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My BCS story: Surviving and thriving January 9, 2012

Posted by Melanie Deardorff in Business Communicators Summit, add a comment

i-survived-bcs.jpgWay back in July 2007 when I first joined the KC/IABC board, a big to-do landed on my plate: Coordinate our chapter’s Business Communicators Summit (BCS) conference. My event experience up to that point was limited to lining up details for a few tradeshow events that included dinners for VIP clients and prospects. I wasn’t sure I was the best person to take on BCS, but I received enthusiastic encouragement from oh-so-persuasive people like former board members Megan Neher, Dan Dillon and Nicole Trembley.

In 2007, BCS was in the fall (Oct. 25, to be exact) and that meant – with my July 1 arrival – I came in on the tail-end of the almost-year-long planning. (Later, I likened the experience to someone planning a wedding and then, three months before The Big Day, handing it off to another person to finish.)

I’ll spare you the event debrief I shared with the board (I bet I still have it), but here are my memories of BCS 2007: 

So why the trip down memory lane? Well, BCS 2012 is just a few weeks away on Thursday, Feb. 2. I’m seeing all the work people are doing to make this a great conference. Our co-directors Bethany Asbell and Sami Carter, the BCS committee and several members of the KC/IABC board worked right through the holidays and into the new year to keep things moving. It’s going to be a great day, and I’m looking forward to hearing Ann Handley, co-author of Content Rules. (Have I mentioned I’m a fan of the book?)

Not registered yet? There’s still time (BCS 2012 agenda, speaker and registration information). I hope to see you Feb. 2. – just not at 5:30 a.m. this time; I’ll be there around 7 a.m.

Melanie, KC/IABC President

Make Career Development Your 2012 Resolution December 29, 2011

Posted by Angela Connelly in Business Communicators Summit, Monthly Professional Development, Uncategorized, add a comment

Energize your career in 2012 by developing skills and meeting new fellow communicators. Our 2012 lineup is filled with experts, innovative topics, and many opportunities to get involved.Below is a snapshot of our first events of the year. 

To see the full calendar and register for events, visit www.kciabc.org.  Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter, @KCIABC, Facebook and LinkedIn.  We hope to see you in 2012!  

▪ Jan. 19 FREE Breakfast, Kansas City Café, 7:30-9 a.m.
“Taking Your Communications Practice from Good to Excellent.” Our first-ever FREE event to thank you for your support.  Open to the first 75 registrants (members and guests).

Four Arthur E. Lowell Award winners will share their insight:

  • Anne Canfield, APR, vice president for communications at the Kansas City Art Institute
  • Eric M. Morgenstern, APR, Fellow PRSA, president and CEO of Morningstar Communications
  • Julie Bartels Smith, Accredited Business Communicator and president JBSmith Communications
  • Jeff Xouris, vice president of marketing for Popstar Networks

 ▪ Feb. 2, Business Communicators Summit, KU Edwards Campus

The largest annual professional gathering for communicators in the Midwest.  This will be a day filled with special speakers, breakout sessions on communications strategy, message development, social media, and more. 

Keynote speaker, Ann Handley of Marketing Profs, and the best-selling book “Content Rules,” will share her expertise on “From Boring to Story: How to Make Your Content Rule.” 

 ▪ March 15 Luncheon, Brio Tuscan Grill
“Communications Secrets from 50 years of EXCEL Award Winners.”
Brad Whitworth, ABC, IABC Fellow, and Senior Communication Manager for Emerging Soluctions Ecosystems at Cisco Systems Inc. in San Francisco.  $25 for members /$35 for guests.


 ▪ April, Breakfast, Kansas City Café
“Does Anyone Still Use Email Marketing?”
Jessica Best from emfluence, a KC-based digital marketing agency, will talk about the family feud between Email and Social and which brother will win the battle. $25 for members /$35 for guests.

▪ May 3, Bronze Quill Awards, The Uptown Theater

KC/IABC and the Spirit of Giving December 21, 2011

Posted by Angela Connelly in Uncategorized, add a comment

Walking in a Whisker Wonderland at Wayside Waifs 

Part of KC/IABC’s mission is to give back to the community, which we do in many ways. We’re proud of the work we’ve done in the past year. In addition to providing professional development for area communicators, we support non-profits in many ways. 

Highlights of our work in 2011 include:

Arthur E. Lowell Award—Wayside Waifs event, December This event, hosted by Anne Canfield drew 35 people who donated $505 and 50 pounds of pet snacks. We came so far under our budget that the KC/IABC also was able to donate $100 as an organization. At this writing, two of our guests have adopted cats! 

