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MEETINGS

Next at IABC Fort Worth ...
Everyone Has Stories to Tell, but Are They All Worth Hearing?

Drew Myers says a spear without a point is just a stick and a story without a point is just as dull. The director of business development for JODesign knows his stories, and he will bring examples of the good, the bad and the ugly, with tips on how to make your own stories sing, to the February meeting.

Myers will dissect the process from Storytelling 101 to the most advanced technical tools available to get your point across quickly, cleanly and compellingly.

Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22
Place: City Club, 301 Commerce St.
Cost: $25 members, $30 nonmembers, students $20

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Research: Do You Know What You Think You Know?

Dr. Paul Ruggiere, director of the UNT Survey Research Center, wonders if people really know what they think they know about research. At the February meeting he will examine how research can improve message effectiveness, with emphasis on inexpensive (sometimes free) sources, why research is vital in PR/communications planning (do we understand the audience? is the message getting out?), and examples of how research has strengthened campaigns.

Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9
Place: Colonial Country Club, 3735 Country Club Circle
Cost: $25 members, $35 nonmembers, students $20, walk-ups add $5

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STRAIGHT STUFF

TCU Communication Studies chair Paul King will discuss “TCU Debaters, Preparation & Performance” at the TCU Guild luncheon Thursday, Feb. 17, on the campus at TCU Moudy South, third floor. Cost is $15; no reservations at the door. Guild nonmembers are welcome. RSVP by Feb. 11 to Lois Powers, 817-249-7409 or tcuguild@gmail.com. The Guild funds eight scholarships in the TCU Colleges of Fine Arts and Communication. ...

Blogs. Facebook. LinkedIn. Twitter. How can you use them efficiently and still have time for your real job? Share experiences and get new ideas at a Freelance Alliance roundtable, “Social Media: What’s Working for You,” Tuesday, Feb. 15, at the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, 10707 Preston Road. Registration starts at 11:30 a.m., the hour-long program at noon. No charge for members of the Association for Women in Communications, IABC and PRSA; guests and nonmembers $10. More from Pat Pape at patpape@yahoo.com. ...

Almost all writers have tasted rejection. For some it’s a steady diet. Short story specialist Glen Pourciau will examine how to cope with long waits for replies (and why editors don’t like your work) at the Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, at the Richardson Public Library. A collection of Pourciau’s stories won the 2008 Iowa Short Fiction Award and was published by the University of Iowa Press. His stories have appeared in the Antioch Review, Epoch, New England Review, the Paris Review, TriQuarterly and other magazines.  •  Improve your writing/editing skills at WGT PCS (planned critique sessions), third Wednesday of the month, Richardson Public Library basement, 7-8:45 p.m. Participants present their own work and receive feedback from fellow members. Contact Earl Stubbs, earlstubbs34@gmail.com, 214-683-2489.  •  Writers’ events calendar: Feb. 26-27, DFW Writers’ Conference, agents and acquisition editors, keynote Sandra Brown, American Airlines Training and Conference Center in Fort Worth. WGT third-Monday early-birds: Janet Doleh, March 21; Susannah Charleson on the query and pitch, April 18; SPJ member Carmen Goldthwaite on creative nonfiction, May 16; WGT All-Stars Read-In, June 20. More at writersguildoftexas.org/joomla/. Send events calendar items to Carol Woods at carol.woods@verizon.net.

IABC local update: Veteran communicators Barb Mayben and Angie McCoy will discuss at the IABC Dallas luncheon Tuesday, Feb. 8, the three responsibilities every leader should have in any communications plan, how to choose the best communications tactics for four leadership styles and how best to engage leaders in social media. Info here.

PRSA local update: The Independent Practitioners SIG will meet 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at Studios 121. More from chair Nancy Farrar, nancyfarrar@att.net.

PRSA local update II: Standing reminders. Have something to say? Be a speaker at a North Texas PRSSA chapter meeting. E- Kevin Williams at kw757@yahoo.com. ... The DFW Communicators Job Bank lists full-time, part-time and internship positions in PR, media affairs, advertising/sales, event planning, graphic design, marketing, and corporate and employee communications throughout North Texas. Employers who are members of the participating organizations may post a job listing for $50; the cost for nonmembers is $75. Nonprofits get a 50 percent discount. Each posting runs three weeks. Greater Fort Worth PRSA receives a portion of the proceeds when a member marks his or her membership status on the submission form. More from Jerrod Resweber at jresweber@webershandwick.com. ... Stay on top of emerging trends and industry news, extend your network while increasing your knowledge, and keep learning and stay competitive. Any practitioner with at least two years in the field is eligible for membership in the world’s leading organization for PR professionals. Those with fewer than two years experience or who recently graduated from college and were active in PRSSA may join as an associate member. More from new chapter president Carol Murray at cmurray@fwmsh.org or 817-255-9408.

PRSA local update III: The Dallas-based nonprofit Big Thought will share at the Dallas PRSA luncheon Thursday, Feb. 10, how it developed SLANT 45 in conjunction with the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee to connect the region’s youngest citizens to football’s biggest game of the year. Info here.          



Robert Bohler
Kenneth Pybus
Kay Colley