Making Connections
The warm weather we’ve had these last two weeks makes it hard to reconcile with a very frosty start to February!
One of the things that I have valued most about my time in PRSA is the connection with other professionals throughout Western North Carolina and beyond. From wise sages to those who accidentally fallen into the field of communications and PR, the pool of practitioners in this area is deep and wide.
Earlier this month, thanks to an invite of a new chapter member (Shout out to you, Paulina), I found myself sitting in on the “WNC PIO Quarterly Meeting.” This was a hybrid meeting of very capable public information officers and communicators from several different counties, and it served as a sort of “safe space” to share ideas, make or take suggestions, and even to a little back-of-the-napkin debriefing of recent events. It was a great place to be among people with shared struggles.
As the meeting progressed, I was struck by just how vast the talent is in this area. We are really lucky! I was also reminded of how important it is to be surrounded by colleagues, even (or maybe especially) ones in different areas of work. We are all better by that shared knowledge and experience.
That is one major value we hope that this chapter can bring to our members. I know, I know-- it’s hard to make time for that among employer and family demands, and “networking is hard.” That’s where we come in. We have four regional directors-at-large who can help you figure out ways to connect and find options that match your comfort level, even for those of us who aren’t raging extroverts.
They are:
Jacob Puckett - Eastern Counties/Boone Region
Molly Justice - Greater Asheville Region
Benjamin Rickert - Southern Counties/Hendersonville/Brevard Region
Shane Ryden - Western Counties/Cullowhee Region
Reach out to them- they’d love to meet you.
In the meantime, our chapter is growing. We’ve had four new members so far in 2026- not bad! From what I’ve seen, they are all impressive in their own right, and I bet they’d be really happy to know you too.
Want to get started on networking? It just so happens that Molly Justice, the director at large for the greater Asheville area is hosting a happy hour event at White Labs Brewing on Thursday, 2/26 at 5:30. We’d love to see you there, even if it’s just to stop by on your way home- you won’t be disappointed.