Gift of Giving, November 
KC/IABC members met with representatives from five area non-profits to brainstorm strategies to address their organizations’ marketing and communications challenges. These included DeLaSalle Education Center, KC Free Health Clinic, Literacy Kansas City, Niles Home for Children, and the Sunflower House. Our roundtable event drew 22 people and generated a wealth of ideas for these organizations to add to their strategic marketing plans. (Read the blog entry with full recommendations made at this event).

IABC Research Foundation
This year we also gave $250 to support IABC research. The Foundation “translates communication theory into practice, providing real-world knowledge and applications for the communication professional.” Their important work advances the profession of communicators worldwide. Be sure to visit the IABC website to see reports and the great work IABC Research is working on (must be a member to access). 

And don’t forget our FREE breakfast in January…our gift to YOU!  There is still time to register for Taking Your Communication Practice from Good to Excellent, and take advantage of this great opportunity (for the first 75 people) 

Happy holidays to all!

Holiday Tech Gift Review by Tech/SIG December 18, 2011

Posted by Angela Connelly in Tech/SIG, 1 comment so far

It’s not surprising that consumer electronics account for “five of the ten most wanted products” (according to SortPrice, a price comparison site).  It’s also not surprising that we had a lot to talk about on our Trending Topic of hot holiday tech gifts at our last meeting. 

 e-Readers

At the top of the list this year is e-readers.  But which one to get?  Better ask what you want to use it for, then how much you want to spend.

 Technology Books

Games and toys
And who can forget the kids and their games?

Be sure to join us on January 13 for our next meeting when we’ll talk about 2012 technology predictions.  We’ll meet at Kauffman Foundation (4801 Rockhill Road), 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.  If you can’t make it in person, we’ll have a Hangout available.  Please RSVP to Keith Mays (December’s KC/IABC volunteer of the month), kmays@kauffman.org  We’re always looking for new members and ideas.

Happy Holidays from Tech/SIG!

‘Hanging’ Out with Tech/SIG…on Google+ And a chance to win a FREE copy of Trust Agents by Chris Brogan December 6, 2011

Posted by Angela Connelly in Tech/SIG, comments closed

The November meeting was a big hit when we tested the Hangout feature on Google+.  We even had a visitor from Costa Rica! 

We learned that Hangouts provide great value in bringing people together across space and time.  It’s particularly good for last minute needs, and video conferences (for big and small businesses). One of our guests said he uses it regularly for his small business. 

You can have groups of up to 10 people, and can interact through:

It’s also really easy to setup.  All you have to do is invite people in your Google+ circles and you have a gathering in minutes. People can also join via phone. 

To see a list of Hangouts you can join, and to learn more, visit:

Google Hangouts worked so well for Tech/SIG that we’ll have it available for future meetings for those who can’t attend in person.  This will also enable us to open the meeting for guest experts, and other chapters.

Please join us at our next meeting…we’ll be giving away a free copy of Trust Agents by Chris Brogan 

Our next meeting will be Friday, Dec. 9, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Kauffman Foundation (4801 Rockhill Road) . We’ll talk about hot tech gift items (what’s on your wish list?), plus we’ll be giving away a FREE copy of Trust Agents by Chris Brogan to one lucky attendee.

Click here for a review: http://www.iheavy.com/2011/11/25/book-review-trust-agents-by-chris-brogan-julien-smith/

If you can join us, in person or via Hangout, please RSVP to Keith Mays, kmays@kauffman.org.  The first 30 minutes is typically networking and an opportunity to pick up lunch (on your own dime) in the Kauffman Foundation cafeteria.

Free monthly event in January − a first for KC/IABC December 3, 2011

Posted by Melanie Deardorff in Business Communicators Summit, Monthly Professional Development, comments closed

free-sign-797711.gifBeing the IABC geek that I am, I have Google Alerts set up to notify me of any IABC or KC/IABC news. I usually get just a few alerts each week, so they’re pretty easy to read through.

Occasionally, something cool jumps out at me which makes getting all the emails worthwhile. That happened in September when I saw a post from IABC Cleveland that said the chapter was offering free admission to its monthly program. I was intrigued, so I contacted IABC Cleveland’s president, Stephen Clark, to ask him about how the free program came to be. He said the chapter wanted to thank its members and also was fortunate to be able to pay for the meeting out of the chapter’s available funds.

I brought the idea back to some of KC/IABC’s board members at our 2012 budget planning meeting. Long story short, Nancy Shawver, our director of programming, and the group working on next year’s budget liked the idea. We reviewed what it would cost to offer the free program and agreed we could do it.

