Hollywood Under the Oaks: PRSSA at LSU to host Regional Conference

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 10, 2013

FOR MORE INFORMATION Erin Kenna Public relations director Phone: 228.217.7693 Email: erinmkenna@gmail.com

PRSSA at LSU to Host Regional Conference

Baton Rouge, La.— Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at LSU has been selected as one of ten universities to host a Regional PRSSA Conference as part of National PRSSA events. The Regional Conference will be held at the Manship School of Mass Communication on the LSU campus and will provide an exclusive opportunity for members to network with and learn from public relations professionals in the arts and entertainment industries.

“This will be a great opportunity to show off LSU — but also to show off the strengths of our PRSSA Chapter,” said Jerry Ceppos, dean of the Manship School.

“Hollywood Under the Oaks” is the theme for the Region 5 Conference taking place March 21-23, 2014. The theme was inspired by the use of LSU and Louisiana as preferred production venues for Hollywood heavyweights in the areas of music, television and film.

From a cappella groups to vampires invading campus, Louisiana has seen its fair share of blockbuster entertainment firsthand. Possible speaker topics include: publicity, personal branding, artistic development and trend analysis, red carpet events, media relations and consumer feedback in the areas of fashion, art, film, music and more.

The Regional Conference will also be an additional opportunity for public relations students and professionals to exchange information and ideas outside of the 2013 PRSSA National Conference. The PRSSA National Conference takes place October 25-29 in Philadelphia. Pa. Regional Conferences are a less expensive alternative to the National Conference for members both in Baton Rouge and from around the region. PRSSA members from all over will have the opportunity to network with each other and learn from peer Chapters. Region 5 includes the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Hawaii.

“One of the best parts of PRSSA is having a nation-wide network of  students and professionals to learn from,” said Paige Weber, regional conference director and PRSSA at LSU Chapter president. “This is a great opportunity for PRSSA at LSU members and everyone in our region to do just that.”

Members of the Regional Conference committee are currently working on developing the website, garnering support from the community and searching for speakers and sponsors. One goal of PRSSA at LSU is to have 100 attendees from the 40 active Chapters in Region 5. The student registration fee is $50 for PRSSA members and $65 for nonmembers. Local public relations professionals can register for the conference using the nonmember fee.

A PRSSA National service initiative will be incorporated into the regional conference to support the Community Fund for the Arts in Baton Rouge. This service initiative will provide assistance to 15 different art organizations in Baton Rouge covering dance, acting, museums, theatres and more. The PRSSA at LSU Regional Conference committee will be donating 10 percent of its total conference profits to the Community Fund for the Arts.

The last time a Regional Conference was held on the LSU campus was 2009. The theme was “Geaux Governmental: Communicating in the Capital City.”

For more information about the 2014 Regional Conference follow @PRSSALSUon Twitter and “like” PRSSA at LSU on Facebook. The hashtag #UnderTheOaks, will be used prior to and during the event.

PRSSA at LSU is a pre-professional organization that allows members to network and gain insight from leading professionals around Louisiana. They are one of more than 300 chapters of PRSSA National. For more information about the organization, visit www.prssalsu.com.

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