September President’s Letter
September is a meaningful month for me. I am half Mexican, my father and his entire family are from Acapulco, Mexico.
My father moved to the United States on his own when he was just 17 years old and eventually started his own company. But when I think about my family’s history, I often think about my grandparents and the legacy of public service they left behind.
My grandfather served as Chief of the Acapulco, Guerrero Fire Department from 1955 to 1966. He went on to hold several public-service positions at both the state and municipal levels, including serving as head of security for the municipal president of Acapulco, deputy chief of the governor’s aide-de-camp office, traffic delegate, and Municipal Director of Traffic. He remained involved in public service in Guerrero and Acapulco for nearly four decades.
But what I remember most about my grandfather isn’t his titles. It is the relationships he built.
Every year, he held a gathering to thank the journalists and broadcasters who covered Acapulco. That tradition has stayed with our family. To this day, my family continues to celebrate and recognize journalists and broadcasters.
In many ways, that tradition feels especially meaningful to me as a public relations professional. Our profession is built on relationships—with journalists, communities, clients, colleagues, and audiences. Reputation and trust aren’t created through a single interaction. They are built over time through consistency, respect, and meaningful connections.
Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15 through October 15, is an opportunity to recognize the rich cultures, histories, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities. For those of us in communications, it is also a reminder to think about whose stories we tell, how we tell them, and whose voices are represented.
If you’re looking for ways to celebrate locally, there are several events happening in the Washington, D.C., area, including the AFI Latine American Film Festival, running September 16–October 7 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, and Fiesta DC, taking place September 26–27 downtown.
I hope you’ll take some time this month to celebrate, learn, listen and perhaps discover a story or perspective that is different from your own.
Building New Connections
Several of you know that I recently started a new job in a new city. While it is a promotion and incredibly exciting, it also means starting over in many ways—building relationships, creating new connections and finding my place in a new community.
As PR practitioners, we understand that building trust and a positive reputation takes time. It requires showing up, making connections, demonstrating value and, ultimately, proving it through our actions.
Fortunately, I’m outgoing and genuinely love meeting new people, so I’m embracing the opportunity.
And perhaps that’s another lesson I’ve been thinking about this month: whether we’re building a professional reputation, strengthening a community or carrying forward a family tradition, relationships are built one interaction at a time.
A Little Perspective for the Semester
September also means that the semester is in full swing for me and for those of you who work in education or have loved ones in school.
I recently told my students the good news: they are one quarter of the way through the semester. They just have to do this three more times!
I also shared two quotes with them. One is from my former boss, Alex Sheen: “If you have a strong why, you can be strong.”
The other is one I made up right before class:
“Perfection is paralysis, but not striving for your best makes everything less.”
It’s week 4, the excitement from the start of the semester has worn off, and students are knee deep in schoolwork, work, sports, extracurricular activity, and navigating all things that come with college life. I reminded them that everything they are doing now is building muscle, whether it’s physical, mental, or spiritual. Although most of you are not in school, you continue to learn and grow in this profession.
I recently came across a research study titled Journalists’ Perceptions of AI in a News Release. This study looked at how acknowledging the use of artificial intelligence in news releases shapes journalists’ perceptions of credibility and intentions to use the materials. Participants in this study read news release about a new pet food product. Pet products were chosen because well, it’s not politics ;) Although we know in DC, everything turns political.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, receiving either a version of the release that included or omitted an acknowledgement of AI assistance. The findings show that AI assistance lowers perceptions of both source and message credibility and reduces journalists’ willingness to use the release. The idea is that perceived risks of AI and the relational dynamics between journalists and PR professionals. There is tension between how quickly we can turn out releases with AI, transparency, and credibility, which leads us to think about ethical guidelines to maintain media trust as practitioners.
As we wrap up PRSA Ethics Month, this week, September 24 from 11:45 – 12:45 PM we have one more ethics event, Ethics in Action: Navigating Today’s PR Challenges. I want to give a big thank you to our Ethics Committee Chair and a former president of our chapter, Sabrina Kidwai.
New Opportunities for PRSA-NCC Members
We also have two new partnerships that directly benefit our members.
Employee Communication and Experience Conference | September 29–October 1
Presented by the Advanced Learning Institute, this three-day conference brings together internal and employee communications leaders from organizations including S&P Global, Marriott International and VCU Health. The program will focus on practical strategies for channel alignment, leader communication, culture, measurement and AI.
PRSA-NCC members receive $500 off registration with code NCC500.
Mid-Atlantic MarCom Summit | October 14
The Mid-Atlantic MarCom Summit brings together more than 400 professionals across marketing, advertising, public relations, communications and media to discuss industry trends, best practices and emerging challenges.
PRSA-NCC members can receive 25% off registration with promo code PRSANCC .
I’ll be attending the summit myself, so if you’re planning to go, let me know—I’d love to see you there!
As we move into fall, I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue building connections across our PRSA-NCC community. I hope to see many of you at one of our upcoming events.
Patricia
President, PRSA-NCC