PRCA Wiregrass Officially Chartered
4 October 2024
PRCA Wiregrass is official!
The state board of the Public Relations Council of Alabama (PRCA) voted October 3, 2024 to approve the opening of a new chapter to serve communications pros in the Wiregrass area.
The Path to A New Chapter
A focused effort to make the new chapter a reality took place in early 2024. A committee of four past state PRCA presidents verified a sufficient membership pool and then pressure tested different options for remote chapter leadership until a sufficient member base was locally recruited. That committee (Lisa Darnell APR, Adam Kelley, APR, Lori Miller, APR and Josh Till APR) unanimously recommended PRCA move forward with the new chapter using remote leadership until locals could be recruited.
PRCA provided seed money for a 2025 launch and organized an Acting Board. Lori Miller APR, Lisa Frazier APR, Madi Winkler APR, Whitney Schmitt, Amanda Jarrett and Jesse Darnell will serve various board positions for now. All are from the North Alabama chapter in Huntsville.
Importantly, the Acting Board is working with a founding committee of locals who bring strong energy and guidance. Local Founding Committee members are Melody Lee of Like Mind Marketing; Jessica Stelterpohl with the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce; Madison Ward of HudsonAlpha Wiregrass; Kim Gantt with Scenic TV Advertising, Adrienne Wilkins of Heyday Agency, Lindsey Fountain of Dothan Education Foundation, and Taylor Wheeler with Wallace Community College.
The Acting Board intends to use this local committee to make sure the new chapter addresses local needs. The remote officers will hand off to interim leaders, setting up the chapter’s first elections late 2025.
Founding Date
The Founding Committee members signed a letter of intent October 2, 2024, which was submitted to the State Board the next day. The state Board vote makes October 3, 2024 the official founding date of the new PRCA Wiregrass chapter.
The new chapter joins six other PRCA chapters in the state of Alabama: Birmingham, East Alabama in Auburn-Opelika, North Alabama in the Huntsville area, Mobile, Montgomery, and West Alabama in Tuscaloosa. PRCA is a part of the Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF). SPRF is a network of public relations professionals from Alabama, North Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi - all PRCA members are automatically members of SPRF.