Join CPRS Ottawa-Gatineau for our annual holiday social! This year’s event will provide you with a much-needed opportunity to relax and unwind while reconnecting with old colleagues and connecting with new ones.

The event will also feature guest speakers from four of Ottawa’s most visible charities; The Ottawa Food Bank, Habitat For Humanity, The Salvation Army and The Snow Suit Fund, as they discuss the challenges of ensuring their messages are heard through the holiday clutter. Let them inspire you with their innovative thinking and their dedication to supporting those in need in our community.

Date: Wednesday, December 15^th, 2010

Location:
Foundation Restaurant
18B York Street in the Byward Market (entrance from the courtyard)
www.foundationrestaurant.com

Agenda:
5:30 – 6:00 pm  Social
6:00 – 6:30 pm  Presentations by Guest Speakers with Q&A
  1) The Ottawa Food Bank (5min)
  2) Habitat for Humanity (5min)
  3) The Salvation Army (5min)
  4) Snow Suit Fund (5min)
6:30 – 7:30 pm  Social

HORS D’OEUVRES WILL BE SERVED. CASH BAR. 

Tickets:
$25 – CPRS members
$35 – non-members

RSVP through the CPRS website at www.cprsottawa.com, using the online registration link on our events pages.

No-shows will be charged unless notification is received 24 hours prior to the event.

This event is sponsored by:

IABC Ottawa invites you to a mix and mingle networking event at the newly renovated and recently launched venue in the Market called My Condo. Start spreading the good tidings and cheer with fellow communicators, marketing and creative professionals – make new connections and catch up with friends and colleagues you haven’t seen for awhile!

IABC Ottawa has been busy from the start of its 2010-11 season and there’s much more in store in the new year. Join us as we launch our new IABC Ottawa podcast – an engaging and dynamic series that will explore themes, issues and news to keep communications, marketing and creative pros ‘in the know.’ Learn about the volunteer and professional development opportunities available through your IABC Ottawa chapter. And of course, what’s a mix and mingle event without a little good cheer in the form of delicious food and refreshments!

Register Now

Thursday, December 2, 2010
My Condo – 34 Clarence Street, Byward Market
Time 5:30 – 8:00 pm

Please register by Monday November 29th to take advantage of the Early Bird rate*.
$20 – members and students │$25 – non-members
*Add $10 for late and on-site registration

IABC Ottawa’s Cancellation Policy
If you register for the event and are unable to attend, we require you to cancel your reservations a minimum of 48 hours in advance of the event to obtain a refund.  Late cancellations and no-shows will be charged the full amount.

I am frequently asked by PR and communications students how they can stand out to potential employers.

Yesterday, I came across this blog thanks to one of my colleagues (@vincentwhite) on the CPRS Ottawa-Gatineau Board.

How smart is this idea by these seven Algonquin College PR students? I guess pretty smart as it got the attention of the President of a PR and communications agency and enough so for me to take the time to write a post about it.

#ACPR Networking is a blog for Algonquin College PR students to share their experiences about networking with communications professionals in Ottawa.

Laura, Derek, Famia, Daniela, Meg, Omar, Lacey: Great idea and initiative!

Of course, now you have the challenge of keeping your site up to date with new posts and updates on a regular basis;)

I will offer you one tip. Each of you should include a link to your CV, your email adddress and links to your online profile, that is, the social media properties you use such as Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. so potential employers can contact you directly.

On Tuesday, November 23rd, we are holding a launch event for Terry Fallis’ new book The High Road.

Terry’s first book, The Best Laid Plans, won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and was recently voted as one of the CBC’s Canada Reads Essential Top 10 Canadian Novels of the Decade.

While you may know Terry from his days on Parliament Hill, Queen’s Park and more recently as co-founder of Thornley Fallis, if you have not had the opportunity to get to know Terry the author, now is the time.

What:     Ottawa Launch of The High Road by Terry Fallis

When:     Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

Where:    Parliament Pub, 101 Sparks St. Ottawa

Time:      5:30 p.m. – Doors open

             6:15 p.m. – Remarks by special guests

             6:30 p.m. – Author reading

             6:40 p.m. – Book signing and socializing           

Cost:      Donations in support of the Jaimie Anderson Parliamentary Internship Fund will be accepted.   

Public Relations Without Borders: Out of Africa

Presented by:
Deanna Drendel, Executive Director, Public Relations Without Borders

When:  Tuesday November 16th, 2010, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Where:  The EXCHANGE Pub & Restaurant, 50 Rideau Street (Rideau Centre)
Cost:  $20.00

About the Presentation:
Deanna Drendel’s involvement with Public Relations Without Borders began in July 2009 when she became the non-profit’s first mission head. Following two fascinating missions to Niger (West Africa), she became PRWB’s executive director. PRWB’s first international project is carried out in partnership with the NGO Oxfam-Québec. PRWB works with Oxfam-Québec’s offices in Niger and Burkina Faso, and their African partners, on a gender-based violence project. Deanna will talk about her work, and that of her two successors, with a 24-member group of Nigerian associations, including five government departments – all working together to fight violence against women and children in this primarily Muslim and polygamist country. Deanna will share her joys and frustrations and what she and PRWB is learning about how public relations theory and best practices can be applied to a challenging problem in one of the poorest countries in the world.

