January President’s PRoclaimer Message
By Roy Reid, APR, CPRC
Happy New Year to each and every one of you and thank you for your continued support of FPRA’s Orlando chapter. It’s an honor to serve as your president this year. As I shared coffee with one of our board members recently, we noted that the new year marks almost the halfway point of this term.
It’s been a very good year so far. Your board is working hard to do one thing that has an impact throughout the chapter and that is to bring you more value. It's humbling to serve with so many outstanding practitioners and I’m grateful for the time I spend with them individually and as a board. Whether it’s in our programming, professional development, networking, other services, or student development, each member of the board is delivering on that promise in multiples.
Very soon, you will receive a survey from our president-elect, Julitte Gebken-Mayi and membership VP Sarah Kelliher, asking for your thoughts, ideas and opinions on where we are, where we are going and how we can improve the chapter. Please take time to complete the survey as it will inform our next steps and planning for the Orlando Area Chapter.
In addition, we will soon begin the task of recruiting for the 2025-2026 Board of Directors. I am so excited for how FPRA will benefit from Juliette’s leadership and the wonderful talent in our current board that will remain and new members from a rich pool of candidates in the chapter. If you’ve never served before, look for opportunities to volunteer on some of our upcoming events like PR Paid Forward or Media Mashup. Each of these programs are coordinated with our colleagues in PRSA so they also provide a wonderful networking opportunity.
As the new year unfolds, my thoughts are on how I can be more effective, productive and grateful in my work and in my personal relationships as well. One of my commitments is to connect more with friends and colleagues for more meaningful conversations.
I am hopeful that you too see the opportunities beginning to surface in this first quarter of 2025.
I invite you to reach out and schedule time to connect if you wish to. And if we’ve never met, I’d appreciate making that connection. I've included a link to my LinkedIn account as well a link to my Calendly to schedule a meeting. We can connect in person or virtually.
There are so many exciting things happening in and around our community and FPRA members are at the center of those events. There is much to be thankful for and excited about in 2025.
