PRSA NJ Elects 2011 Officers and Reports Year-End Results

NAVESINK, N.J., Jan. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA NJ) announces the organization's 2011 officers, elected at the public relations professionals group's Annual Meeting for members on December 15, 2010.

Taking over the top leadership role is Rich Lukis, president of Coyne PR.  Lukis brings 20 years of public relations experience to the role of 2011 chapter president.  He succeeds 2010 PRSA NJ President Ken Hunter, APR, vice president of account services for R&J Public Relations.

Additional PRSA NJ officers elected for 2011 are:

• President-Elect (serving as chapter president in 2012):  Jennifer Tornetta, APR, AtlantiCare
• Vice President:  Kristine Simoes, APR, Monmouth University
• Treasurer:  Bryan Kaus, BlueKom
• Secretary:  Jill Kleiner, APR, Coyne PR
• Board of Directors (one-year term):  Anna Brodetsky, Utopia Communications

2010 Milestones in Membership and Income

Hunter, who will remain active on PRSA NJ's Board of Directors as Immediate Past President, shared several PRSA NJ accomplishments at the Chapter's town hall meeting.  "This year was a very successful one for PRSA NJ and its members," he said.  "We increased membership by 10.4 percent, in a very challenging year of business cutbacks in professional membership support.  Our chapter's financial position, despite the malaise in the economy, had a very significant increase, growing by 26 percent.  This was the result of obtaining sponsorships, closely watching event costs, increasing membership, and more strongly promoting events.

"Event attendance has been very impressive, with monthly educational and networking events drawing an average of 70 attendees," Hunter added.  "We launched or gave more resources to address needs of both senior public relations practitioners and newer public relations pros, as well as formed a committee to develop additional networking and educational events in the southern half of New Jersey.  These efforts offer significant opportunities for our members."

PRSA NJ also forged closer bonds with New Jersey's six Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapters.  One 2010 highlight was seeing Fairleigh Dickinson University launch the state's newest PRSSA chapter.

2011 Programming Announced

"Several new events, along with the very popular activities the PRSA NJ chapter is known for, are being developed for in 2011," Lukis noted.  "We are planning programming that will appeal to wide ranges of our membership, as well as smaller niche groups," Lukis noted.  "I'm excited to work with our new officers and committee members to build on the momentum we're providing for our members."

Among the events and enhancements members can expect in 2011 are:

• New Strategies and Tools for Measuring PR's ROI
• Exploring the 2010 U.S. Census Results and Surprising Trends for PR Pros
• Annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament
• Meet the Media Panel
• Pyramid Awards 2011
• Social media workshop
• Enhanced e-newsletter with executive videos

About PRSA NJ

The New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (www.prsanj.org) was founded in 1960 and represents business and industry, counseling firms, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms, and nonprofit organizations.  Its parent organization, PRSA (www.prsa.org), was chartered in 1947, and is the world's largest public relations professional organization.  Based in New York City, PRSA has nearly 32,000 professional and student members organized into more than 100 chapters nationwide, 19 Professional Interest Sections and numerous Affinity Groups.  The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has nearly 300 Chapters at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

SOURCE The New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America