My New Year’s Wish: Realizing the Full Potential of PRSA’s Leadership Assembly

In October 2010, the PRSA Leadership Assembly met in Washington, D.C. We discussed and debated a number of important issues. We spent the afternoon session discussing the future of public relations. These were important topics, but they cannot be fully explored by a gathering of more than 250 people in just a few hours. There is so much more that we could do.

In 2009, PRSA re-wrote its national bylaws. One of the major changes was the elimination of the “Assembly” and the creation of the “Leadership Assembly” with the job to “advise the board and the profession regarding issues of concern to the profession of public relations. To this end, the Leadership Assembly shall identify, discuss and address issues of concern to the public relations profession, and serve as a liaison between the board and the Chapters, Districts, Sections and membership.” The goal was to create a body that would be engaged at some level year-round. Fixing commas in bylaws would not be our main purpose.

I proposed a resolution at this year’s Assembly year calling on the PRSA National Board to engage the Leadership Assembly more throughout the year. It failed, in large part due to the belief of other delegates that it is not the Board’s responsibility to engage the Assembly – but it is a two-way street and the Assembly needs to engage the Board as well.

Since the Assembly, we have been quiet. There has been little to no engagement. That is to be expected as people catch their breath. But I wanted to take this time to write an open blog post to all Chapters. The Leadership Assembly can only be effective if we have active, engaged delegates throughout the year.

Just as important – PRSA National needs to know who the Leadership Assembly Delegates are. The role of the Assembly Delegate has changed. No longer do we listen to a few calls in the summer and early fall and go for a one-day meeting prior to the International Conference. There is a Leadership Assembly Delegate E-Group that is maintained throughout the year, but if you chart the posts it looks like this:

2010 PRSA Leadership Assembly Engagement

That is not the sign of a body that is active and engaged throughout the year.
I believe it is time for the PRSA members and Chapters to change this. So please:

1)    When electing your chapter officers and board for 2011, make sure all your Leadership Assembly delegate slots are full.

2)    Please let PRSA National know by January 31, 2011, who your delegates are. Many times PRSA National doesn’t know until a few weeks before the Annual meeting. That is too late, and cuts your chapter out of any discussion that may happen throughout the year.

3)    Hold your delegates’ feet to the fire. Have us give monthly updates at the Chapter Board meeting. If we have nothing to say or report, then something is broken and we are not doing what we should.

Note, I applaud the work all delegates do. I know PRSA National appreciates all the time delegates give. This does not reflect the work they do at their chapters, and many do quite a lot. I have worked with many, many passionate, caring, intelligent and committed delegates. But over the past decades we have set a baseline; now with the bylaw change, we raised the bar. I believe its time for us to step up and give even more.

It’s up to us, the PRSA Members and PRSA Chapter leaders, to make the Leadership Assembly a thriving, dynamic and important element of the Society throughout the year. As a delegate from Boston I promise to give it my all.

Others will be making their New Year’s wishes for peace, happiness, success, and death of the AVE. I will simply wish that the PRSA Leadership Assembly reach its full potential in 2011.

I invite you to join me in making it happen.

Mark W. McClennan, APR is a senior vice president at Schwartz Communications. He is the immediate past-chair of the PRSA Northeast District and a Leadership Assembly Delegate for PRSA Boston. He can be reached at mmcclennan @ schwartzcomm.com or twitter.com/mcclennan

Recap of PRSA 2009 Assembly: Passionate and Productive

The 2009 PRSA National Assembly is over. In just nine hours, the more than 220 delegates and National Board members present in San Diego managed to streamline the PRSA bylaws by more than 25% into a clear, concise, six-page document that will guide PRSA’s governance for years to come.

While not all the votes went the way I wanted them to, or the Board hoped they would go, the process worked as intended and we have National Bylaws that reflect the views and wills of the membership as a whole.

It is important to step back to thank Dave Rickey, APR, the chair of the National Bylaws Task Force. He led a (mostly) thankless, time-consuming effort, and did the one thing we needed most – set the stage and parameters for an important and difficult discussion. We should send him (and the rest of his committee) a big thank you. He was the driving force behind the many positive changes that came about through this process. Mike Cherenson and Colette Trohan did an amazing job running the meeting.

Debate was to the point and civil. While passions were evident, it was one of the best informed and well-argued assemblies in which I have ever taken part.

As many of you know, I had championed four key issues. I am proud to report that those four issues all prevailed. It was not due to me, or the Northeast District, but rather a concerted effort by a group of passionate professionals throughout the United States who were not afraid to argue for what they believed in.

Resolution of the hottest issues were:

1.    Election of National Officers and Board – The PRSA Assembly will continue to elect the national Board of Directors and officers for the time being. It was the view of the Assembly that we needed additional information on how direct elections would be held, before moving irrevocably in that direction.

A resolution passed by a 3:2 majority asking the board to provide specific, detailed information before advancing this issue again. Does this mean it will pass if it comes up again? Based on the way the voting went, I am not sure.

2.    District representation is maintained on the board—The Board of Directors will still be comprised of one member from each PRSA district, plus two at large members and the officers. The one change is that if someone from a District doesn’t run, the National Nominating Committee will no longer have to extend a deadline two or three times and try to find a candidate. The seat will go “at-large” for that election only, allowing the Nominating Committee to fill it with a candidate from a district who would otherwise be turned away.

3.    The Assembly has morphed into the “Leadership Assembly”—What this means will depend on how Gary and the rest of the National Board want to use us, but the delegates can be much more involved throughout the year.