So … next month at our Jan. 19 breakfast at Kansas City Cafe, we’re offering free admission to the first 75 people (both KC/IABC members and guests) to Taking Your Communications Practice From Good to Excellent. The program features four of our Arthur E. Lowell Award winners in a panel discussion on the topic of excellence in communications − what it means, why it’s worth striving for and how to know when you’ve achieved it.

Our “winning” speakers are:

This free program is our way of thanking you for your support of KC/IABC. And thank you, IABC Cleveland, for the great idea! Register or learn more about event.

And don’t forget to register for our 2012 Business Communicators Summit conference on Feb. 2. Ann Handley, Marketing Prof’s chief content officer and Content Rules co-author, is just one of our great speakers booked for that day.

Have a great holiday, and I look forward to seeing you at these KC/IABC events.

Gift of Giving Event Helps Local Organizations November 26, 2011

Posted by Angela Connelly in Monthly Professional Development, comments closed

gift-of-giving-2.jpg    gift-of-giving-event.jpg

For the KC/IABC November Gift of Giving program, KC/IABC members met with representatives from five area non-profits to brainstorm strategies to address their organizations’ marketing and communications challenges. Listed below are some of the ideas generated at the Nov. 10 session, which was held at Javaport in the Crossroads District.  Below are the recommendations we shared with these groups.

Literacy Kansas City

Mission: The organization certifies volunteers as tutors and matches them with adult learners who wish to improve their literacy skills.

Communications/marketing challenges: Tutoring requires a significant time commitment in both ongoing training and then working with adult learners twice each week. Therefore, the organization wishes to strengthen the tutors’ bonds with the organization and each other, as well as use a strong support network for the tutors to recruit additional tutors.

Ideas from brainstorming session led by Cathy Swirbul:

Kansas City Free Health Clinic

Mission: The clinic provides basic health care services to individuals who are uninsured and unable to pay for medical care.

Communications/marketing challenges: The clinic is interested in increasing fundraising and awareness of the organization.

Ideas from brainstorming session led by Matt Dunn:

DeLaSalle Education Center 

Mission: The center provides a holistic education environment that helps students improve their academic and life skills. Communications/marketing challenges: To better communicate what DeLaSalle is to the community and to potential donors.Ideas from brainstorming session led by Sara Folkerts:

Niles Home for Children

Mission: A home for neglected and/or abused children in the urban core. Communications/marketing challenges: Raising awareness about the organization in general and specifically the charter school that will open in 2012, fund raising, and recruiting volunteers.Ideas from brainstorming session led by Amy Stewart:

Sunflower House

Mission: Sunflower House is a children’s advocacy center to protect children in Wyandotte and Johnson Counties from physical and sexual abuse through education, advocacy, forensics and medical services. Communications/marketing challenges: Raise awareness and increase fundraising.Ideas from brainstorming session led by Rachel Spear:

Beignets, a boat ride and being too busy: My IABC Southern Region experience October 30, 2011

Posted by Melanie Deardorff in Southern Region Conference, comments closed

cafe-beignet.jpgI don’t travel much in my job, so I still find it pretty fun to go somewhere for business. But I have to admit that, when I was packing my stuff to attend IABC’s Southern Region Conference in mid-October, I found myself thinking of several reasons why I shouldn’t go: I’m too busy at work. My husband’s been out of town for two weeks. I’ll have to leave my teenager alone for 36 hours until my husband gets back in town. I already have a lot of IABC stuff going on this month.

But once I got on the plane with my travel partner and fellow KC/IABC board member, Stacey Dickson, I quickly forgot about all the busy-ness I was leaving behind. I told myself the conference will be fun (it’s in New Orleans, after all). I’ll get to meet a lot of IABCers. And I’ll be able to attend some great conference sessions and learn a few things to take back home.

The first part of Southern Region is a welcome reception in the evening. Even though I’m pretty social, it takes some motivation for me to go over and say hello to strangers – especially when a lot of the conference attendees look like they knew each other. But I did see a few familiar faces, like former KC/IABC board member Clara Miller and chapter leaders I recognized from past conferences. I hit these friendly faces first and then made my way over to some others.

