PRSA Offers $225 "Black Friday" Bonus to New Members

PR Society of America, in a year-end membership drive, is offering membership benefits worth $225 to those who sign up by Nov. 30.

New members who pay the $255 annual dues do not have to pay the $65 initiation fee and can join a chapter without paying dues (saving up to $100) and can join a section (saving up to $60). Total savings are $225, says the e-mail promotion for the “Black Friday Blowout.”

Restrictions that apply are contained in a FAQ. Applicants have to cite the promo code Holiday14.

Prospective members are not told that they cannot serve on the Ethics Board until they become “Accredited” and that only two of the 17 national board seats are open to non-APR members under a new bylaw passed by the 2014 Assembly. Non-APRs had been barred from national office since the mid-1970s.

Non-APR candidates must have either 20 years in PR posts or a record of holding office at the chapter, section or district level.

Costs of becoming APR include a $25 application fee and $385 exam fee payable at the time the application is made. Applicants can elect to pay the full $385 at time of application and have the $25 fee waived. Otherwise, two payments of $205 each are allowed.

The APR exam is administered by the Universal Accreditation Board. A majority of the board members are members of the PR Society.

Membership total was said to be just under 22,000 at the national conference Oct. 11-14 in Washington, D.C. The total was 20,266 in 2000. Further information is also on the site.

Joseph Truncale will join the Society Jan. 12, 2015 as its new CEO.