Candidates for Election 2011-2012

Dear PRSJ Member,
You are invited to put yourself forward to serve on the PRSJ 2011-2012 Executive.

Elections will be held during the Annual General Meeting on March 29, 2010.

The following persons have indicated their willingness to serve
in the posts listed below.

Interested members can write to prsj2009@gmail.com beforehand to indicate their interest
or be nominated from the floor during the meeting.

Information on the responsibilities of each post are at the link below.
Scroll down to appropriate section.
http://agm2010.blogspot.com/2010/01/constitution-of-prsj.html

1. President - President Delmares White
2. First Vice President Christopher Benjamin
3. General Secretary - awaiting nominee
4. Assistant General Secretary - Cecil Thoms
5. Vice President Finance - - awaiting nominee
6. Vice President Recruitment and Membership - Opal Davis
7. Vice President Special Events - awaiting nominee
8. Immediate Past President, Mark Thomas
9. Past President Christine Bell  - Ethics matters

Members can also volunteer to serve as a Trustee.

Current Trustee: Member, Camille Taylor

Past President Dayner Clarke has indicated an interest to serve as a Trustee.

Notice of Annual General Meeting - Tuesday March 29, Jampro

Minutes of 2010 AGM

February 26, 2011

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Public Relations Society of Jamaica will be held on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 in the Training Room at Jampro, 18 Trafalgar Road, Kingston 10.

Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. The Meeting will end at 8:00p.m.

The membership fees are outlined below:

Full Member…………………………………………… $1,000.00

Associate Member………………………………………$ 750.00

Visiting Member…………………………………………$ 750.00

Student Member………………………………………...$ 500.00

During this meeting, there will be an election to choose seven (7) Officers of the Society. Only paid-up Full, Associate and Overseas members are eligible to vote or can be elected to the Executive Committee.

Payments will be accepted in cash or by cheque. Cheques should be endorsed to The Public Relations Society of Jamaica.

Please direct queries to The Moderator (prsj2009@gmail.com).

Signed,

Delmares White

President, PRSJ

New Members Admitted to the PRSJ - January 2011

New Members Admitted to the PRSJ

The PRSJ is pleased to accept three practitioners as members:
The applications were considered at a meeting of the Executive on January 8.
The new members will be inducted into the Society at the AGM on March 15. Venue for the meeting will be announced shortly.

The new members are:

Associate Membership

• Nicole Morrison, Public Relations Manager, The Broadcasting Commission

Full Membership

• Cindy Allman, Marketing Coordinator, Microsoft Jamaica
• Khorie Ann Beckford, Public Relations Manager, Headline Entertainment.

Minutes, General Meeting, January 18, 2011

MINUTES 

GENERAL MEETING

JANUARY 18, 2011

Jamaica Trade and Invest / JAMPRO

Present 

Vice President                    Christopher Benjamin, Consultant

Vice President Finance       Stephen Shaw, NWA

General Secretary              Cheryl Smith, Min of Finance and the Public Service

Past President                    Mark Thomas, JAMPRO

Past President                    Blossom Laidlaw, UWI CARIMAC

Past President                    Beverley Josephs, UTECH

Member                            Gwyneth Davidson, OPM

Member                            Gerry Mc Daniel, Local representative, Elsevier Publishing

Member                            Opal Davis, NSWMA 

Member                            Claudette Myers, PIOJ

Guests

Dr Lyndon Brown, Head Earthquake Unit, UWI

Shelly Ann Harris, Women's Resource Outreach Centre

Farah Lovley, UWI Arts and Humanities Faculty

Apologies

Delmares White, President

Marie Stewart

Michael Bryce

Lorna Clarke

Dayner Azzellino Clarke

Jean Lowrie Chin 

Keith Brown

Collin Campbell

The meeting was called to order by DW at 6:00 by Christopher Benjamin. Apologies were said for President Delmares White who was on assignment.

Head of the Earthquake Unit, UWI, Dr Lyndon Brown says that buildings in Jamaica are, by large, constructed with the expectation that there will be earthquakes. Dr Brown said that journalists and other writers use the old term, "Richter Scale" in reference to earthquakes. The internationally accepted term now used by siesmologists is "magnitude". Practitioners urged Dr Brown to write directly to newsrooms to advise them of the change.

Presentation by research Fellow and Head, The Earthquake Unit, UWI

Head of the Earthquake Unit, UWI, Mr Lyndon Brown made a detailed presentations on earthquakes and the island of Jamaica. He updated practitioners on current working terms used in the discipline including the fact that earthquakes are measured by magnitude and no longer use Richter Scale, which is considered to be outdated. Practitioners suggested that the Unit write to individual heads of news departments asking that news stories use the correct modern term.

