The Society has removed from the free part of its website the bios and statements of the ten candidates for office.
Since all the candidates and the Society itself constantly say they speak for the entire "profession," I hope you will put those bios in the free part of the website where they once were.
They are all only candidates and can be opposed until Sept. 16. I can't find in any of the statements any opinions on the issues raised by four Fellows and me and which have been communicated to the candidates.
I have the right under "fair use" to quote liberally from their statements and make opinions about them.
Having the full text eliminates any claim that I am misquoting or selectively quoting any of them. The individual candidates could also give me permission to carry their full Position Statements since they continue to own the copyright to their own articles
I'm hoping for a quick response. Other members of the Society might be willing and eager to take up these issues and run for office.
Four Fellows have agreed to put these questions to the candidates. They are not anonymous. If you wish I will give you their names again and you can contact each one. There are also more then 350 (most of them members) who have signed the petition of the "Committee to Promote Democracy at PRSA."
Cordially,
Jack O'Dwyer
Questions for Gary McCormick, July 15, Georgia chapter of the Society which were also sent to the 2010 candidates of PR Society of America by four Fellows of the Society.
1. Do you favor posting a list of the 300 or so Assembly delegates in a prominent position on the Society website including individual e-mails as well as one e-mail that reaches all delegates? The delegates were elected as of Jan. 1, 2010. Not all of the chapters post their delegates. The last published list of Assembly delegates, available to all members, was in 2006.
2. Do you favor removing APR as a requirement for national board or officer service forthwith so any member can run for office this summer based on their stands on various key issues? A special Assembly could vote this by proxy with ten days’ notice.
( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
3. Do you favor audiocasting the 2010 Assembly? Cost would be no more than several hundred dollars assuming several hundred members would be listening at any one time. Audiocasting cost is about 25 cents per simultaneous listener. ( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
4. Do you favor making available to members the transcripts of the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Assemblies? ( ) Yes ( ) No (Transcript of 2009 Assembly was not prepared but could be).
Comments:
5. Should the Society provide a PDF of the 21,000 membership list broken out into members’ list, geographical index and organizational index? ( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
6. Should the Society PDF both Tactics and Strategist, saving on printing and postage?
( ) yes ( ) No
Comments:
7. Should the Society replace departing staff members with senior and mid-level PR professionals to the point where at least one-quarter of the staff are PR pros? This would provide the personnel needed to launch a PR for PR program and supply a full time brain trust that could work on problems and opportunities of the Society. ( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
8. Should the Society Institute proportional voting in the Assembly so that a chapter with twenty members gets two-tenths of a vote rather than one full vote (the same as a chapter with 100 members)? ( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
9. Should the Society consider moving most of its offices to a city with much lower occupancy costs than New York, leaving a midtown office/library for convenience of the large New York PR community? ( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
10. Should the Society consider chapter-only membership, copying the American Society of Assn. Executives and many other groups. National membership would be optional.
( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
11. Should the Society website again provide a single list of the 110 chapter presidents and their contact information? The revised website requires a member to visit 110 chapter websites to get such information.
( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
12. Should the Society again provide the names and contact points of all the staffers in a single file as used to appear in the printed Bluebook of Members? Only seven staff members are identified in the revised website.
( ) Yes ( ) No.
Comments:
13. Should the Society convert the June “Leadership Rally” into an Assembly with voting powers? For many years until 1986 there was a “Spring Assembly” which was dropped because of “budget” problems. The Leadership Rally provides 110 chapter president-elects, 16 Section chairs and ten district chairs with $550 each in cash to offset expenses plus five meals (two breakfasts, two lunches and one dinner). Cost is well over $100,000.
( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
14. Should the Society provide a midtown office in New York for members and prospective members? There are no free meeting places now except agency offices which are volunteered. But many agencies will not let their employees go to meetings at a competitor.
( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
15. Should the Society consider going back to an Accreditation test that considers both writing and creative abilities? The multiple-choice test instituted on July 1, 2003, has not been popular. It has only brought about 900 new APRs to the Society in six full years (as of June 30, 2010) or about 150 per year. The previous written test attracted far more candidates when the Society was much smaller (346 passing in 1992 when membership was 15,462).
More than 300 new APRs were created in each year from 1986 to 1992.
( ) Yes ( ) No
Comments:
