President’s Message: Appreciating Accreditation
During the pandemic, I found myself at a professional crossroads. I really enjoyed my work, but often felt I was out of my depth when dealing with various communications decisions related to the crisis. I spent a significant amount of time scouring the web for answers and found two things to be true: 1) No one was truly prepared for dealing with these types of communication issues; and 2) The resources that I found to be the closest thing to answers were generally through PRSA.
I reached out to Betty Farmer, whom I had gotten to know through some Crisis Comms certification classes, for advice. She recommended I look into pursuing an APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) and told me that a PRSA chapter was forming in Western North Carolina. That seemingly simple suggestion ultimately led to a change in my confidence as a communicator and possibly the trajectory of my professional life.
Fast forward a couple of years, and I'm on the board of directors for the Western North Carolina Chapter of PRSA - the same chapter Betty had told me about. I decided to learn more about the APR, and an informational call with Chapter President Molly McGowan Gorsuch (who you will learn more about, below) got me a bit more excited about the challenge of pursuing accreditation so I signed up!
Over the course of the next year, I went back to school on some long-forgotten communication principles and had two wonderful mentors, both of whom challenged and encouraged me. The panel presentation was the most intimidating part of this process. The actual test was harder than I expected, though that probably said more about my own anxiety than it does about the test itself. However, it’s true that the preparation was the most educational part of the process for me. I never would have done it without knowing those milestones lay before me.
In May, I will have practiced a full year with my APR and I’m really glad I pursued it. I now have a valuable framework and knowledge that I wish I had during the pandemic, or Hurricane Helene, for that matter. I would not say that my work has completely transformed due to the APR process, but I can say unequivocally that it is better. I also created a new network of colleagues and have even served on some APR presentation panels myself.
April is APR month, and our chapter will be hosting a virtual conversation with some practitioners who have gone through the process (myself included). If you haven’t gone through that process, I’d encourage you to join the conversation.
The credential might not be for everyone, but you never know until you learn more about it. I’m truly grateful to Betty for urging me to pursue this track.