Bills camp, the Erie County Fair and black-eyed Susan’s emerging in my wife’s backyard garden are all sure signs that another summer has come -- and is quickly going.

These annual events always leave me feeling a bit melancholy and a bit panicky, as I realize time is running out on my favorite and far-too-short season of the year.

As president of the Buffalo/Niagara Chapter of PRSA, it also reminds me that while 2003 has been a good year so far, there is still much to be accomplished before the year is over.

The next three months will hopefully result in a continuation of the efforts we’ve made to step up our programming. The always-popular Sunrise Seminar Series, which concluded in August, focused on tips, tools and tactics to master one's media relations skills.

On Wednesday morning, September 17, we will welcome David Rockland to town for a workshop on the always-elusive topic of public relations measurement and evaluation. As senior vice president and global director of research at Ketchum Public Relations, Rockland replaced measurement guru Walter Lindenmann, who retired in 1999. He also manages the Ketchum Reputation Laboratory.

October 16 is the date for the chapter’s annual membership party. This year’s event will be held at the newly opened Sonoma Grille, located at the Lord Amherst Hotel on Main St. in Amherst. The membership committee has been hard at work for months to ensure this year’s party is a huge success.

The fall also brings with it the annual election of officers for the chapter’s board of directors for the following year. Among the positions up for election this November will be president-elect, a three-year board position, treasurer and assembly delegate. Any members who are interested in running for office are invited to contact Linus Ormsby, our immediate past president and chair of this year’s nominating committee, or me.

Later this year, members of the chapter’s board of directors are also planning to take part in a lunch meeting with the Hamilton Chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society. This organization represents more than 100 public relations professionals and students in the Halton, Hamilton and Niagara Regions of Ontario's "Golden Horseshoe."

14th Annual Excalibur Awards Dinner Honors Chapter's Finest

Kathleen Rooney of Travers Collins	Mark Simon, CEO of Upstate New York Transplant Services (UNYTS)
Don Goralski of UB's Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research	Glen White of Carr Marketing, Cheryl Orlick of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, and Robert Carr of Carr Marketing

June 19 proved to be a memorable night for Travers Collins & Company, Carr Marketing Communications and 12 other organizations that earned Excaliburs at the annual awards dinner. But they weren’t the only winners at the evening gala. Three individuals were honored for achieving national accreditation, three others were recognized for professional achievement and two professionals-to-be were presented with scholarships. Not bad for a night's work!

Hosted by WGRZ-TV's Maryalice Demler, the evening began with the recognition of the chapter's newest accredited members, Kandis Fuller, APR; Arleen Kreusch, APR; and Jeff Paterson, APR. All three were presented with pins by Chapter President Dick Shaner Jr. and Accreditation Chair Julie Marranca, APR, in honor of their achievements.

The 2003 Outstanding Executive Award went to Mark Simon, CEO of Upstate New York Transplant Services (UNYTS). Charlotte Viscio, of National Fuel, was honored with the 2003 Rising Star Award. The chapter's May C. Randazzo Scholarships were presented to St. Bonaventure student Carri Gregorski and SUNY-Geneseo's Andrea Bugenhagen. The evening's final individual honor, the 2003 May C. Randazzo Outstanding Practitioner Award, went to Don Goralski, APR, of UB's Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research.

In all, Travers Collins & Company earned 18 awards, including two gold, five silver and 11 bronze. The Health Association of Niagara County Inc. garnered four awards, including two gold and two bronze. Rounding out the awards were: Canisius College (two bronze), Carr Marketing Communications (one gold, one bronze), Gelia Wells & Mohr (two bronze), National Fuel (two bronze), Crowley-Webb & Associates (one silver), the Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition (one bronze), Niagara University (one bronze), Our Lady of Victory Institutions (one bronze), Univera Healthcare (one silver) and the University of Buffalo (one bronze).

The height of the evening's excitement came at its finale with the presentation of the coveted Platinum Excalibur Awards, distributed to those entries deemed "Best of Show." The first winner was Travers Collins' program entry for UNYTS entitled Lives Changed Through Public Service Campaign. Top laurels also went to Carr Marketing's project entry for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery entitled Painting a New Picture of Modigliani for the Media.

Once again, the volunteer planning committee answered the call and did a wonderful job. They were challenged this year with carrying out a number of format and scoring changes. This year's committee included Melissa Cumming, John Della Contrada, Virginia Foreman, Kate Lewis, Charlotte Viscio, Glen White and chair Tom Lucia.

Proving there is truly no rest for the weary, the committee will be reconvening in September to look at fine-tuning the process even more with an eye toward making the 15th Annual Excalibur Awards program the best yet.

JobCenter is Latest Resource to Recruit Up-and-Coming PR Professionals
Nelson Locher, national vice president of internships/job services Public Relations Student Society of America

If you’re an employer in the market for an up-and-coming public relations professional, you’ll want to check out the JobCenter on the Public Relations Student Society of America Web site. The link, added to the PRSSA Web site in 1997, is a great resource for both PRSSA members and public relations professionals looking to fill internship openings or post job opportunities.

Becoming an employer on JobCenter takes less than five minutes. Simply submit your company information to the on-line site, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Once the posting is created, it can be modified or deleted as necessary.

Only PRSSA members have access to the site and there are currently 332 chapters, from as far away as Alaska and Hawaii. That makes JobCenter an ideal resource for recruiting the best and brightest public relations practitioners!

To post your company’s internship or job opportunities, log onto to JobCenter or contact Nelson Locher at nelsonanthonylocher@yahoo.com or (716) 648-1713.

Help Wanted? Try PRSA!

Are you looking for just the right person to fill a public relations vacancy? Are you tired of paying big bucks to advertise in the newspaper, only to hear from 40 people who feel that "liking people" has prepared them for a career in PR?

If so, you need to try PRSA’s job posting service, which allows you to reach more than 100 bona fide PR practitioners.

Here’s how it works: You send the information to our administrative assistant, Brenda Schwamborn. You send a check to the PRSA Buffalo/Niagara Chapter ($50 for members, $75 for non-members). Then you wait for qualified candidates to besiege you with resumes.

It’s just another way that PRSA advances the profession and the professional.