About Deanna Drendel:
Deanna has 30 years of public relations and marketing communications experience acquired in PR firms and private and public sector companies. For the past 11 years, she heads up Deanna Drendel Communications with a clientele in the energy, technology and healthcare sectors. She is currently executive director for Public Relations Without Borders.

Deanna was active on the SQPRP board of directors for 10 years. Recognized for her professionalism, leadership, creativity and determination to advance the profession, she worked to revitalize Quebec’s accreditation program and contributed to accreditation initiatives on the national level. She chaired juries for CPRS excellence awards, developed and taught public relations courses at McGill University and Université du Québec, and mentors young practitioners. She has been involved with UQAM’s Public Relations and Marketing Communications Chair, in the field of ethics. She created and was editor-in-chief of the PR magazine insert published in InfoPresse magazine. She sat on the founding board that created the Conseil de l’industrie des communications du Québec. The SQPRP recognized Deanna’s contributions this year by presenting her with the Yves St-Amand award.

Deanna holds an Honours BA “with distinction” in philosophy from Concordia University and completed masters courses in economic sociology at UQAM. She also studied at the Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) in Montréal, at La Sorbonne and the Université de Nice in France, and at the University of the Pacific in her native California. She is accredited in public relations and became a CPRS Fellow in 2006.

Registrer to Attend:
Spaces are limited, please register by November 15th on the secure CPRS Ottawa-Gatineau website at www.cprsottawa.com on the Event Page using the Online registration link (https://vws3.primus.ca/www.cprsottawa.com/register/event-registration.php). Prepayment by credit card is required to reserve your place for the event. We accept Visa and MasterCard. Payment at the door is dependent upon availability.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is pleased to announce the selection of Thornley Fallis & 76design as their Agency of Record for marketing and communications.

Thornley Fallis & 76design will provide CIRA with a range of services, including brand development, media relations, corporate communications, advertising, sponsorship, creative design, website development, video production and program measurement.

“CIRA chose Thornley Fallis & 76design from a group of very talented agencies based on several criteria. Most importantly, they truly are an integrated, full-service agency. In addition to more traditional, core capabilities such as strategic communications, media relations and advertising; Thornley Fallis & 76design also offers creative design, website development, video production, and public engagement services. All of this in addition to being Canadian leaders in the use social media and the development of online communities,” said David Fowler, CIRA’s Director of Marketing and Communications. “The CIRA team is really looking forward to our new relationship with Thornley Fallis & 76design. In addition to helping us improve communications with our stakeholders, including the more than 1.5 million .CA registrations, our new AOR will also help our team continue to promote and grow the .CA brand, as well as educate Canadians in the value .CA brings to their lives.”

This new, long-term Agency of Record agreement builds on a previous project-based relationship between CIRA and Thornley Fallis & 76design.  Since 2005, Thornley Fallis & 76design and CIRA have worked together on a variety of projects, including annual general meetings, the One Millionth .CA celebration event, online advertising and annual report design and production.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for our agency,” said Keelan Green, President of Thornley Fallis & 76design and manager of the CIRA relationship. “As a marketing and public relations agency that has really embraced the web and become a leader in digital communications, working with the organization that is responsible for managing significant parts of the Internet in Canada is just a great fit for our firm – our team is really looking forward to it.”

About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.

About Thornley Fallis & 76design
Thornley Fallis & 76design is an innovative, full-service public relations, communications and marketing agency that helps organizations reach, connect with, build and sustain positive relationships with their communities through the integrated use of on-line and off-line communications tactics.

For additional information, please contact:

Jennifer Austin
Senior Manager, Communications & Marketing, CIRA
(613) 237-5335 ext. 296
jennifer.austin@cira.ca

LeeEllen Carroll
Thornley Fallis for CIRA
613-231-3355 ext. 231
carroll@thornleyfallis.ca

Every so often, in public relations, you get the opportunity to help present an event that truly gives back to the community in a way that matters.  Last week Thornley Fallis delivered thousands of dollars worth of non-perishable food items, collected at local Ford dealerships, to the Shepherds of Good Hope; this week we will be on location for Ford’s “Future of Safety Tour.”

Over 30 years ago an experimental airbag was developed. Known today as frontal and side-impact airbag systems, they changed the future of vehicle safety and have saved countless lives.

The latest addition to seatbelt safety is sure to make a splash at this week’s event, a seatbelt equipped with its own airbag – designed specifically for children traveling in rear seats.

