Want to get some planning experience?

Here are a few photos from our St. Patty's Day event planning session last Wednesday!

If you want to join a committee, let us know. We'd love the help and it's great experience!

Win the Pot of Gold!

Hopefully everyone is having a great Monday! I know most of you are all looking forward to Spring Break as much as us officers are, but don't forget about PRSSA before you go!

On Wednesday, March 16 we will be hosting the St. Patty's Day Olympics from 3-5pm in the Stern Center Ballroom. We encourage all of you to get involved in the planning of the event, and/or participate in the games!

This is how it works: Sign up a team of 3-5 people by this Thursday for only $10 per team. On the 16th, all teams will come together to compete in a series of games for the shot at the pot of gold! Ok, so not literally...but there will be prizes for 1st-3rd place!

Music, food and drinks will be provided to kick off your St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

Contact PRSSA President Monique Dyer at mddyer@edisto.cofc.edu to register your team RIGHT NOW! Hurry!

Have a great rest of the week!

If you still need to sign-up to become and official CofC PRSSA member with all of the awesome, exclusive benefits, you need to fill out and turn in the registration form by February 26! It's only $65 for an entire year-long membership! Contact Keisha Murray, treasurer, if you need a form. Her email is ktmurray@edisto.cofc.edu.

Also, our parent organization PRSA awards a scholarship to a member of each PRSSA chapter in the state. It is so great that they reward active members in this way and encourage our growth in the PR profession. Contact Dr. Ruth-McSwain (ruthmcswaina@cofc.edu) for an application. Due March 1.

Finally, local PR and Marketing firm Rawle-Murdy has joined with CofC PRSSA to reserve one internship position each semester for one of our members. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. This is one of the best agencies around and we are so thankful for their partnership with us. Contact Dr. Ruth-McSwain if interested!

That's all for now. See everyone at our next meeting, February 23.

Successful party and more to come!

Last night we hosted our first "Post-Super Bowl Party" where our very own Dr. Benigni led a discussion on the hype of the Super Bowl ads and what it takes to be a successful ad. I can't speak for everyone, but I thought it was very interesting (and the pizza, snacks and free cans of Simmer, a new 'relaxation drink' weren't bad either!)

Dr. B, with a background in sports PR, shared some valuable insight about why certain ads were created in certain ways. For example, remember the Bud Light commercial where the guy was dog-sitting and had the dogs serve everyone at the party? Well, did you notice that throughout the whole commercial there was subtle blue lighting, or blue objects (like the dish cloths and plates)? This is all done on purpose, to engrain Bud Light's blue image in our heads.

PR and advertising work hand-in-hand. As future PR professionals, or professionals in any communication-related field, we need to understand our customers and what will grab their attention.

Other than the main topic of discussion, we announced our spring event which will be on Wednesday, March 16. So mark your calendars now! More details are to come, but for the time being just know that it will be a team-based competition that is open to any and all students on campus! For a small registration fee, teams will sign-up to participate in a series of St. Patty's Day games and the winners will receive prizes! Please plan on joining us for the event in the Stern Center Ballroom that evening for some food, fun and music!

Last but not least, don't forget to check out the Dept. of Communication's spring break trip to DC/NYC! Only 25 students will be able to attend the week-long trip where you will have the opportunity to network with professionals and go on multiple site visits. For more info, see here: http://blogs.cofc.edu/communication/2011/02/09/washingtonnew-york-spring-break-experience-to-be-held-march-7-11-2011/

Thanks again to everyone who came to our little party last night. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did!

Back in Action...and ready for some football!

I know this is way past due, but welcome back to PRSSA and the spring semester!

We have already kicked off the semester with our first meeting, where we discussed volunteer opportunities, membership dues, communication methods for the chapter, among other things.

Last Sunday, several PRSSA members volunteered their time at the Crisis Ministries Soup Kitchen. To everyone who attended, THANK YOU! It is important for our organization to do what we can and help out the community and city that we all love so much. If you missed out on this opportunity, don't worry! We will be partnering with Crisis Ministries more throughout the semester.

We have many more exciting events lined up for the semester, but for the immediate future, the most important date to mark down is Wednesday, February 9. Our chapter meeting will have the theme- Super Bowl After Party: Commercials of 2011 - Touchdown or Fumble? Food will be provided as we discuss the good and bad Super Bowl advertisements. The meeting is open to all so bring your friends for a good time! For more information, check out the Facebook event page here.

We have several more announcements to come so keep checking back!

Have a great weekend, everybody!