PresidentSarah Gribble

Vice-PresidentAmber Price

Account ExecutivePaige Alsup

Sydnie FoustTara Smith

Staff MembersMandie BarnesKirsten StuartWorthy Vieth

AdvisorYeonsoo Kim

The

PEAK

VOLUME II October 2013

Weber State University - Ogden Peak Communications - PRSSA

WELCOME!

September has come and gone, and boy did we have a great first month back at school. We are well underway with great progress with each of our clients, Weber Pathways, Biofit Bootcamp, and The Daily Rise. Research has been done, client meetings are being held, and future fundraising events are being scheduled. We are doing great things so far, and looking forward to the rest of the semester.

On top of the great work we are doing, we have had some networking and social events this past month that not only has helped build our team, but also our skills. We started Septemeber with an opening social at Fat Cats with bowling pizza, and a lot of laughs. A week later Jason Carlton of Intermountain Healthcare paid us a visit and gave us some great pointers on communicating with the public during times of crisis.

As we get nearer to our Novmeber recruitment activites and December graduation, please keep in mind that many of our founding members will be leaving and there are going to be multiple executive positions that will be opening up in the Spring along with the attached tuition waivers. Please contact Professor Kim for more information!

Keep up all the hard work this semester, and we hope to see many of you at one of our upcoming events this month!

STUDENT SPOTLIGHTCOMMUNICATIONWith Jason Carlton

- INTERNSHIPS -Need help finding an Internship? The Communication Department webpage is a great place to start. The webpage has many opportunities from several different businesses in Utah with a variety of subject matter. www.weber.edu/communication/

CRISIS

Jason Carlton visited with us on September 17 and conducted a workshop on crisis communication. He first constructed a scenario with Jaque Poll as the branch manager of a credit union who just found out that one of his managers was embezzling funds. With the firm acting as the media we threw questions at him to try to trip him up in his responses.

Some key takeaways from the workshop were to: •Notbeafraidtosay,“Idon’tknow,we’relookingintothat” •Useeverymediaopportunitytoleverageyoukeymessages •Behonestandtransparenttobuildcredibility.

Jason also recommended the use of bridges and flags to become comfortable in controlling the interview. He suggested: •Focusingontheanswers,notthequestions •Drivingtheinterviewwithyouranswers •Beingengaging,interactiveandcordial •Avoidingjargonandacronyms •Usingexamples,personalexperiences,analogies,factsandthird party endorsements

He also said to be aware of sneaky interview techniques such as hypotheticalquestions,“justbetweenyouandme”andthepregnantpauseandtorememberthereisno“offtherecord.”

We followed up with an other hypothetical situation and threw staff memberKrisStewarttothe“mediawolves”ofthefirm.Shealsofaired well and we all learned that we needed to really practice these techniques to get comfortable with them.

Jason Carlton is the social media director at IHC and has been very supportive of our PRSSA chapter at Weber State. We appreciate his taking the time to come and conduct this workshop on crisis com-munications.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHTCamille Twitchell

Weber State junior Camille Twitchell is our October Student Spotlight! Camille is Public Relations and Advertising major, emphasizing in International Relations and has been apart of PRSSA for the past two semester.

Friendly - Awesome - Charismatic

Age: 21Birthday: JuneFavorite Color: OrangeFavorite Food: PizzaGreatest Success: Attending college

“IjoinedPRSSA/OgdenPeak,becauseitisagreatnetworkingopportu-nity and a good way to gain experience. It is also a good thing to put on a resume.”

Camille’supbringingwasnottraditional,butCamillebeattheoddsanddecided that was going to have success in her life. Helping her along the way has been her maternal grandpa, her role model.

“Hegrewupwithnothing,wasdirtpoor(hisfamilylosteverythingduringthe depression) and has been a very successful man. He has worked hard throughout his lifetime so that his wife and children could have a good life. Hehastaughtmethevalueofhardwork.”