Dr Brown noted that earthquakes are an unavoidable part of life in Jamaica and showed maps that detailed the major faults right across the island. He said that on average, Jamaica experienced 200 earthquakes each year.

He urged practitioners to promote safe placement of furniture and other objects in rooms and the adoption of the safest manoeuvre "duck, cover, hold" in case of significant earth movements.

He assured practitioners that the local construction industry already factored earth movements in design and construction, which some persons might consider to be "overbuilding".

Dr Brown was presented with a copy of the the coffee table picture book Jamaica Absolutely. Presentation was made by C Smith and C Benjamin.

PR Takeout

• Correct use of technical terms
• Promotion of correct earthquake safety precautions and action during and after an earthquake in home and workplace
• Jamaica's building practices anticipate ongoing earth movement

Membership

Members were reminded that dues would be due in February. A date is to be set for the AGM.

Launch of Newsletter

Gwyneth Davidson made a short presentation on the Society's monthly online newsletter, PR Brief, that was launched a few days before.

Its goal is to:

• Encourage, in various ways, professional development
• Facilitate peer recognition. 

PR Brief will be distributed by email and will be available on the Society's website.

Feedback and content is welcome to prsj2009@gmail.com

The motion to adjourn the meeting was moved at 8:00p.m. by C Smith and and seconded by M Thomas.

Let's Make 2011 The Most Successful Year For The Society

Delmares White
President

Dear Colleagues,


Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

On behalf of the PRSJ Executives, I would also like to pass on thanks and appreciation to Mark Thomas, Past President and Gwyneth Davidson, Moderator for their continued support and generosity in helping to facilitate all our meetings and help guide the strategic focus of the PRSJ.

Despite the challenges of 2010, we have had many positive impacts on the public relations profession through our monthly meetings and our communications blogs. The focus now is, on strategic planning and repositioning of the PRSJ and its flag ship Awards Ceremony scheduled to be reintroduced in 2011.

The challenge of course is that the strategic planning process and the planning of the PRSJ Annual Awards Ceremony are easy to present, but they are sometimes difficult to realize, particularly when there are considerable economic, financial and human resource considerations that act as a restraint. We recognize that the challenges are not for one person to deliver but through the help of members, colleagues and volunteers, we can create the conditions for success.

We are in the process of drafting a strategic plan, the details of which we will share with at our next meeting in January 2011. At the meeting we will look at what we do and how we do it? How do we best advance the interests of our members? How can we build a dynamic community of practitioners and experts, online and offline? Do we have a voice on the most important issues affecting our members and the profession?

Your input, ideas and feedback are of great value and we will make every effort to ensure that the PRSJ members and the profession find new ways to engage and collaborate in 2011.

Let’s make 2011 the most successful year for the Society.

Regards,

Delmares White
President
PRSJ

*PAY ATTENTION TO WEATHER MESSAGES - ODPEM DIRECTOR GENERAL



*PAY ATTENTION TO WEATHER MESSAGES - ODPEM DIRECTOR GENERAL*

Kingston, November 15, 2010






 

Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, Ronald Jackson, has urged news writers to be careful not to confuse meterological conditions. He was referring to the fact that it was extreme rainfall and not Tropical Storm Nicole that brought severe weather conditions to Jamaica at the end of September.



Addressing the Public Relations Society of Jamaica at his office on Monday, November 15, Mr Jackson said that it was important to make these distinctions as climate change would be bringing more severe weather to the Caribbean as it was elsewhere in the world and that the public needs to be aware of what weather bulletins advise.

Mr Jackson also said that it has observed that Jamaicans are better prepared for severe weather than ever before.

The Public Relations Society of Jamaica is the local professional body that serves the interests of PR counsellors, and officers and that encourages continuing education and ethical standards in the field.

-30-



JAMAICANS MORE PREPARED FOR SEVERE WEATHER DISASTERS

Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, Ronald Jackson, said that Jamaicans were more prepared for severe weather now than a decade ago. Addressing the Public Relations Society of Jamaica at his office on Monday, November 15.









