Get to know UGA PRSSA

By Ann Bell 

UGA PRSSA Executive Board from the 2019 – 2020 academic year

It’s no secret this year has presented many unforeseen challenges, and one is many activities going virtual. UGA PRSSA has risen to the occasion, functioning as normally as possible in this whirlwind of a year. Committees are working hard to keep UGA students updated on what is going on in the world of public relations through virtual meetings, weekly newsletters and consistent social media posts. 

The UGA Drewry Chapter is the largest PRSSA chapter in the world. There are six committees in the Drewry Chapter, ranging from tasks of fundraising to creating web graphics. Each spring, people are elected into Executive Board positions. This year our President is Madison Dye, and our Vice President is Valentina Drake. Our faculty advisor is Kim Landrum. Get ready to meet this school year’s UGA PRSSA board and committee heads, and see what they have been responsible for this year.

Content Committee

The Content committee’s main focus is to create written content for our social media accounts and website. Denali Lerch, committee head, works with the content committee as they generate articles weekly and sets up content-oriented meetings. Anna Gilstrap is the Director of Content, serving on the executive board editing stories from the committee and uploading the articles to the UGA PRSSA blog. 

Event Planning

The Event Planning committee is responsible for planning and executing the bi-weekly meetings that PRSSA members attend and holding the senior banquet. They frequently collaborate with the Outreach committee. The Event Planning committee head is Sarah Corbin. Vice President Valentina Drake works with the Event Planning committee to create a semester-based calendar of events for PRSSA. They have brought in phenomenal speakers this semester such as representatives from Hothouse Agency, Matt O’Connor of UPS and Brian Robinson, former communications director for Nathan Deal. 

Member Relations

Member Relations is focused on increasing member engagement and creating innovative ideas to bring the chapter closer. Member Relations members take attendance at meetings and are responsible for highlighting the personal achievements of our chapter members. This committee is led by committee heads Olivia Muller and Mary Renfroe. The Director of Member Relations, Isabel Weber, serves on the executive board sending weekly newsletters and presides over membership recruitment. 

Outreach

The Outreach Committee is responsible for fundraising and networking for the PRSSA Club. Their goal is to increase the overall number of registered members. This committee is in charge of connecting PRSSA with the greater Athens community, organizing fundraising events and the peer mentorship program. The committee is led by Morgan Wiese and Jenna Hughes, who work directly with the Director of Finance Lena Soenke. Lena is in charge of all chapter financial duties for the Drewy chapter on the executive board.

Public Relations

The goal of the Public Relations committee is to have a unified presence on all media platforms, and they are responsible for leading PRSSA in design and publicity on social media platforms. The committee is divided into two sections, the news release team and the graphic design team. News release team is in charge of press releases and monitoring media relations, while graphic design’s main responsibilities include creating unified graphics and fliers. Public relations works closely with Social Media, and are led by Samantha Genzale. The Public Relations director serving on the executive board is Rachel Jones. She is in charge of promoting the Drewy chapter and its events. 

Social Media

The Social Media committee’s goal is to have a strong social media presence. Main responsibilities include posting content, running social media campaigns, and keeping the accounts updated for members. The committee is led by Charlotte Solverman, and the Digital Media Director on the executive board is Emily Gonclaves. Emily manages PRSSA’s social media accounts and oversees the Social Media committee.