WhenCamilleisnotworkingwithherclient,TheDailyRise,oratschoolyou’llprobably find her in the kitchen making a new tasty treat or outdoors camping and hiking with her family and friends.

OneofCamille’sguiltypleasuresisherloveforhistory,andifgiventheopportunityshe would love to travel to Europe to see the hundreds of years of historical buildings andfeatures.Butherloveforhistorydoesn’tendthere.WhenCamillewasaskedifshe could have three wishes what they would be, she answered first, to meet Abraham Lincoln. Second, to know many different languages fluently, and third she

Upon graduation, Camille hopes to pursue a career in event coordination or public speaking.

she wished she had the finances to help those in need, not only just abroad but in this country as well.

October PRSA Luncheon: Utah JazzBy Shaquille Heath, PRSSA Memeber

The Salt Lake City Chapter of the PRSA held its annual Networking Luncheon on October 2nd. This Lun-cheonpartneredwiththeUtahJazz’scommunicationandmanagementteamstogiveusinsightintothefranchise’sapproachtostrategiccommunicationinprofessionalsports.SpeakersatthiseventincludedLindaLuchetti the Executive Vice President of Communication for Larry H. Miller Properties, Frank Zang the Vice President of Communications for the Utah Jazz, Jonathan Rinehart the Director of Communications for the Utah Jazz, and Dennis Lindsey the General Manger for the Utah Jazz.

PRSA professionals and PRSSA students were provided a Chicken and Pasta lunch catered in the Hundley MediaCenter.Whenthepanelwasgiventhequestion“Whatisthekeythatenablesyourcommunicationteamtowork?”DennisLindseyanswered,“Beingonthesamepage.”Heexplainedthatmanydifferentcir-cumstances arise every day. Players could post something on their twitter or say something to the press that couldcauseaPRcrisis.“Weallneedtoknowwhatisgoingonandcomeupwithastrategicplanonhowwewillrespondtothepress,”saysJonathanRinehart.

TheLarryHMiller’scrownjewelistheUtahJazz,buttheyhavemanyothercompaniesthattheyrunaswell.These companies include Larry H. Miller Car Dealerships, Megaplex Movie Theaters, Fanzz Sports Apparel Stores, KJZZ 14, Saxton Horne Communications, Prestige Financial, Miller Family Real Estate, and many others. One thing that the Larry H. Miller group is working on is similar looks to websites and design across all platforms. The problem that Larry H. Miller groups has now is to make sure that the public is aware that allofthesemanybusinessesareinterconnectedwithintheonecompany.“WearestartingtoworkondesignsandwebsitesthathaveacommonthemeofLarryH.Miller.Wewantthesitestobesimilarandthe“About”sectionstobethesameacrossallplatforms,”saidLindaLuchetti.

At the end of the program attendees were able to ask the panel questions. Thomas Judd, a Weber State PRSSA studentasked,“SpecificallyfortheJazz,whensomethingmightbesaidbyamemberoftheorganization(player,coach,staff)intheheatofthemomentafteragamehowdoyoubackpedalandtrytosavefacetoadvertacrisiswithoutmakingitlooklikeyou’retryingtocoversomethingup?”Reinhartansweredtheques-tionbystating,“We’reprettyluckyinourorganizationthatalotofpeople,Includingthemedia,understandthat many times things are said in a fleeting moment. A lot of the time, we are able to just retract it the next daywithanapologywithoutmanypeopleholdingagrudge.Butwedorelyonthefacethatwe’vemadeasorganizationofbeingopen,honest,andtruthfulatalltimes.Thatgetsusreallyfarwithourmediapartners.”

Aftertheprogramwasover,PRSAprofessionalsandstudentsweregivenabehindthescenestouroftheJazzLockerRoomandnewjumbotron.ThiswasanamazingopportunityforWeber’sPRSSAstudentstolearnvaluableinformationandnetworkwithUtah’sownPublicRelationPractitioners.

