Event Info

30th Annual Chesapeake Conference

Looking Back, Reaching Forward

Program

8:00 am - 8:30 am
Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 am - 9:45am
Welcome
Christine P. Barnhart, APR, President, PRSA Maryland
Magellan Health Services

Breakfast Keynote: Your Attention, Please
Alison Davis, Author

Breaking through the clutter to reach today’s busy audiences does not mean communicating more—it requires taking a radically different approach that incorporates smart, attention-getting techniques. Learn these techniques during a lively session with communications expert Alison Davis, author of Your Attention, Please: How to Appeal to Today’s Distracted and Busy Audiences.

9:45 - 10:00am Break

10:00 - 10:50am Breakout Sessions 1

The Milestones Approach: Internal Communications as a Driver of Business Results
Marc Cooper, Director of Change Communication, CapitalOne
Chris Palumbo, Vice President of Business Unit Integration, CapitalOne

Instead of supporting business strategy, Capital One believes internal communication should be front-and-center. That philosophy was put to the test when Capital One, known as a credit card company, announced its intent to acquire Hibernia National Bank, a New Orleans-based institution. Find out how Capital One was able to successfully complete the transaction and integrate the two companies – immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

Social Media Strategies, Part One: Extending Your Client’s PR Goals Online
Tom Rowe, Director of Web Marketing, Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association

While communicating with bloggers may be different than pitching traditional media, it’s natural that the PR professional should also be responsible for extending client communications online. Hear how your company can remain competitive in this ever-changing social media environment.

Zebra Ethics
Donna M. Davis, Director, Ethics & Business Conduct, Northrop Grumman Corporation

Does your organization foster the view that ethics is an imprecise gray rather than a clear issue of black or white? Find out how to develop programs that enhance individuals’ ethical acuity so we can see beyond the “gray” and discern issues readily as either right… or wrong.

10:50 – 11:00 am Break

11:00-11:50 am Breakout Sessions 2

The Best Brands are Built from the Inside-Out
Dan Collins, SVP/Director of Strategic Planning, Gray Kirk/VanSant
Mary Quick, Art Director, Gray Kirk/VanSant

Learn how to build your brand from the inside-out and create a promise that results in a consistent experience across all audiences that goes far beyond the direct product or service delivery, across all manners of interaction with the company.

Media Panel: Expand Your Relationship With the Media
Panelists:
Kortni Alston, News Director, WEAA 88.9 FM, Baltimore, MD
Gadi Dechter, Higher Education Reporter, Baltimore Sun
Jonathan Oglesby, Producer, “This is America,” PBS
David Wilkison, Bureau Chief, Baltimore and Washington AP

Moderator: Vic Carter, WJZ TV Channel 13

Contacting the media can be challenging, but you can improve your placement odds by building a better relationship with the media. Get a head-start on building those relationships by hearing from and meeting the individuals on our media panel.

Starting Your Own PR Practice
Jody Buffington Aud, Immediate Past President, IPRC
President, The Prio Group
Lisa Brusio Coster, President, Coster Communications, Ltd.
Dorothy Fuchs, Vice President, IPRC
President, Purple Dot Communications
Constance Whittington Helms, APR, Secretary-Treasurer, IPRC
President, Whittington Helms & Associates, LLC
G. Scott Shaw, Webmaster, IPRC
President, CreatiVerge, Inc.

Hear about the experiences of five members of the executive board of the Independent Public Relations Collaborative (IPRC) who consult for national, regional and local companies, non-profits and agencies. They’ll provide advice on how to start your own business and the profitability of the areas in which they focus.

11:50 – 12:00 pm Break

12:00 -1:30 pm LUNCHEON - Annual Meeting of PRSA Maryland Chapter
& Election of 2008 PRSA Maryland Slate of Officers

Recognition of Newly Accredited PRSA Maryland Members
Lisa K. Miles, APR

Luncheon Keynote: 2007 – The Year of Cal
John C. Maroon, President, Maroon PR

Fresh from a trip to China with baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr., John Maroon and his company have been with Ripken through many high-profile experiences – especially in 2007. During this interactive session, learn how Maroon PR worked side-by-side with Ripken on messaging, managing a nationwide media frenzy and serving as a sounding board and a confidant to him during what proved to be a rewarding and challenging year.

1:30 – 2:00 pm
Afternoon Break and refreshments
Sponsored by Maroon PR

Speed Networking
Meet one-on-one with past PRSA Maryland presidents, current PRSA Maryland board members and other seasoned public relations professionals and get advice to move your career forward!

Jody Aud, APR
Principal, The Prio Group

Christine P. Barnhart, APR
Senior Communications Generalist, Magellan Health Services

Erika Murray
Director, Corporate Public Relations & Community Affairs, MedStar Health

Constance Whittington Helms, APR
President, Whittington Helms & Associates, LLC

Lisa Miles, APR
President, Miles Public Relations

Tami Schmidt
Director, Public Relations, Magellan Health Services

Kenneth R. Smith, APR
Butler Capital Corporation

2:00 - 2:50 pm Breakout Sessions 3

Best in Maryland’s “Best in Show” Award-Winning Presentation
“Just Rewards for Hybrid Vehicle Owners”
Jennifer Wislocki, Director of Corporate Communications, Travelers Insurance
David M. Imre, APR, CEO/President and Partner, Imre Communications

Meet the winners of the 2007 Best in Show Award given by PRSA Maryland. Hear about the integrated marketing campaign they created to launch a 10 percent discount on auto insurance for hybrid owners, and find out their strategy for creating an award-winning program entry.

Gaining Influence at the C-Table: Why Communicators Must Become Ambassadors for Trust
Jarvis Cromwell, J2 Consultancy

Trust in big companies has reached an historic 100-year low. Reputational risk is now seen as a top-ten worry among CEOs. And the new digital era has increased transparency, enabling the public to take more control of the communications agenda. So, are traditional messaging and other tried-and-true tools dead? Not quite, but almost. Find out how to gain more influence with C-level executives by helping them drive reputational performance within this strange new chaotic communications landscape.

Worst-Case Scenario
Kermit Netteburg, PhD, APR, Senior Pastor, Beltsville Seventh-day Adventist Church

Learn how to create messages when bad things happen to good organizations. Find out how a systems approach to message creation helps control the crisis and share information to put the situation into perspective for your organization’s publics.

2:50 – 3:00 pm Break

3:00 - 3:50 pm Breakout Sessions 4

Techniques of Marketing Research: How and When to Use Them in Public Relations
Scott McBride, President, Hollander, Cohen & McBride

See examples of how research is used in public relations to define issues, measure the scope of public opinion, test ideas to modify opinions or mitigate concerns and measure the impact of public relations activities to help you determine which methods might work best to achieve your communication goals.

Social Media Strategies, Part Two: Tactics in Action
Hollis Thomases, President and Founder, Web Ad.vantage, Inc.

In a continuation of the Social Media Strategies workshop presented during Session I, you’ll see examples of numerous social media tactics such as blogger outreach, social networking, video and much more to better understand how these tactics can help raise your client’s visibility and brand awareness.