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Come gather with us and share, inspire, and encourage! Join us for our spring 2024 CPRS-VI Members Meet Up to share one another’s communications trials and triumphs over a tasty beverage. Herald Street Brew Works offers alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and food items for purchase. Please register and add your name and email address so we know how many tables to reserve. See you there! DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 TIME: 5:00 pm - 6:30 p.m. LOCATION: Herald Street Brew Works 506 Herald St., Victoria, BC COST: Free for CPRS-VI members!

The Denis Racine bursary is funded by the CPRS Vancouver Island Legacy Fund, and funds from the Racine family in honour of Denis Racine, a prominent figure in Victoria's public relations community. The bursary will award a total of $1000 and each year at least one is given out. ​ To be eligible you must be: A member of CPRS–VI in good standing (student or full membership) Live on Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands Registered in a communications-based post-secondary educational course Enrolled in at least two courses Considerations for selecting a recipient include length of time as a CPRS member, community involvement, volunteerism, academic excellence, and career objectives contributing to the field. The successful recipient will be expected to write a thank you note to Denis Racine’s family as well as be invited to write a CPRS-VI blog post for future promotional purposes. Find out more here!

Looking for a fun and interesting volunteer role in the Victoria area? Do you have a basic knowledge of budgeting and Excel ? Then you could be our next Treasurer! The Treasurer accounts for and reports on the investments, budget, revenues and expenditures. This position is responsible for providing a financial report to the Board of Directors each month. The Treasurer role is a two year term (June 2024 to June 2026). RESPONSIBILITIES ● Serves on the Executive Committee ● Advises the Board of Directors on the Society's Finances and investments, including strategic reserves ● In charge of all funds of the Society and deposits them in a financial institution as approved by the Board ● Gives regular reports to the Board on the financial state of CPRS-VI ● Pays funds owing by the Member Society ● Supervises the bookkeeper, and ensures the upkeep of a ledger of the Society’s income and expenses with support material ● Coordinates the Member Society’s budget process ● Acts as signing authority for payments along with President and/or Co-President and Vice-President. To find out more about volunteering as Treasurer, or for other opportunities with CPRS-VI, contact our president Alli Boyd here.

Prepare to share, inspire, and encourage! Join us for our first 2024 CPRS-VI Members Meet Up to share one another’s communications trials and triumphs over a pint of something tasty. Upon arrival, make your way to the communal tables at the back where lively conversations will await. Phillips offers alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and food items for purchase. Please add your name and email address so we know how many tables to reserve. See you there! DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 2024 TIME: 5:00 pm - 7:30 p.m. LOCATION: Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. Tasting Room 2000 Government St., Victoria, BC COST: Free for CPRS-VI members!

Each year, one applicant is chosen for the Denis Racine Bursary. For 2023, Daniel Fainstein is the recipient. He tells us what this means to him: I was so happy and felt honoured when I received the news that I was a recipient of the Denis Racine bursary. I am very grateful to the Racine family for providing this bursary and wish to extend my sincere thanks for their generosity. This bursary will be put toward my tuition as I proceed with the courses and work toward completing the Public Relations Diploma Program at the University of Victoria. I am enjoying my studies in the program and find it suits my style of learning and allows me the flexibility to proceed at my own pace. I have learned a lot in all the courses and I look forward to being able to apply what I have learned in a professional setting. I am a keen learner of all aspects of public relations and communications. It has been interesting to learn about how traditional media has evolved into new forms of communication and all the challenges that come with new media platforms. My communication skills have improved and I feel more confident in doing this work. I joined the Canadian Public Relations Society in 2022 to meet and learn from other professionals in the public relations field. It has been a terrific way to meet people with similar interests and learn from other members and the various speakers at the events. Since I attend the UVic program online, it is beneficial for me to have opportunities to attend in-person events and connect with others. I feel a part of a supportive organization and I want to continue my involvement in the years to come. As a volunteer with Special Olympics BC, I was able to bring and apply my Special Olympics experience to my school work. Special Olympics has taught me about working together in groups (big or small) and how to coach and relate to athletes with challenges. It has been life-changing for me to enter this program and find out how much I enjoy the field of public relations and communications. I feel excited and motivated to continue my learning journey. I am grateful to the CPRS for their support and encouragement.

We are excited to present our first professional development opportunity of 2024 - an online Lunch & Learn! Topic: Media Relations 2.0 – How to stand out in a crowded room and tools to get your organization in the news, or mitigate issues from making headlines. Building on a previous presentation made with Alexandra Skinner at the CPRS National Conference in Whistler last June, Andy Watson will outline key strategies to guide your organization's media relations strategy in 2024 and beyond. Learn how to get your information into the hands of the right media, and discuss how to leverage and position your expertise in a sector, topic, or with a specific audience. Andy will talk about modern pitches, new tactics that may be replacing pitches, relationship building, and correcting misinformation. You’ll leave considering how to think differently and be courageous in your approach. DATE: Tuesday, January 30, 2024 TIME: 12pm - 1pm (PST) LOCATION: Online (Zoom) COST: Free for CPRS-VI members! Only registered members will receive the Zoom link prior to the event.

Ever wanted to walk a mile in another person's shoes? Now is your chance! Come bowling with CPRS-VI! Join the new CPRS-VI Board and other members for an evening of camaraderie, competition, and connection. Members and non-members welcome. DATE: November 15, 2023 TIME: 6 pm - 8 pm LOCATION: Langford Lanes Bowling Alley, 1079 Langford Parkway COST: Members and students (free), Non-members ($5) Registration will include two rounds of bowling, shoe rental, and appetizers.

