist Health South Florida, Miami
• Immediate-Past Chair: Joe Cohen, APR, senior vice president of communications, KIND Healthy Snacks, New York.
District representatives
• Director, Midwest District: Brian N. Lee, APR, president, Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media, Madison, Wis.
• Director, North Pacific District: Ronele M. Dotson, APR, president, RKPR Inc., Reno, Nev.
• Director, Sunshine District: Bonnie P. Upright, APR, development director/principal, The Boselli Foundation/Upright Public Relations, LLC, Orange Park, Fla.
Directors-at-large
• Kathleen Donohue Rennie, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA, assistant professor/partner, Seton Hall University/The McGraw Group, Union, N.J.
• Tracy A. Schario, APR, communications officer, The Pew Charitable Trusts, White Stone, Va.
• Deborah A. Silverman, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA, associate professor of communication, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo, N.Y.
For more information on PRSA and the outcomes of the 2014 PRSA National Assembly, click here.
0 Comments