August President’s PRoclaimer Message
By FPRA Orlando President Ali Beemer, APR
Wow, the end of the chapter year is upon us, and FPRA’s 83rd Annual Conference just concluded. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to wrap up this year — with incredible professional development sessions, networking with our PR friends from around the state of Florida, cheering on our chapter members for their accreditation and leadership accolades, and toasting to Florida PR’s best and brightest during Golden Image Awards. My passion for this association and our industry is at an all-time high.
During the President’s Luncheon, I was honored to accept the President’s Awards for Awards & Recognition and Communications & PR. These represent the incredible work by our board of directors to bring back our prestigious Image Awards gala in person to a sold-out crowd and our phenomenal communications efforts to reach our members via our revamped monthly PRoclaimer newsletter, social media channels and chapter website. Every chapter leader has contributed in some way to earning these accolades, especially Kali Hammond, APR, Cynthia Velasco, Christine Dellert Mullon, Valerie Moses and Nathalia Romano.
We also heard from incoming FPRA president and fellow Orlando Area chapter member, Jay Morgan-Schleuning, APR, CPRC, about his theme for the year: You Belong at FPRA. We can’t wait to hear more from Jay about his theme and vision for this leadership year at our board installation later this month, learn from his leadership and cheer him on throughout the year.
Finally, I want to give a shout-out to the chapter members who brought home the hardware for their leading PR programs at this year’s Golden Image Awards, with a special shout-out to Despina McLaughlin, APR, for bringing home the night’s top award — the Dick Pope All Florida Golden Image Award — for Orange County Government’s #IGotMyShot campaign. Well done, all! And a huge congrats to fellow chapter member and my good friend Alyson Sologaistoa, APR, CPRC, for earning FPRA’s Member of the Year award. Her dedicated service and vital contributions to our association have made us all #FPRAGreaterThan.
The celebration continues as we host our annual end-of-year celebration and board installation breakfast program on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Historic Dubsdread Ballroom. Make sure you register here to help us welcome our 2022-2023 board of directors, led by Jose Luis Dieppa. I can’t wait to witness the greatness he will bring to our chapter as president.
As I reflect on this past chapter year and prepare for the immediate past president role, I can’t thank our chapter enough for the trust and support I received this year. Leading our chapter was one of the most enriching experiences of my professional career, and I couldn’t have done any of it without our board of directors for their endless contributions, the FPRA members locally and statewide who continuously offered their counsel, and my husband and family for allowing me to make FPRA a priority. I will always be grateful for the professional and personal opportunities FPRA has given me.
Cheers to FPRA Orlando — the best is yet to come!