On Thursday, October 14th, Sparks Street Mall will be transformed into one of the biggest vehicle safety awareness events in Ottawa, with close to 100 feet of safety technologies to explore and test.

The hands on demonstrations feature award-winning safety products. The general public and the media will have the opportunity to speak with experts in road safety, vehicle restraint safety, and vehicle usage safety.

The “Future of Safety Tour” is Ford’s second global safety event that raises awareness and brings safety from the home and to the roads. Ford’s safety innovations helps customers avoid crashes or protect them when an accident unavoidable. They’re also pioneering new technologies such as radar warning systems to help drivers avoid potentially dangerous situations, as well as auto parking and braking advices to help drivers avoid even more unnecessary accidents.

Experiencing Ford's inflatable seatbelt

Come out and see the excitement at the Sparks Street Mall (outside the CBC Building).

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

07:00 a.m. – Demonstrations begin for general public

12:00 p.m. – News conference begins

12:30 p.m. – Demonstrations for media begin

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED

On Wednesday, October 13th, Lauren More, Vice-President of Communications for Ford of Canada, will deliver a presentation on Satisfying Consumer Mega-Trends.

Ms. More’s presentation will take place at the Sheraton Hotel (150 Albert Street, O’Connor Room) from 11:30am to 1:30pm.  Costs: $50.00 for CPRS Members, $65 for Non-members and $40 for CPRS Student Members.

Spaces are limited. Please register by October 8, 2010 on the secure CPRS Ottawa-Gatineau website at https://vws3.primus.ca/www.cprsottawa.com/register/event-registration.php. VIsa and MasterCard are accepted.

About the Presentation:
As business people and communications professionals, we certainly live in interesting times. We are witnesses to unprecedented shifts in the global economies – new population growth patterns are emerging, market purchasing power is changing and consumer preferences around the world
are converging. Many of the decisions we make today, during this unique economic era, will shape our companies for decades to come. How do we ensure we’re delivering the products and services customers and clients really want? In this session, we’ll explore some of these consumer mega-
trends from a global perspective.

About Lauren More:
Lauren More is the Vice President of Communications at Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd., where she manages multiple media communications programs and serves as a company spokesperson on a number of topics, including: corporate news, manufacturing and assembly operations, environment and safety, human resources issues, and crisis communications.

Ms. More has more than 20 years experience as a communications professional and daily newspaper reporter. Prior to joining Ford, she served as the Public Relations Manager for Canada at one of the world’s largest technology and management consulting firms and has held a variety of
positions at Toronto-based public relations agencies.

As a journalist, Ms. More earned both national and regional awards for her work covering everything from educational issues and local politics, to high-tech and the automotive
industry. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from York University’s Schulich School of Business.

[Ford is a client of Thornley Fallis and Keelan Green is President of CPRS Ottawa-Gatineau]

[Ford and Shepherds of Good Hope are both clients]

As we get closer to Thanksgiving we often remind ourselves of reasons to be thankful. Here at Thornley Fallis we recalled how, this past summer, The Shepherds of Good Hope declared their cupboards bare.

TFC’s LeeEllen Carroll with the Ford Transit Connect – a home office on the road.

We came up with the idea of “Ford Connects with the Community” – a new community fundraising event organized in hopes of making Thanksgiving a thankful time for everyone in the nation’s capital. Ottawa area Ford dealers are filling their Transit Connect mobile units, when packed to the roof, will provide enough food to fill tables with hundreds of meals in the coming weeks.

While the dealers have invited their staff, customers, communities and friends to contribute, we’ve invited the Parliamentary Press Gallery, local areas MPs and MPPs, as well as municipal politicians and candidates to make a difference.

We’ll be driving the Transit Connect to collect the food at the end of this week. We hope you can join us in celebrating the community connecting to help those in need.

LeeEllen loading food donations into the Transit Connect.

At the conclusion of the Ford Food Drive, Ottawa’s AChannel had a chat with Rob Eady from the Shepherds of Good Hope, Phil Torrinha from Donnelly Ford and a group of Ottawa Sting minor hockey players who wanted to apply their teamwork to their community.

[Ford is a client.]

Here’s an easy and efficient way to take one’s home office on the road. Literally.

Ford’s Transit Connect was developed to be a smart new choice for small business owners. The Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer is capable of linking into a business’s main office computer network or a home computer via the cellular broadband connection.  When I gave it a spin I found the word processing and on-board inkjet printer handy for my own work. It also has a handy “Tool Link” where the RFI will scan the vehicle to ensure all inventory is onboard. This has potential to ensure all hockey and sports equipment makes it back safely as well!

The navigation system contains features including listings for local stations and coffee stops, which both came in handy during my test drive.

CTV’s Paul Brent also got behind the wheel and spoke with an Ottawa-based business about why it’s their choice of business vehicle.