Sixty members and guests of the Black PR Society-New York learned “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Working in Entertainment PR” and the “Five Principles of Effective Social Media Engagement” at a meeting of the group Feb. 26 at Burson-Marsteller.

“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” was presented by Michelle Huff, founder of Huff Events & PR, and the “Five Principles” was presented by Shante Bacon, CEO and founder of 135th Street Agency.

Vanessa Edwards-El of The Event Strategist, meeting planner, was moderator.

Panelists also included Simone Smalls, founder and CEO of Simone Smalls Public Relations, and Tanya Hayre, media relations specialist.

CoyneBPRS-NY president Kisha Barton (left) and board member Vanessa Edwards-El (right)thank panelists (from L-R holding certificates) Tanya Hayre, media relations specialist; Michelle Huff, founder of Huff Events & PR; Shante Bacon, CEO & founder of 135th Street Agency and Simone Smalls, founder & CEO of Simone Smalls PR.



Smalls gave tips on “landing your first celebrity client” and Tanya Hayre, media relations specialist, talked about techniques and challenges in pitching media.

Frank Ski, motivational speaker and former host of the Atlanta-based radio station V-103, a CBS affiliate, also addressed the group. He said the “Boot Camp” event showed that “If you want to do PR, branding and marketing, this is where you need to be.”

Students from Delaware State University were among those at the meeting.

CoyneBarton (left) greets motivational speaker Frank Ski at the BPRS event.



Kisha Barton, of the KBartonPR, president of BPRS-NY, said her goal is to provide resources for career advancement to members and to secure prominent speakers for future meetings.

The chapter www.bprsny.org was founded in 1991 “as an advocate for multicultural professionals in PR and to offer peer-to-peer support, mentorship training and networking opportunities.”