December's Networking Breakfast
Explores the Expanding Uses of Artificial Intelligence -- Friday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 a.m. in Cataldo Hall, Gonzaga Univ.

SPRC welcomes Fred Brown, CEO and President, NextIT, and recent winner of the Ken Grunzweig Innovator of the Year Award from the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce at the annual Catalyst Awards ceremony, to present at the December 1, 2006 membership meeting. Brown will share his insights on entrepreneurship and creating partnerships for regional economic development. He will also share his vision for NextIT, and its cutting edge artificial intelligence technology solutions through showcasing some successful projects, such as the United States Army "GoArmy" website "SGT STAR" application. Brown will be joined by Gonzaga University Director of Development Joe Poss to share Gonzaga's "Ask Spike" web application and its success to date.

More Info on Fred Brown:  With over 20 years of engineering experience and entrepreneurial leadership in the software industry, Fred Brown founded Next IT in July 2002. Prior to Next IT, he was founder, President and CEO of LineSoft Corporation in Spokane from 1989 to 2002, when that company completed a successful merger with Itron, Inc. At LineSoft, Fred and his team developed and created an innovative and unique way to enable line-design engineering for utilities. Under his leadership, LineSoft attracted $26 Million in venture funding, at that time the largest-ever VC placement in Spokane County. Fred is actively involved in a variety of organizations serving the northwest educational and scientific communities, including serving on the Board of Trustees at Gonzaga University. In addition, he is the founder of WIN Partners LLC, a private investment fund for aspiring technology entrepreneurs in Spokane.

More Info on Joe Poss:  With nine years of fund raising experience at Gonzaga, Joe has worked on the Annual and Major Giving teams serving in various roles as the University launched and completed a $150 million campaign.  As Director of Development, Joe oversees the Planned, Major, and Annual Giving teams, as well as Stewardship, Foundation Relations, Government Relations, and the Development Research and Information Services teams.  In this position, he serves as a member of the University Relations senior management team. Prior to joining the GU Development team, Joe worked in the Annual Giving department at Whitworth College.  He previously served as a two-term member of the Nine Mile Falls School District Board of Directors and as Director of Ambassadors for the World Leadership Congress for Los Angeles based Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership. 

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You Can't Fake Integrity

Authenticity.  According to many experts, it’s what most of us are looking for in our everyday experiences.  We want to hear and see things that are “real.”  Our need for authenticity is why many reality shows are so popular right now.  We don’t want even want to watch “unreal” shows on TV (although many would argue how real those reality shows actually are). 

Authenticity was discussed during our October breakfast meeting about blogs.  One of the main things that Carson McComas and Ryan Pitts wanted us to take away from their presentation was that if you choose to blog, make it authentic!  If you don’t, people will pick up on it right away.  When my co-worker Pam Scott returned last week from the 2006 PRSA International Conference in Salt Lake City, she mentioned that authenticity was the focus.

As marketing, PR and communications professionals, authenticity is the single most important thing we must keep in mind as we do our jobs every day.  If the collateral materials or press releases we produce have the slightest hint of dishonesty or inaccuracy, our audiences will figure it out.  I am sure we all know that it is much easier to maintain trust than to rebuild trust once you have lost it.

It’s about integrity and reputation.  If your audiences can rely on you and you organization for truthful, authentic information about your product or service then they will keep returning to your organization to do business.  Can you think of companies that you have done business with whose employees lacked integrity and authenticity?  I can.  And I will never do business with them again, and I make sure to tell people that. 

But think of those businesses whose employees have gone out of their way to maintain the integrity and authenticity of their product or service.  These are the organizations you do repeat business with and the ones you tell your friends and family about.  Even if they screw something up, they do everything in their power to correct it while maintaining the organization’s integrity.

So as we come to the end of 2006, you may want to take a look at the materials your organization is producing to promote its product or service.  Are they authentic? Do they reflect the integrity of your organization and its employees?  An organization’s reputation is the most important thing it has, so take good care of it.

Have a dynamite December and I will see you all at the breakfast meeting on December 1^st!  Happy Holidays!

-- Bethany Luck-Hutson, SPRC President

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SPRC Seeks “Hosts with the Most” for Internships

The host application deadline for the Spokane Public Relations Council 2007 internship program is February 2^nd, SPRC Internship Chair Ron Nichols announced recently.

“An internship provides students with practical experience and exposure to seasoned professionals,” Nichols said. “Matching our talented interns with the right local host organization is key to the success of the program,” he said.

Applying for one of the host sites is easy. Simply log on to: http://www.spokaneprcouncil.org/internships.asp and click on “Host Application” to download the form.

“If you’d like to be a host, don’t delay applying,” Nichols suggests. “The competition has become as fierce to host an intern as it is to become an intern.” Contact Ron Nichols at 323-2912 or ron.nichols@wa.usda.gov for more information.

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Looking for a (better) job? 
Check out the SPRC "Open Positions" page

It's got open positions for local marketing, public relations and communications jobs, and the opportunities are constantly changing.  Be sure to check them out at: http://www.spokaneprcouncil.org/positions.asp 

PR agencies, non-profits, government, educational institutions, hospitals -- they all know the SPRC Open Positions page is the place to post their positions where the most qualified (and talented!) candidates will see them.

If you have a position to post, just go to the page and click on the Post a Position link at the top of the page, then copy your information into the fields provided.  This page is open to members and non-members who want to list their marketing, public relations, communications or related positions. 

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Utility seeks consultant to help create educational outreach program

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IN THIS ISSUE

2010 MarCom Leadership

2010 DIRECTORS