 

 

Minutes General Meeting, November 15, 2010

November 15, 2010

OFFICE OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (ODPEM), 
Operations Centre, 2-4 Haining Road

Members Present

Past Presidents

Miss Christine Ann Bell, Innovative Ideas

Mrs Janneth Mornan Green, Media Central

Members
Mrs Gwyneth Davidson, OPM

Mr Leo Mc Ewan, Ministry of Transport and Works

Ms Delmares White, ODPEM

Mrs Pat Tyrell Chong, National Irrigation Commission

Ms Opal Davis, NSWMA

Mrs Blossom Laidlaw, CARIMAC

Mr Christopher Benjamin, Consultant

Guests Present

Mrs Andrea Mc Lean, ODPEM

Ms Keisha Johnson, IICA

Ms Karelle Mc Cormack, 4H

Ms Carolyn Johnson, Maritime Authority of Jamaica

Apologies

Ms Analisa Downes, SLB

Ms Deborah Hickling, Consultant

Ms Cheryl Smith, Ministry of Finance and the Public Service

Mrs Dayner Azzellino, Marcastuta

Ms Alison Christie Binger, Illuminarte

The meeting was called to order by President Delmares White at 6:06 p.m. who invited Opal White to offer a prayer. President White acknowledged the presence of Past Presidents and welcomed visitors.



Address by Guest Speaker

Audio presentation by Director General of ODPEM, Ronald Jackson

ODPEM National Disaster Management Media Plan

Christopher Benjamin introduced the Guest Speaker, the Director General of ODPEM, Ronald Jackson. Mr Jackson has been the DG for two years and has been employed to ODPEM for ten years. He delivered a presentation on Disaster Communication Preparedness using the recent experience of the preparations for Hurricane Tomas which passed west of Jamaica in late October.

Wording of Bulletins Important

Noting that Tropical Storm Nicole did not affect Jamaica, but that the heavy rains of September 26-October 1 were normal seasonal heavy rains, Mr Jackson said that it was important for persons writing for media to understand the Meteorological  bulletins. The bulletins trigger levels of preparedness and is also referred-to by Insurance companies when reviewing claims.

Pre-Tomas Preparations and Decisions

Mr Jackson underscored that the ODPEM does not start its hurricane communications programme at the start of the season, but it involved engaging communities and particular the youth all through the year. There is a Safe Houses Campaign currently on with 56 communities.

ODPEM has a National Disaster Management Media Plan which guides all communications actions when the Meteorological Service issues a severe weather bulletin.

They have implemented a press briefing mechanism as this is more effective than granting interviews throughout the preparation period for severe weather. The actions on the checklist are guided by information already gathered  by storm gauges as well as satellites from space.

Public behavior on hurricane preparedness has been measured by proxy using sales from grocery stores and also hardware stores. Items noted includes roof straps.

The agency has also been moving more resources to key areas ahead of the storm and also in moving persons at risk out. During Ivan in 2004 a few people moved into shelters whereas 2,000 persons moved into shelters ahead of Gustav in 2008.

Mr Jackson said that the involvement of the Head of State ahead of the expected effects of Tropical Storm Tomas in October helped to get the public ready. He noted that online discussions, radio and print commentary after the storm passed nearby still indicated that Jamaicans overwhelmingly thought of the agency as credible. He noted the need for continuous engagement with the publics and encourage responsible behaviour.

Mr Jackson called the decision to close schools in the East of the island "gutsy" when it was expected that rains from Tomas might affect those areas. The decision was made with the sole purpose of preventing loss of lives. 

Hazard Information Now A Part Of National Development

Mr Jackson said that ODPEM had been successful in making the integration of hazard information a part into the development approval process, but the agency is currently not adequately resourced to handle all of the applications that come to it. He noted that developers were expected to inform prospective buyers of known risks so that they can make educated decisions.

Karelle Mc Cormack delivered the Vote of Thanks to Mr Jackson for allowing the PRSJ to hold its meeting at ODPEM and for his address ahead of a business trip the following day. It was suggested that the PRSJ be allowed to meet at ODPM again.

Feedback on Awards of Excellence - General Matters

Christopher Benjamin reviewed the list of ideas that emerged from the October General Meeting. They were:

• Use 2011 to strengthen the society and 2012 for the first Awards of Excellence
• Engage in activities that will raise the profile of the society and attract more professionals. One idea was to have a weekly radio slot. Others were to identify spokespersons and seek opportunities for them to speak.
• More Membership activities
• Roving meetings
• Revive the cocktail reception for final year PR students at CARIMAC
• Continue building the relationship with IABC
• Restart the Presidents (and Consultants) Forum
• Have a presence at events wherever possible (booth or banner)
• Offer short courses, especially to business leaders
• Establish strategic linkages with the PAJ and the MAJ

The meeting was adjourned at 7:59 by Leo McEwan and seconded by Christopher Benjamin.

The gathering repaired for light refreshments following the meeting.
/gd