MEETINGS
And Now Some Spicy Bits on the Salsa Biz
Doug Renfro is president of Renfro Foods. It’s the best job at the company, but it should come with a warning label. As the
guy in charge of product development, he must experiment and take the very
first bites of exotic ingredients such as the bhut jolokia, the world’s hottest pepper.
He’ll put the shine on winning salsa at this month’s IABC meeting.
Renfro has spent most of his career working in various capacities at the
company. Under his leadership, Renfro Foods has been named Small Business of
the Year by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and received the Smart Moves
Award from the Fort Worth Business Press, the Founders Award from the Baylor
University Institute for Family Business, the Better Business Bureau Award for
Marketplace Excellence, and the Tarrant County Ethics Award from TCU. It has
been a finalist for U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, May 20
Place: Joe T. Garcia’s, 2201 N. Commerce St., Fort Worth
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20; online add $1, walk-ins without a
reservation add $5; lunch included
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Pragmatic Measurement
PRSA national secretary Blake Lewis, APR, Fellow PRSA, will describe what practitioners can be doing to better
measure the performance of their public relations strategies and programming.
Lewis has 35 years experience in corporate reputation and issues management,
crisis communications, media relations, technology communications and
association governance in corporate, agency and nonprofit settings. He has
developed strategies and tactics, for among others, AT&T, Burger King, EDS, Greyhound, NEC and the Texas Farm Bureau.
Before forming his agency in 2000, Blake worked for EDS, now H-P, in Plano,
where he led formation of the first communications team for the company’s $2 billion electronic commerce line-of-business. Prior to joining EDS, he was
senior vice president and deputy general manager of the Dallas office of
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 7
Place: Colonial Country Club, 3735 Country Club Circle, Fort Worth
Cost: chapter members $25, national members $30, nonmembers $35, students $20;
walk-ups add $5
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Covering Natural Disasters: What You Need to Know About Covering Tornadoes,
Floods, Hurricanes and Wildfires ... with Oklahoma journalist Carol Cole-Frowe and a panel of seasoned reporter pros
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STRAIGHT STUFF
Applications are still being accepted for a graduate assistantship or
scholarship for the 2014-2015 year in TCU's School of Journalism and Strategic
Communication. TCU offers master's degrees in journalism and strategic
communication. Contact Julie O’Neil at j.oneil@tcu.edu. ...
Keynote speakers David Quammen, a contributing writer for National Geographic, and Pulitzer Prize-winning
authors Lawrence Wright and Sheri Fink will highlight the annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, hosted by UNT’s Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism, July 18-20 at the Hilton
DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine. This year’s focus is on writing about science, technology, medicine and innovation. Info
at themayborn.com. ...
Writer and marketing consultant J.R. Atkins, the CEO of Something Different Companies, will explore social media, e-mail
marketing and public speaking as ways to reach an audience and market your book
at the next Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting, 7 p.m. Monday, May 19, at the Richardson Public
Library. More on the Writers’ Guild of Texas at writersguildoftexas.org.
IABC local update: D Magazine Partners publisher Jennifer LeBlanc will share her experiences with establishing tools and strategies that result
in high customer intimacy, business growth and profitability at the IABC Dallas
luncheon Tuesday, May 13, at Maggiano’s NorthPark. Info here.
PRSA local update: Superintendent Walter Dansby will receive the Communicator of the Year Award at Greater Fort Worth PRSA’s third annual Worthy Awards dinner Thursday, May 29, at the Fort Worth Club.
The evening begins with a cocktail reception at 6:30 and dinner at 7, followed
by the awards presentation. Individual tickets are $75, with tables of 10
available for $600 at worthyawards.com. | GFW PRSA also will present 20-25 awards to area public relations and
communications professionals for strategic programs and campaigns, including
Best of Show. | Communicator of the Year goes to a leader outside the PR profession who
exemplifies open, effective communication. Mayor Betsy Price was honored in 2013, and former Fort Worth Councilman Joel Burns received the inaugural COY award. | More than one person nominated Dansby, citing his emphasis on continuous
improvement in the district. They referenced the implementation of a new
strategic plan last year, Dansby’s ability to draw support for an almost $500 million bond initiative, and his
efforts to involve the community in meaningful discussion about the district’s needs. | “Everyone who knows Mr. Dansby knows his engagement and enthusiasm are not
something he turns on just to get a bond passed,” one nominator said. “He leads daily as one who is knowledgeable and passionate about educating all
the children of Fort Worth.”
PRSA local update II: Standing reminders. Visited the DFW Communicators Job Bank lately? A job listing can be created, edited and removed directly on the site,
and page view counts show the level of interest. And job seekers can now push
alerts for specific keywords to their personal e-mails. The 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 for $75; the cost for nonmembers
is $100, for nonprofits $50. Each posting runs a month. 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, GFW PRSA job bank chair, at jresweber@webershandwick.com or 469-375-0216. ... 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 chapter president Richie Escovedo at richieescovedo@misdmail.org.
PRSA local update III: Casey Shilling, PR/marketing VP at the Container Store, will present "Organization with Heart.
Creating a Business Where Everyone Associated with It Thrives" at the PRSA
Dallas monthly meeting Thursday, May 8. Info here.