Join us at our Annual General Meeting for some important learning and a chance to connect with your peers. Everyone is welcome to attend! The event will kick off with some chapter business - including announcing our new Board of Directors, and then we will quickly move to our special presentation. Enjoy connecting with other awesome communications professionals, great food and refreshments (including wine & non-alcoholic options)! Special presentation: Indigenous Relations - How Not To Tick A Box, with Charla Huber, MA, CIHCM. Tuesday, June 13, 2023 6:30-8:30 PM at Techtoria, 777 Fort Street, Victoria BC Cost: free for CPRS members, $15 for everyone else Please register About our speaker: Charla Huber MA, CIHCM is an Indigenous Relations and Communications consultant who started her career as a newspaper reporter. Charla has a master’s degree in professional communication and research Indigenous ways of communicating within a Western world. Charla writes a weekly column in the Times Colonist newspaper that often highlights Indigenous issues. Charla is associate faculty at Royal Roads University. She is the HR Committee Chair of the Victoria-Esquimalt Police Board and past President of the BC Association of Police Boards. Charla’s family is from Fort Chipewyan, Alta., and she has First Nations and Inuit heritage.

Register for our CPRS members-only Lunch & Learn. When creating design work for publications and campaigns, society often accepts type and image without reflecting on subliminal messaging. Visuals are very influential and as communicators, we must be mindful and intentional. Calvin Jones, multimedia services lead with the Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia, will speak on how to approach image and type in graphic design work from a Diversity and Inclusion perspective. He will speak to potential unintended biases and best practices in graphic design work, especially when considering publications and campaigns. He will also offer some resources to help us. A moderated 10-15 mins Q&A session will follow. Date: Friday, November 18, 2022 Time: Noon-1 pm (BC time) Cost: Free (CPRS members-only) but must register at https://bit.ly/3ht2JDq You must be a CPRS member to attend this event. A Zoom link to the session will be emailed to you two days prior to the event. About Calvin Jones: Over the course of his 40-year career, Calvin has practiced graphic design in many mediums. He graduated from Vancouver's Emily Carr University and also earned a BA from the University of Regina. Calvin currently practices with the office of the Auditor General.

Join us for the first mixer of the 2022/23 year! Meet your new Board of Directors and connect with your communication community! This is a casual event where we can have a drink (or a tea), share some laughs, and spend some time together. We welcome members, non-members, and anyone who wants to get to know us! Thursday, October 6, 2022 5:30 - 7:00 pm Moxie's Bar and Grill in Victoria BC Free but please register!

Each year, one recipient is chosen from all applicants for the Denis Racine Bursary. This year, Charles Ross, has been awarded the $1,000 bursary towards his education. He tells us what this means to him: I am writing to thank you for the financial support and the boost of confidence that accompanies such generosity. From what I have read about Denis, he was generous with his time mentoring future PR practitioners. He was a marvellous person to have helped so many during his lifetime. His integrity, intellect and passion made him a leader. This bursary is a fitting part of his legacy and it’s an honour to feel Denis’s influence. It was a challenge for me to make a career change. However, as certain aspects have aligned (such as applying for this bursary and receiving it), it feels like the challenge is worth it. I never knew how much communications and public relations were a natural part of my former freelancing. Working in the arts was my business for twenty years. I have discovered that there is an artfulness and creativity inherent to PR work—I am happy to have broadened my horizons. When I talk to my children about change—the trepidation that accompanies travelling into the unknown— I now have a simple incite to share: making a change may seem difficult, but you never know what ally or help you might find along your journey. I never knew Denis, but his positivity and light help to drive away some of my fears of the unknown. I will try my best to be worthy of this. My most humble thanks, Charles Ross

The second session in our Conversations in Media series, this event will be a discussion on the state of the media today. What is the Tea in B.C. politics? What has it been like to cover and uncover some of B.C.’s biggest scandals and resignations? What is it like reporting in today’s media climate? Why is the truth more important now than ever? Join Rob Shaw, CHEK TV’s political correspondent and veteran reporter, as he tackles these questions on Thursday, June 16, for an eye-opening and frank discussion at CPRS Vancouver Island’s Annual General Meeting. Thursday, June 16, 2022 7:00 PM At KWENCH on 2031 Store Street, Victoria, BC Free for CPRS members, $40 for everyone else. Please register Join us as we get through our chapter AGM quickly, enjoy some complimentary adult beverages and sweet treats, have a discussion with Rob, and a chance to meet and mingle with Rob and fellow communicators. About Rob Shaw Rob has chronicled the citizen uprising on the Harmonized Sales Tax that brought down Gordon Campbell, the rise and fall of Christy Clark’s B.C. Liberals and the historic power-sharing deal between the B.C. Greens and NDP first put John Horgan into power. Prior to joining CHEK News, Rob reported for the Vancouver Sun, the Victoria Times Colonist and the Globe and Mail newspapers. He co-authored the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, which told the inside stories of the last decade in B.C. politics. His work has been published in virtually every major Canadian newspaper, and he’s a frequent guest political commentator on radio and TV stations across the country. From the Island, four years at Ryerson University in Toronto was followed by stints at the National Post, Globe and Mail and Vancouver Province. Before Rob returned to the Island for the Times Colonist – where he was promptly assigned to cover the glamorous beat of sewage treatment. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the emergence of Mr. Floatie, the costumed sewage treatment crusader, led to several years of fascinating and interesting stories that ultimately paved the way for the modern treatment system Greater Victoria enjoys today.