What a difference six months make! When I took the mantle as president of Minnesota PRSA in January, we were experiencing an insurrection at the Capitol and a pandemic that was taking thousands of American lives per day.

Now? Summer has arrived. With the warmer weather, and thanks to science, the COVID vaccine has given us back some freedom to resume our lives and see our colleagues, friends and loved ones. Last year at this time, Minnesota PRSA was navigating a new virtual environment and now we are navigating how we come back together in person later this year.

Despite the challenges, and thanks to our chapter leadership, committees, partners and members, we have achieved a lot and learned even more.

We learned:

To further introspect as an organization during civil unrest after the tragic murder of George Floyd, and push ourselves to be better and take bolder action
To steer in new directions and pivot quickly
To meaningfully engage our members through virtual programming

We achieved:

Four professional development programs (viewable for purchase here) on relevant issues like civil discourse, managing stress and burnout during and after COVID, covering the Chauvin trial, and exploring strategies and tactics
Two Career Coffee events exploring a range of topics (recordings available and three more coming through the remainder of the year!)
One Winter edition PR North event for students and recent graduates to connect with professionals and learn more about the industry.

We celebrated:

Two Minnesota PRSA members who recently achieved their Accreditation in Public Relations (APR)
The significant achievements of our peers over this past year at our second annual (and hopefully last) virtual Classics ceremony
Seven influential women who have served our chapter as part of Women’s History Month in March
Margaret Ann Hennen, APR, Fellow PRSA, for being named chair-elect of the PRSA College of Fellows
Each other for our resilience in responding and adapting to the opportunities and challenges of this past year

Our community makes our organization special and you are at the center of it. We have many more great events and programs planned for the back half of the year including our June 22 Virtual Skills Seminar, the September Ethics Event and our October Diversity & Inclusion program. Stay tuned for more information and we hope you join us.

Finally, we always love hearing from you. Please reach out to me or any members of our Board of Directors at any time with suggestions, ideas or concerns. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to Minnesota PRSA.

Jennifer Bagdade, APR
2021 President, Minnesota PRSA

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