Gratitude to a Multitude

It has been a long journey to achieving my Accreditation in Public Relations and I want to thank all those who have supported me along the way.

Cathy Morley Foster of PRSA-SF for organizing the first APR preparation course I took four years ago.

Elisabeth Handler, APR, for teaching the APR prep courses I attended in 2005 and 2009 and for her supportive emails.

Phyllis Goodman, APR, and Sarah Grolnic-McClurg, APR, for organizing the APR process in 2009 and for their constant support.

Mike Miller for providing great advice for my PRSA Bronze Award submission. Once I received that honor, I had the confidence to complete the APR process.

Kit Ratcliff, Liz O'Hara, Heidi Bilodeau, Chellene Wood, and the entire Ratcliff firm for supporting and participating in the successful Centennial public relations campaign that was the centerpiece of my APR portfolio and the winner of several industry awards.

Beverly Butler, APR, Gerard Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA, and Carol Crawford, APR, MBA, for their thorough review of my portfolio and the confidence they gave me as a result of the Readiness Review panel interview.

All my classmates in the APR Prep Courses. While I'm not allowed to name them due to PRSA's confidentiality guidelines, their input and feedback as I prepared for the panel interview and exam were invaluable.

Most importantly, my kids for their great advice on how to handle multiple-choice questions on a standardized exam and my husband for supporting and celebrating my professional development.

Now that I have achieved this professional development goal, I look forward to attaining my next goal: a full-time public relations or communications management position with a Bay Area organization. Please keep me in mind if you hear of local job openings.

Gratefully yours,
Mary