Investor Relations, What is it really?By Jaque Poll , PRSSA MemberInvestor relations is a strategic management responsibility for publicly-traded companies. It encompasses com-munication, marketing, compliance and finance. Investor relations enable two-way communication between a company, the financial community as well as its shareholders. To sum up the definition of investor relations, it provides company information to investors to help them make informed decisions about buying and selling company shares.

Typically investor relations is a single department or person who is responsible for reporting to the Chief Finan-cialOfficer(CFO)orTreasurerofhisorhercompany.Asisthecaseformostcompanies,investorrelationsistypicallymanagedbythepublicrelationsdepartment(ifthecompanyhasone),orcorporatecommunicationsdepartment.Investorrelationsisconsideredtobea“specialty”ofpublicrelations.

Inrecentyearsthere’sbeenasurgeininvestorrelationsandtheneedforIRPractitioners.Contributingfactorsin this surge are largely due to the fact that a number of companies are making shares available to the public and institutional investors. Institutional investors include but are not limited to banks, insurance companies and fundmanagers.Otherfactorsinthissurgeincludedemandsforbettermanagementperformance,(whichtrans-lates to higher share prices), growing need for businesses to raise capital and more stringent requirements for disclosure and information by SGX. IR Practitioners typically oversee shareholder meetings, press conferences, and private meetings with investors as well as product or oversee the companies annual reports.

Ifyou’regoingintoPR,it’simportantthatyouunderstandinvestorrelationsandit’smanyfunctionswithinthefield.Asstatedbefore,investorrelationsisconsideredtobea“specialty”ofpublicrelations,sothere’sagoodchance you may one day be responsible to oversee investor relations for the company you work for. Being famil-iar with importance of investor relations will help in becoming a better PR Practitioner.

Keeping Strong Relations InternationallyBy Kirsten Stuart, Staff Assistant

When one thinks of international relations, they might think of situations like the Iraqi War or Syria, but does a domestic issue such as the Government Shutdown affect international relations?

The answer is that it does, and it can have a very negative effect on international relations. It is crucial we keep strong relations in these matters.

With regards to the government shutdown, it is not the ideal way to convey the US values and interests over-seas. It goes against all that others perceive us to be and that is a super power, strong and in control. It can very well have negative consequences for the image of America and our economy looking as if we are falling apart.

Thelastthingacountrywantstodoisdestroytheirinternationalrelationsbylooking“weak”.Ourgovern-ment shutdown does exactly that. When other countries are gaining strength in their international relations, the US is doing the exact opposite. With our government not being able to make decisions of what is best for its people domestically, give the perception of weakness, and furthermore do not allow other countries to have the confidence of handling situations abroad.

There are four main factors with regards to international relations. They are •Peace Peace has been a vital part of international relations for decades. Maintaining peace remains as relevant today as it has in the past. •Economy Positive international relations also promote positivity in economic situations between countries. The view that a country, one considered one of if not the most powerful one at that, has to shut down their government and put hundreds of thousands of people out of jobs because they cannot worktogetherdoesnotbodewellforoureconomyoranyoneelse’seither. •GlobalConcerns Sound international relations are required for nations to cooperate effectively during times of global concerns. With the war in Afghanistan and the issues in Syria, the vulnerability that the US has shown with the shut down does not help strengthen our relations with other countries. •Culture International relations are also advantageous for promoting the advancement of human culture. The diversity of world cultures can be promoted and shared through enlightened international relations policies; The diversity of world cultures can be promoted and shared through strong, solid interna tional relations.

