August President’s PRoclaimer Message

By Juliette Gebken-Mayi, APR

As I take a few minutes to look back on the past year, I find myself reflecting not only on what we accomplished together, but on the people who made it all possible.

When I began this journey as President of FPRA Orlando, our goal was clear: to position FPRA Orlando as the leading resource and professional network for public relations practitioners in Central Florida.

Thanks to the commitment of our board, our volunteers and, most importantly, our members, we’ve made tremendous progress toward that goal.

How do you sum up a year? If I had to choose just one word, it would be THRIVE.

This year, we didn’t just grow FPRA Orlando. We created an environment where our members, our students, our leaders and our profession could thrive.

We thrived through connection — with successful monthly programs featuring incredible leaders from our PR community, meaningful networking opportunities and an amazing Media Mashup with a stellar program.

We thrived through engagement — as more members stepped forward to join committees, volunteer their time and help shape the future of our chapter.

And we celebrated professional growth, with four Leadership FPRA graduates and a new CPRC among our members who took important steps forward in their careers.

We also drove impact through service, through our first volunteer initiative supporting United Against Poverty Orlando, putting our profession into action to make a difference in our community.

We strengthened our connection with students in a way we hadn’t before, including an incredible clothing drive that collected more than 100 items to help students feel confident and prepared for job interviews.

Together, we also raised more than $1,400 for student scholarships, helping open doors for the next generation of communicators.

And when our own professionals needed support, we created the Path Forward Scholarship to provide an FPRA Orlando membership to a communications professional navigating a career transition.

These are just a few highlights from a year filled with so many initiatives, programs and moments that made FPRA Orlando stronger.

But behind every accomplishment was a person.

So, before I close out my time as President, I want to take a moment to recognize the incredible Board who gave so much of their time, energy, creativity and heart to this chapter:

Sarah Kelliher, APR – President-Elect
Gisselle Garcia – Secretary
Weslie Guzman – VP of Membership
Keri Woody – VP of Student Outreach
Alyson Solo – VP of Credentialing
Jose Luis Dieppa – At-Large
Kaitlyn Kelley – Treasurer
Amanda Lubin – VP of Communications
Jennifer Marcial – VP of Membership and our unofficial social media extraordinaire
Karla Ochoa – VP of Belonging

I have so much admiration and gratitude for each of you. You showed up. You leaned in. You brought ideas, solved problems, supported one another and, most importantly, cared deeply about FPRA Orlando and the people who make this chapter what it is.

I will forever cherish this past year.

Serving as your President has been one of the greatest honors of my career, and I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to serve alongside such an extraordinary group of professionals and friends.

Thank you for trusting me to lead. Thank you for believing in the vision. And thank you for helping make this year one where we didn’t just grow — we thrived.

With immense gratitude,

Juliette Gebken-Mayi, APR
President, FPRA Orlando Area Chapter