Out-of-the-box thinking from MNPR

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IABC

KC/IABC Wins

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The Kansas City chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (KC/IABC) received a Chapter Management Award for financial management, as well as a commendable achievement award for website of the year, at the annual IABC Leadership Institute conference in Orlando in Feburary 2009.

As chapter president, I’m especially proud of these awards. I can’t take credit for either one, but I’m still proud.

These annual awards recognize leadership abilities, management skills, creativity and teamwork of outstanding leaders from more than 100 IABC chapters worldwide. The judges praised KC/IABC’s overall fiscal responsibility and management of large-scale events, including the annual Bronze Quill awards program and the chapter’s annual Business Communicators Summit.

KC/IABC’s recently updated website was selected as the best website of the year. Judges cited adherence to brand, use of graphics, ease of functionality and member resources content. The site also received recognition for its new social networking and member directory content.

(Thanks to board member Melanie Deardorff for developing the new site on behalf of the chapter. She’s pictured above on the right along with me on the left, IABC chair Barb Gibson and Dan Dillon, last year’s prez.)

The entire board of directors for KC/IABC was thrilled to be recognized at the conference. We were also energized to enter next year and hopefully will win even more chapter awards in 2010! Especially since KC/IABC is a five-time winner of the International Chapter of the Year award… it might be time to bring back that honor to KC.

For more information on IABC’s Kansas City chapter, visit www.kc.iabc.com.

Let’s Get Personal

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Between Twitter, blogging, Facebook, this newsletter and even my own Web site, it seems I’m being forced to write about myself.

I’ve always been comfortable working as a reporter – and reporting news. I enjoy writing what other people said and did. That is comfortable.

This new world of writing my every thought and action is so awkward and narcissistic. I feel like I’m on an online reality TV show . . . without the TV. Even my Twitter “tweets” give me anxiety as I wonder what my “followers” will think as they read my incredibly un-profound, 140-character-limited copy.

As a news reporter, I was asked to write a first-person commentary on the anniversary of the bikini. I agonized over that column for days and, after 15 years, can still recall from memory full paragraphs of the carefully worded tribute to the famous two-piece swimwear.

So I applaud those of you who update your blogs, Facebooks, Twitters, etc., writing charming and revealing personal information. I encourage you to embrace technology and force the flow of this new communication. And don’t forget to use IABC to its fullest. You will be surprised to find fellow members in every corner of today’s technology communicating about everything from “how to write the best marketing communications plan” to “how to potty train a two-year-old.” It is your IABC membership that will help propel your communication to the next level . . . no matter what level from which you begin.

Bee Herd Starts Buzzing

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It’s exciting to be starting the presidency of this year’s KC/IABC board of directors. I kind of feel like we’re starting a blank slate – or in today’s vocabulary: a blank white board. Not to say this board isn’t experienced because many of these folks are returning board members and talented leaders, thank goodness. But we’re still kicking the year off with lots of new ideas and innovative thinking.

It’s a little scary. In fact, I have a secret phobia. I’m terrified that someday I’ll be sitting in a meeting and someone will ask me to come to the whiteboard as the “scribe.” My nightmare is that the group will shout out difficult to spell words – like accommodate, idiosyncrasy, millennium, unanimous or Massachusetts (yes, I had to look these up),  and I will scramble to use my worst handwriting to ensure no one knows I can’t spell!

As we kick off the new board year, the power of the team of board members and the membership as a whole will be to rely on our individual strengths giving those of us “poor spellers” a chance to shine in other areas, while the champion spelling bee winners can take the lead in their area of excellence. There’s no stopping the power of a bee herd!

Now, as the new president I start the year knowing that “nothing is more beautiful than potential.” Please know I’m open to all suggestions, as is our board, so please keep ‘em coming. We all love to Be Heard!

Just in case you were wondering, here’s a list of some famous poor spellers in history. My heroes… uh, I mean, heros… whatever!

Hans Christian Andersen

Albert Einstein

Dan Rather

Gandhi

 

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