In the article The Importance of International Relations written by Ploni Almoni, he summated the impact of theshutdownasitpertainstointernationalrelationsasfollows“Attheendoftheday,theonlypossibleposi-tive impact of a shutdown on public perceptions of the U.S. could be that it proves that individuals triumph over systems. Some might say that if the majority of the House prevailed that might mean, in this case, more representativedemocracy—somethingweAmericansoftenpreachandavaluethatcitizensabroadsaytheylikeaboutus.”Hecontinued,“PublicdiplomacyshouldneverbeequatedwithcorporatePR.Oneisapublicgood;theotherisabottom-linesell.Butthatdoesn’tmeanwecan’tlearnfrombothabouttheimportanceofbeingunderstoodinacrowdedglobalmarket.”

ThomasARTS Firm TourOctober 15, 2013

ThomasARTS @ 2:30 P.M.240 South 200 West

Farmington, Utah 84025

Themainfocusisproblemsolvingandyou’llfindattachedtoeverytitletheadditionaltitleof“ProblemSolver.”Thisisatributetotheirmaingoalofsolvingproblemsfortheirclientswithcreative,boldideasandfollowing those through with both strategy and execution.

ThomasARTS is headquartered in Farmington, Utah is a full service firm that incorporates Advertising and Public Relations to offer their clients end-to-end solutions and services for all of their corporate needs.

ThomasARTSwasfoundedin2003inDaveThomas’base-ment and eight years later found themselves on the list of 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the country. Nowadecadeafterthatlaunchinthebasementtheyhavefour locations nationwide, over 100 employees and are still growing.

Weber State PRSSA

www.weberstateprssa.com@WeberPRSSA

Steve ConlinGuest Speaker - Oct. 22, 2013

Elizabeth Hall RM #406 @ 2:30 P.M.Topic: Crisis Management

Steve Conlin, owner of Ogden company called Five Wives Vodka. When Idaho banned his product from the state, he put his PR skills to work and ended up doing PR that resulted in more than 700 million exposures to the story and help from one of the most noted First Amendment attorneys in the country. He will be speaking about the porocess he took to overcome this obstacle.

PR FIRM SPOTLIGHTWaggener Edstrom Worldwide

UPCOMING 10/22/2013Guest Speaker - Steve ConlinElizabeth Hall RM #406 @ 2:30pmOwner of Five Wives Vodka will be speaking with us about how he overcame the obstacle of his product being banned in Idaho and the PR process he took to attract national atten-tion.

10/28/2013 - 11/1/2013PRSSA/OPC Recruitment WeekElizabeth HallCome by the PRSSA/OPC table and see how you can be involved and take your PR skills to the next level.

10/29/2013 Guest Speaker - Jeff HuntStudent Union 404BMedia attorney will discuss recent cases in Utah media law.w

10/10-11/2013WSU Diversity Conference

10/15/2013Thomas Arts Firm Tour @ 2:30GetthebehindthescenceslookofoneofUtah’stop advertising firms.

10/17/2013Graduating with Honors?Deadline to have your form signed by Dr. Susan Hafen for Departmental Honors!

10/22/2013WSU Pres. Wright InaugurationBrowning Center @ 2:00pm

10/22/2013Guest Speaker - Steve ConlinElizabeth Hall RM #406 @ 2:30pmOwner of Five Wives Vodka will be speaking with us about how he overcame the obstacle of his product being banned in Idaho and the PR process he took to attract national attention.

EVENTS

Located in Bellevue, Washington, the independently owned firm, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, has been a global integrated com-munications agency for nearly 30 years. They have developed strategic communications programs for innovative and world-changing clients, working to influence markets, inspire people and improve lives.

With more than 850 employees in 19 offices around the world, and with the help of their Global Alliance part-ners,theyhaveexpandedtheagency’sreachtomorethan80additionalinternationalmarkets.WEhasfiveglobalpractices: brand strategy and marketing, healthcare, public affairs, technology and social innovation.

In the last few years the company has been honored with many awards for their creative and strategic work. A few of their awards include, Global Technology Agency of the Year, Best Large Agency to Work For, Communi-cations Agency of the Year, and Technology Agency of the Decade.

SomeoftheirrecentclientshavebeenHTC,Microsoft,T-Mobile,andToshiba.