Tuesday, 27 November 2007
You've Got a Friend
While I imagine those words probably drum up memories of James Taylor's musical library, I feel they have particular meaning when discussing collaboration, networking and overall teamwork on public relations initiatives. Knowing you have a friend or a colleague in another area of the country who has the same drive to succeed with local public relations projects is comforting because you know you are not alone, entering into what can be an intimidating venture.
Earlier this month, ASCE's communications department staff conducted two public relations training workshops, one in Washington, D.C., and the other at Purdue University in Indiana. During these workshops, 75 civil engineers received hands-on public relations training covering everything from media relations to public speaking. Throughout the course of both training workshops, attendees shared their public relations experiences, from media interviews gone awry to their companies' community service projects. Looking around the room, many attendees nodded in agreement as they had "been there" and knew what is was like to deal with difficult questions from reporters or the amount of work involved in leading a community project. Others who hadn't had these experiences asked a lot of questions, the most common being "what did you do in that situation?" This is where the PR Network comes in.
The main purpose of ASCE's public relations training for civil engineers program is to build a network of support of civil engineers across the country. This PR Liaison Network will include access to a listserv where ASCE communications department staff as well as these PR liaisons can share ideas on new projects, become informed on public relations trends and explore how the practice of public relations is a critical component of the civil engineering profession. ASCE staff is dedicated to supporting this network and will offer assistance in jump starting local public relations activities.
To learn more about how to get involved in the PR Network, you can contact me at kgorscak@asce.org. After all, it's good to know that you've got a friend...or a whole network of them!
KG