4.    APR is still required for National Board and Office positions—Passionate arguments were heard on both sides of this debate. But the move to remove APR is an election requirement failed. In all honesty, I consider this to be a good thing for tactical purposes. I believe the bylaws would not have passed if APR was removed. Those in favor of removing the requirement should try again in a year or two when the entire bylaws are not at stake.

5.    PRSA will remain focused on PR (and Communications) people—The move to broaden the membership base and let in a much wider group of people failed. The language from the old bylaws carried forward. This is not disenfranchising “communications” or social media professionals. If you could join in the past, you can still be a member and can join in the future. The best speech of the day was given on this topic (and it wasn’t me!)

6.    PRSA Chapters gain greater control over who they send to the Leadership Assembly – proposals to give weight to certain chapter members and set a one year terms of office for delegates were defeated. The language was modified to give Chapters complete control over who they send to the Assembly and for how long they may serve. Term limits were removed entirely.

About a dozen other issues were also discussed, debated and resolved.

The Northeast District and the Sunshine District continued to develop deeper bonds of friendship as we met (and partied) before and after the Assembly.

If you have any thoughts to share, or would like me to expound on any topics about the Assembly in greater detail, please let me know by leaving a comment.

It was a pleasure and an honor serving as your delegate.

Speak up!

A week ago today, PRSA National and the Bylaws Task Force posted some high level proposed changes to the PRSA Bylaws on Tactics Online. They have been posted (in greater detail) in the governance section of MemberNet for even longer.

Yet in one week, there has not been a single comment on the public forum, and I feel very alone on Membernet. I believe one other member has commented.

This is a very important discussion as it will help determine the way the Society evolves over the next few decades. Topics include changes to membership requirements, how National officers and Board Members are elected, the composition of the National Board, change to the Assembly, APR, and other topics.

Please spend a few minutes and make your voice heard. Otherwise it will be my voice that is either easily ignored or given disproportionate weight (not sure which).

Note: I am not commenting on my thoughts and questions about the proposed changes publicly at this time. I am sharing my thoughts on MemberNet, which is open to PRSA 22,000 members. It’s a “family matter”, but like any big family decision, it is best accomplished with input from all family members. So please, spend a few minutes – read the post or the MemberNet thread and share your voice. Speak up.

Don’t make me this guy:

It’s time for all PRSA Assembly Delegates to step up to the plate

I have been to a number of PRSA National Assemblies, and none have left me as inspired, energized and frustrated as this Assembly. The people I met were outstanding, consummate PR pros with passion and drive. When we were provided opportunities for input, there were great ideas. Many (like me) spent hundreds of dollars of their own money to go and work to help advance our profession.

Yet this year a portion of the PRSA Assembly fundamentally failed (in my opinion). For years I have heard Assembly Delegates (myself included) say we want to play a bigger role in society governance. Well this year, we took a step back from our stated desires and abrogated the precious responsibilities our chapters have bestowed upon us. We agreed to the duty. We should execute it to the best of our ability. This year, we did not.

What has me so riled up?

The Assembly started at 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. rolled around. There was at least one resolution being written, the UAB had not given their report (and throughout the day, an overarching theme I heard was the importance of doing more with the APR and a desire to discuss it), there were other items still to be discussed, plus a chance to ask the National Board questions.

The chair asked for a motion to extend the meeting beyond the set 5:00 p.m. stop time.

Yet, fully half the delegates voted to adjourn. We needed a 2/3rd majority to extend the meeting even 30 minutes, and we couldn’t get that. The meeting ended abruptly.

I am stunned and dismayed by this. An Assembly Delegates’ main role is to represent their chapters at PRSA National Assembly. That’s it for the year. Some chapters spend $500+ of Chapter dues to send each delegate to Assembly.

Yet half the delegates present weren’t willing to commit more than 9 hours (which included a lunch and multiple breaks). I don’t know about you, but for me, nine hours is an easy day.

I was talking to delegates afterwards and the reasons they gave for voting not to extend the Assembly were varied – the meeting wasn’t run efficiently, they had dinners planned, they didn’t think anything else of substance was left.

Yes, I think there are ways to improve the running of the meeting. There always are and there always will be. (I was tweeting my concerns about that throughout the day). There is always room for improvement. But it went pretty well for a body that meets once a year.

The amazing thing is, this year was a pretty “easy” assembly. Next year will be the Mother of All Assemblies – where we potentially debate and vote on a complete rewrite of the PRSA Bylaws. Trying to get that done in 9 hours, plus reports, elections and other issues will be a Herculean task.

At a minimum I would suggest the National Board plan for the meeting to go longer, and realistically, we all plan for a two-day session to provide the time needed to adequately discuss, debate and act of the issues facing our profession and the bylaws rewrite.

There is nothing that can be done about this year and this is not an attack on all delegates or the national board. I  have no idea who voted to extend the time and who did not. Many, many delegates gave selflessly of their time and were willing to stay as long as it took.

But this situation is something that needed to be brought to light.

In closing, I would like to ask all Chapter offers to consider asking your 2009 Assembly delegates to make the commitment to stay until business is done. This is too important a responsibility. I know I will ask Boston and all the Chapters in the Northeast to do so.

Initial PRSA 2008 Assembly Report

Deb Silverman, Chair of our great district, is still at the conference. For all the PRSA governance junkies, I wanted to give you an update on how the PRSA Assembly went.

I will be posting throughout the week at PRSA Boston’s blog (since I serve as its delegate) but here is my post on the matter, as well as a good post from PRSA Fort Worth.

Enjoy.