Stacey and I didn’t stay long at the reception (blame it on jet lag). But by the time the morning came, we were raring to attend our first conference session. Who needs caffeine when the a.m. keynote is Steve Crescenzo!? I’d heard Steve in 2010 when KC/IABC had him speak at our Business Communicators Summit (BCS). (Details on KC/IABC’s 2012 BCS on Feb. 2). Steve was fantastic then, and he didn’t disappoint at Southern Region. He said communicators are at a fork in the road, with one way leading to sterile, sanitized communications. He motioned to the other path and said, “This way lies greatness.” He challenged every professional communicator in the room saying that we seriously need to change the way things are being done. Why? Because, Steve said, “Left to themselves, organizations always create bad, boring stuff.”

During his presentation, Steve made us laugh a lot. And he made us cry a couple times – one being at the end of his presentation when he showed a video shot by his young son. The star of the video: Steve’s older brother, Nicky, who has cerebral palsy. I can’t begin to do this part of Steve’s talk justice, but – score! – I found a blog post Steve wrote about Nicky and the boat ride his family will never forget. I think you’ll enjoy Steve’s “Let us not be afraid of life” post and the video, which is at the end. Steve, thanks for sharing this personal story and for your high-energy keynote at Southern Region. You had us at hello.

I spent the rest of the conference pretty much loving every session I attended. I met so many great people. I enjoyed the local cuisine a bit too much. And I got a chance to talk a lot about KC/IABC – how we’re having record attendance at our monthly events, how the board is getting along so well and how we are excitedly planning our next BCS conference. A lot of my new IABC friends were impressed with the great things going on at KC/IABC, and like a proud mom, I beamed a lot.

So – no surprise. I loved my time at Southern Region. Here’s what I learned:

I’d like to give a shout-out to the IABC New Orleans chapter – just 35 members strong – that hosted the conference. The diversity of speakers and topics. The attention to details, both big and small. And everything else that made this conference so worth our time. A job well done!

Next year’s Southern Region Conference is being hosted by IABC/South Carolina in Charleston, SC (the date’s still TBD). The fall’s such a busy time for me, but I hope to make time again for Southern Region 2012. As Steve said in his post, “Sometimes, whether it’s a work thing or a personal thing, you have to just do it, and let the chips fall.”

What do you get when you cross a Baby Boomer with a Gen X and a Millenial? October 28, 2011

Posted by Angela Connelly in Monthly Professional Development, comments closed

According to Jan Wilkerson, Senior Career Management Consultant with Right Management, you get a Thriving Multigenerational Workforce (if done the ‘right’ way of course!).  If you missed the October breakfast, you can see a recap by visiting the 3 Questions Interview by Jan.  She shares:  

The main lesson we learned is that managers and companies should not have a one size fits all approach.  It is important to understand what resonates with people from different generations and provide communications that meet their needs to engage and motivate them.  For example:

(Please note: These are general characteristics) 

The bottom line is that all employees, regardless of generation, want purpose.  “All generations are driven by purpose and they want to contribute to their organizations.  So as a leader…clearly articulate what that direction is.”  Jan suggests doing this by first defining and preparing shared goals.

We want to hear from you: What is your experience in working with multiple generations? (Note: You must be a member to contribute, visit www.kc.iabc.com to learn more) 

PS: Generation C, also called 2020 is coming.  To read more about the 2020 generation and this topic:

http://www.right.com/

http://2020workplace.com/blog/

Tech/SIG is here to save the digital day! October 11, 2011

Posted by Angela Connelly in Tech/SIG, comments closed

Have you always wanted to know more about technology but were afraid to do anything about it?  Fear no more, Tech/SIG is here!

I recently heard several IABC members say they were interested in attending the Technology Special Interest Group (Tech/SIG)…but they don’t because they’re intimidated by the title. Granted, technology is a ten letter word, but it’s nothing to be afraid of.  To be contemporary and stay relevant, we need digital skills in our communications toolbox. 

You don’t need to be a techie to join.  In this group’s roundtable format, many topics are covered, and everyone is a contributor.  We talk about digital communications like e-mail and SEO, we discuss the latest social media trends and tools, and yes, we talk about games and gadgets.  Best of all, though, we help each other navigate the digital world.  Isn’t it better to go in together?

I’m writing to share two invitations with you:

  1. Attend this Friday’s KC/IABC Tech/SIG meeting at the Kauffman Foundation (Oct. 14 at 4801 Rockhill Road).  It’s held every second Friday of the month from 11:30a.m.-1 p.m.  RSVPs requested to Keith Mays, Kmays@kauffman.org   (There is a cafeteria where you can purchase lunch/beverage).
  2. Take our brief survey http://svy.mk/nN8Klm to help us improve Tech/SIG and learn what topics you are interested in.

 We hope to see you soon, and look forward to your feedback.

Angela Connelly
Director of Social Media and Tech/SIG enthusiast