A Group Hug and More to Get Excited About at the 2017 PRSA Georgia Annual Conference

As a committee member for the 2017 PRSA Georgia Annual Conference, I’ve had the privilege of helping the Southeast’s largest public relations conference come together. After months of hard work by a committee of seasoned PR specialists, the April 28 event will be full of lessons from leading industry figures and networking with professionals from every type of communications background.

While one look at the Annual Conference program makes it clear that there is a lot to be excited about when the approximately 200 attendees, speakers and sponsors get together Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, here are the three things that I’m looking forward to most:

1. A Morning Group Hug – After hitting the breakfast buffet during the 7:30 a.m. registration, attendees will head to the Grand Ballroom for a group hug. While there aren’t any literal group hugs on the official agenda, the opening keynote is entitled “The Media Needs a Group Hug: A Conversation on Journalism Today.” Moderated by Porter Novelli’s Jodi Fleisig, this conversation will address today’s unprecedented tsunami of information (and misinformation), audience division and what it all means for journalism. What’s more, the conversation will be facilitated by media leaders Kevin Riley, editor at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Richard Griffiths, former CNN vice president and senior editorial director.

2. Tons of Lessons from Sessions – The chance to learn from so many great speakers is the heart of the program. Presentations will cover the key topics facing professionals in our industry, including using video for branding and storytelling, understanding diverse audiences, merging PR and marketing efforts for max success, generating results on a budget and developing fruitful and enduring community partnerships.

3. Mingling and Networking – As educational as the breakout sessions and keynote presentations are, the opportunity to meet and learn from such an array of professionals makes the annual conference a truly valuable experience. Each year, this event offers the chance to connect with communications pros from all experience levels and communications backgrounds – including agency, corporate, nonprofit, government, media and even vendors.

In addition to conference sponsor Poston Communications, representatives from many other conference supporters, including Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Cox Enterprises, Georgia-Pacific and more, will be on hand for attendees to meet.

If you’ll be attending the annual conference, tweet what you’re most excited about using the hashtag #PRSAGAC17. Also, come say hello at the Poston Communications table outside of the Grand Ballroom. If you’re not the hugging type, we settle on a friendly fist bump.

Happy conferencing!

Mikey Mooney is a senior account executive at Poston Communications, based in Atlanta.