Illinois State University PRSSA volunteered to work the concession stands at Redbird Arena for the basketball game against Indiana State University on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Members took shifts throughout the night from 5:00-7:00 and 7:00-9:00 p.m. For all of the money earned throughout the shifts that PRSSA members worked, our chapter got a percentage of the earnings. The development committee thought this fundraiser would be enjoyable for everyone working it with the excitement of the basketball game. The fundraiser went very well! Our Chapter raised a total of $119. The members had a fun time working together and making treats for the hungry basketball fans. Our Chapter plans on using a majority of the money raised from the concessions fundraiser for semi-formal on March 28 at Firehouse Pizza and Pub in Uptown Normal. By Lauren Ward
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The popular restaurant chain Chick-Fil-A has built up its reputation since its opening in Georgia in the 1960s. In the northeast, the chain enjoyed a brand rating of 76 according to the YouGov BrandIndex, well above the average in the 40s. However, after Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan T. Cathy voiced his displeasure with same-sex marriages in 2012, the company’s reputation took its biggest hit. Chick-Fil-A fell 41 points to a rating of 35. In a time of crisis, you hope to have the best crisis team behind you. Luckily, Chick-Fil-A was prepared for what was to come. The company offered an apology, stating it would leave the policy and issues of same-sex marriage to the government. It also agreed to stop contributing to organizations that discriminate against same-sex marriage groups. Throughout the uproar, Cathy became friends with Shane Windmeyer, the executive director for the gay and lesbian student group Campus Pride. Windmeyer saw the tax records proving the restaurant had pulled its support from groups like Family Research Council, and he spread word of the chain’s willingness to change. Chick-Fil-A’s sales increased 14 percent from 2011 to 2012. It also opened 96 new stores, four more than in 2011. From these statistics, it is hard to tell that they were ever in the middle of a crisis situation. Chick-Fil-A recently returned to headlines with its announcement to switch to antibiotic-free chicken in all its restaurants within the next five years. Chick-Fil-A will work with the USDA to make sure its chickens are antibiotic-free from the hatchery to the processing plant. After performing consumer research, Chick-Fil-A found that people are interested in knowing how their food is made. "Transparency in our food is important to our customers, and it's important to us too," said Cathy. It will be interesting to see how this transition affects the brand’s reputation. The switch also offers Chick-Fil-A the potential to gain new publics, since they are the first fast food company to commit to being 100 percent antibiotic-free. By Ali Seys Tell us about yourself. I am a senior public relations major with a minor in business administration. I am the fundraisers chair for Illinois State University’s PRSSA Chapter. Originally, I am from Oak Forest, Ill. where I attended Oak Forest High School. It is about two hours north of ISU. I have one older sister and a younger brother who is a freshman here at ISU. Have you always known you wanted to major in public relations? No, actually, I didn’t. I did not know what I wanted to do for a long time. In high school, my aunt told me she had a friend who planned a lot of events at Northern Illinois University. I thought that career sounded like fun, so I decided to look into it. I researched more about the public relations major and decided that it was what I wanted to do, and I came to ISU my freshman year as a public relations major. As the fundraisers chair for PRSSA, have you always been interested in this position? Yes, I have always been interested in event planning. I joined PRSSA my freshman year and have been on the development committee ever since. I joined PRSSA because I knew it would look good on my resume and I wanted to become more involved. I decided to run for the fundraisers chair position to build my leadership skills. What do you do in your free time? I like to watch movies, but I also work out often. I love listening to music, specifically country music and enjoy going to concerts. I also enjoy hanging out with friends. What is your dream job? I really like Red Frog Events. I haven’t decided yet whether I want to work for an event planning company or work in the corporate side of public relations. Who is your role model? My mom- we are basically the same person. She never puts herself first, always her kids. She never spends much money on herself either. She is a giver. Everything she does is for us. That’s just her character. If you won $20 million, what would you do? First, I would finish paying for college. I would then donate some of it to charity. I would probably give some of the money to my family as well. I would definitely go on vacation because I have always wanted to travel to Italy. Do you have any plans for after graduation? No, not any specific plans. I am just focused on school as of right now, but I hope to find a job after graduation. Have you had any internship experience? Yes, I was an intern at the Illinois State University Office of the Provost, located in Hovey Hall. I worked for Dr. Bailey on internationalizing ISU. I planned events for guest speakers to come to the University. Part of my job when planning events was to order food and drinks for the events. I also posted updates on the website and emailed teachers about events and guest speakers. I also had an internship in Chicago with the American Diabetes Association. I worked on an event called Tour de Cure. It was a bike race fundraiser, and I helped with the flyers. I also was involved with the newsletter and just helped any other little tasks they needed. Questions composed by Ashley Funderburk 1. You can always tell when someone is acting fake. Authenticity has been drilled into you as one of the core ethical principles of public relations, and you’ve become acutely attuned to picking out the authentic from the artificial. 2. You don’t know what to do with yourself when you have a free moment because your schedule is usually packed full with internships, TA positions, PRSSA commitments and more. Bring on the coffee! 3. You’re always waiting on the edge of your seat for a sale at the LOFT. Recreating your Pinterest board of beautiful professional outfits isn’t cheap! 4. You’re always reading and blogging about the public relations industry. You can never sharpen your writing skills enough, as well as keeping up with what’s happening in the industry. 5. You’ve made the very best of friends. All those public relations agency tours, PRSSA National Conference and everything else you do with your fellow public relations majors have bonded you for life.
