Public Relations Committee Chairperson

Public Relations Committee Chair Guidelines

Revised 2-4-11

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PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON

GUIDELINES

A.  Purpose

The purpose of the Public Relations Committee is to inform the public about ITE and promote the successes of ITE and its members through proactive and coordinated public relations and outreach. Having strong, positive public relations ensures that the public knows the important role that transportation professionals play in improving our quality of life and enhances the credibility of ITE members.

The Public Relations Committee directly supports the goals of the Western District’s strategic plan. The strategic plan lists “Promoting the Profession” as one of its goals, as follows:

Promoting the Profession: Enhance the transportation profession by increasing the awareness of accomplishments, recognizing professional achievement and developing better skills to communicate with the public frequently, effectively and proactively.

B.  General Responsibilities

The Public Relations (PR) Chair will:

·  Develop, maintain and periodically update a public relations program for the Western District that will promote the successes and accomplishments of ITE and its members.

·  Use the ITE Communications and Marketing staff and other resources available at ITE Headquarters as a resource for promoting ITE and its members throughout the Western District.

·  Coordinate public relations efforts District-wide by working as a liaison to local Sections and Chapters.

·  Coordinate responses to media reports and public relations issues that impact ITE and its members

·  Understand the components of public relations that will help promote ITE to the public.

·  Know ITE’s strategic plan and key messages and be able to use them and assist others in using them when speaking to the public.

·  Obtain the approval of both the District President and the Senior Director for any press release prior to issuance by the Public Relations Committee.

C.  Public Relations

The community at-large learns about ITE and the accomplishments of transportation professionals through the media and what others say about the organization, so it is important to inform ITE members and the media of the undertakings and successes of ITE.

Effective public relations require planning and a coordinated effort. A public relations program should address the audience, strategies and tools.

Audience. To ensure that ITE has a positive image in the community requires public relations efforts directed at various audiences. These audiences may include:

·  People directly affected by transportation projects

·  Local government officials

·  Civic leaders

·  Business community

·  Students and educators

·  Community organizations and other non-governmental organizations

·  Media outlets (newspaper, radio, television, internet)

Media. Depending on the information to be delivered, a variety of media outlets should be targeted, including:

·  Television

·  Newspapers

·  Internet, including blogs and social networking sites

·  Wire services

·  Publications of organizations and institutions (e.g. college alumni publications)

·  Trade publications

·  Radio public affairs shows

·  Corporate newsletters

News/Press Releases. The most widely used means of sending information to the media is the news or press release. It can serve as the basis for a story and should answer the basic questions of who, what, when, where, why and how.

Fact Sheets. A fact sheet provides basic information on an ITE related topic. Fact sheets on a variety of topics could be developed to provide “talking points” for ITE members when addressing the public. Much of this type of information is already developed by ITE Headquarters staff. The PR Chair should coordinate with ITE HQ and utilize existing resources.

D.  Liaison with Sections and Chapters

ITE and its members are doing tremendous things every day that are worthy of promoting to the public. However, these accomplishments are happening in our local communities and are not necessarily widely known throughout the District. Therefore, to be successful, the PR Chair will need to work closely with a network of ITE members in the Sections and Chapters throughout the District.

Each Section or Chapter should appoint someone, either a current officer, committee chair (such as the Scribe) or a designated PR Liaison, to coordinate public relations activities with the PR Chair. This network of PR liaisons will funnel promotion-worthy information to the PR chair, and likewise help disseminate information to local media outlets.

E.  Coordination with WesternITE Managing Editor and Webmaster

Often our own members are unaware of the good things happening within ITE and the accomplishments of our colleagues. In addition to a strong outreach to the media, it is equally important that we keep our membership informed. The PR Chair will need to coordinate closely with the both WesternITE Managing Editor and the District’s Web Manager to publish PR news releases in the WesternITE newsletter, westernite.org website and other social networking media (e.g.- Facebook and Twitter) to disseminate appropriate content from WesternITE to media outlets. In order to ensure close coordination, the PR Chair will serve as a member of the WesternITE Committee.

F.  Board Reports

The Western District Board holds two formal meetings each year. The mid-year meeting is typically held in late January or early February. The second meeting is held on the first day (Sunday) of the Western District Annual Meeting, which is traditionally held in late June or early July. The Public Relations Committee Chairperson shall provide a written report to the Board prior to each meeting. The report should, at a minimum, detail the activities of the Committee during the period since the previous Board meeting. The Chairperson is invited to attend these Board meetings to present the report.