President’s Note
Can 2010 really be half over?
I don't know about you, but to me, time seems to fly by these days. Maybe it's all the technology we have at our disposal, which lets us do more with less... or maybe we just think we do more with less, and are actually doing more with more.
Whatever it is, that same technology can have the unintended consequence of sequestering us from what our business is really about - connecting people.
Which is why it's so important for us at IABC/DC Metro to try to keep giving you opportunities to connect with fellow members offline. From our happy hours to chapter meetings, to the SIG events; all these are opportunities for us to get out, stop looking at our BlackBerrys or iPhones for a bit, and get to know each other just a little bit more... or, in some cases, make new connections.
I've been lucky to meet several of you over the past year at one or more of these events. I hope to continue to do so, and I know my fellow board members feel the same.
So if you haven't yet been able to make it out to a meeting, do consider coming to our July chapter meeting, where we'll hear from Vice President Biden's speechwriter, Matt Teper. I don't know about you, but that's one event I certainly don't want to miss.
Warm Regards,
Shonali Burke, ABC, Principal, Shonali Burke Consulting
President, IABC/DC Metro
JULY CHAPTER MEETING: WORDS, MEET MOUTH
From opening remarks at fundraising events to toasts at dinners with foreign dignitaries, Matt Teper is Vice President Joe Biden’s guy to put the words in his mouth, on the record. Not only does he get the front seat at all of the major events in the DC elbow room, he’s probably one of the most respected speechwriters in the region.
Before joining Vice President Biden’s team, Teper was the full-time speechwriter at Independent Sector, a leadership forum and advocacy group representing the interests of foundations and charities across the country. Teper has been writing in Washington since graduating from law school in 2002, including as a Writer/Editor at another advocacy group, focusing on federal judicial appointments and gun policy, and as a Senior Writer in the creative department of a public affairs firm.
He served in a freelance capacity as managing editor of Rock the Vote’s blog during the 2004 election season and has written and edited numerous speeches, op-eds, letters to the editor, blog posts, film scripts, and a host of other communications materials for nonprofit leaders, CEOs, elected officials, television personalities, and others. Teper holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law.
PLEASE NOTE: Our July chapter meeting is being held a week later than usual, due to the 4th of July holiday.
More details and registration information are right here.
ANN WYLIE WRITING WORKSHOP WRAP-UP
Ann Wylie came to town last month to present Robust, Readable and Riveting: Writing that Compels in the Age of Now! The event was presented by IABC/DC Metro with the support of event sponsor Johns Hopkins University and event patron Marketwire.
Ann’s presentation was a hybrid of two of her signature talks: Think Like a Reader and Cut Through the Clutter. Each segment of the presentation addressed part of Wilbur Shram’s famous Fraction of Selection formula: people decide what information to consume based on what they think they’ll get out of it (expectation of reward) versus what they have to put into it (effort required).
To read more, see the post at IABC/DC Metro’s Capitol-Cast blog.
Photo by Shonali Burke, ABC. More photos from Ann Wylie's day with IABC/DC Metro are right here.
COMING IN AUGUST: ANNUAL NETWORKING/RESUME REVIEW NIGHT
IABC/DC Metro gears up for one of the hottest events of the year: its Annual Networking and Resume Review/Career Counseling Night on August 12, 5:30-8:30 pm at Hyatt Regency Bethesda.
One of IABC/DC Metro’s signature events, the Annual Networking Night is a sweat-free tradition in the DC Metro area's public relations and business community. Not only is it an opportunity to meet and mingle with communicators from all over the area, it is also a chance for free resume review and career counseling sessions, which will be conducted by senior communicators who are generously volunteering their time.
Details are available right here.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ONE OF OUR OWN
Marilyn Keyes has been named chair of the IABC Research Foundation for 2010–2011.
A past chapter president, Marilyn is a marketing and communication consultant with more than 35 years of experience. She has served as principal of her own marketing consulting firm; vice president of marketing at several high-tech firms; and director of research and strategy at JDG Communications, a Virginia-based marketing firm. Marilyn's work at JDG earned the company awards and recognition from the Washington, D.C. chapters of IABC, PRSA, and the American Marketing Association. She has led marketing and communication projects at for-profit, government and nonprofit organizations.
The IABC Research Foundation serves as the research and development arm of IABC. Established in 1982, the Foundation funds and publishes research to advance the profession and demonstrate the value of communication in organizational effectiveness.
Congratulations, Marilyn!
SPEAKING OF THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Mari Pavia, Director of the IABC Research Foundation, seeks the assistance of IABC/DC Metro members.
If you can spare 15-18 minutes of your time , please respond to a web-based survey that is part of an IABC sponsored (and funded) research project studying the structure of the communication department and its relationship to organizational processes.
After conducting 25 qualitative interviews, the team of researchers led by Prof. Krishnamurthy Sriramesh (Massey University, New Zealand) and Fraser Likely (CEO of Likely Strategies, Ottawa, Canada) have developed a survey questionnaire to be administered to the senior communication managers in a corporation or non-profit (no PR agencies or in-house government departments) around the globe.
Please respond to this survey. Mari is keen to get a representative sample from across the globe.
SAVE THE DATE: SILVER INKWELL AWARDS
IABC/DC Metro’s Silver Inkwell Awards, the premier awards program for business communicators in metropolitan Washington and Baltimore, will be here before you know it!. Mark you calendars now!
The 2010 Silver Inkwell Awards Banquet will be held October 26 at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda in Bethesda, Md.
Additional details will be forthcoming in this newsletter and at our website's Silver Inkwell section.
Welcome—and Welcome Back—New and Renewing Members!
We are thrilled that the following IABC/DC Metro members have chosen to join or renew their association membership:
Rhonda Hewitt (Lockheed Martin), Sheila Collins (Lockheed Martin), Carolyn Shanoff (Federal Trade Commission), Mary Yerkes (NACHA), Pete Janhunen (Pew Charitable Trusts), Amy Goodwin (Johns Hopkins Medicine), Peggy Abrahamson (US Department of Labor), Helen Farnen (Aon Corporation), Edward Collins-Chase , Jennifer Galloway (Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board), Kristin Kruhm (Kaiser Permanente), Jill Sacks (Kaiser Permanente), Tammy Ofner (Kaiser Permanente), Marcus Jennings, Crystal McCall (Ratner Companies), Brenda Siler (Best Communication Strategies), Judy Galliher (United Educators), Renee Adler , Michael Clendenin , Joyce Bosc (Boscobel Marketing Communications), Steven Lemanski (Creative Information Technology Inc.), Elena Turner (NERA Economic Consulting), Randi Hicks Rowe (Rowe Communications), Gail Cureton (GC Communications), Donna Gregory (ProQuest), Gregory Marsh (GEICO), Phyllis Parker , Deborah Goodman (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration), Jade Davis (Bechtel), Christine Nyirjesy Bragale (TASC, Inc.), CindiLee Turpin-Thomas (Casper Communications), Katie McWilliam (McDonough Bolyard Peck, Inc.), Carol McConaughy (Holy Cross Hospital), Molly Brauer (GWU School of Business), Donna Vincent Roa (Vincent Roa Group), Judy Gan (Lockheed Martin), Emily Simone (Lockheed Martin), Kimberly Jaindl (Lockheed Martin), Jeri Jones (Booz Allen Hamilton), and Jeffrey Hiday (RAND Corporation).
Thank you all for placing your trust in IABC/DC Metro as the premier professional development association for business communicators. We look forward to seeing you at a chapter event soon. As always, please contact Dan Sporer, VP/Membership, with questions about how you can get more involved with the chapter—and let us know how we can help you!