By Lily Sherer When member, Julie Florence isn’t spotted in the kitchen whipping up a tasty desert, you can find her writing for Her Campus Illinois State, one of Illinois State University PRSSA PRi clients. Tell us about yourself. I’m a senior public relations major with a writing minor from Orland Park, Ill. I have been a contributing writer for Her Campus Illinois State for the past three years and I love it! I’ve met a lot of great girls through it and I also have had the opportunity to create many writing pieces for my portfolio. I have also worked for Campus Dining Retail Services for the past three years and when I’m home for break I work at Cherry Berry Frozen Yogurt Bar. I recently started interning with Radio Bloomington (WJBC, B104, WBNQ) for marketing and promotions, so it’s been fun gaining new experience in my desired field! What is Her Campus and what is your contribution to the RSO? Her Campus is an online magazine that was founded by a few Harvard graduates, then expanded to different college branches. Our Illinois State University Chapter was founded in 2011 and it has grown so much! We write about all different topics such as health, beauty, campus celebs, food blogs and more. We also feature events that are going on around campus as well. When we first started, we were assigned to articles. Now we get to choose what we want to write about. It gives everyone a lot of creative room to write about things they are passionate about. We recently became a Registered Student Organization, so that has been a great achievement. The girls on the staff put in so much work so it’s great to be acknowledged. What do you like most about being a Her Campus writer? I love the staff. I’ve created some great friendships through writing for Her Campus and I’m so thankful! Every once in a while we will have get-togethers with all the girls where we all bring food and just hang out. I love that we work in a really laid back environment but we are still dedicated to getting our work completed on time. I also love that I can write about whatever I want. One of my favorite things to do in my free time is to look up crafts or recipes on Pinterest. I used to do a segment back when I first started called “How-To Tuesdays,” where I would share a craft, project or recipe I created. I might start that up again soon because I’m sure a lot of college kids are looking for quick, easy and affordable recipes or crafts. How did you first get involved with Her Campus? During my freshman year at Illinois State University, I saw all these posters everywhere promoting Her Campus. I thought it was a cool concept and I very quickly became a loyal reader. I’ve always loved writing, so I decided to apply for a writer position. I started at the beginning of my sophomore year and have been on the staff ever since. It’s crazy to see how much Her Campus Illinois State has grown. When I first started, there were about five writers. Now we have 24. I’m so happy that I’ve been able to witness how Her Campus ISU has really taken off. It’s such a great experience and each girl brings something so unique to our team. How has being a Her Campus Writer helped you as a public relations major? Since I’ve been writing for Her Campus for about three years, I have written many different types of articles. I’ve written about 40+ articles in the time I’ve been writing for Her Campus, and I think that could really benefit me in the future. Not only does it show my writing style, but it can also show that I’ve stuck with a certain organization all throughout my college career. It’s also helped me work under deadlines which had definitely helped me as a public relations major. As a public relations major, a big part of the industry is being comfortable talking to people. I’ve had to get in contact with local businesses to try to gain sponsorship as well as interview students and business owners. I think this has definitely made me more comfortable speaking with different publics. How has PRSSA helped you outside of building your career? When I first joined PRSSA, I didn’t know many people. I switched my major at the beginning of my junior year from English to public relations, so it was hard to adjust. I eventually met people in my classes who are in PRSSA so it made attending the meetings more comfortable. I think PRSSA is a great way to network within our Chapter. There are so many bright people who have big futures ahead of them. People will end up in different states, different fields maybe even different countries, so it’s good to keep in contact with people from the Chapter as a possible connection. Questions composed by Maggie Ziemann |
AboutPRecisely PR is the blog of the Illinois State University Chapter of the PRSSA. We write about Chapter events, the public relations industry, member profiles, and more. Archives
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