I AM AN APR GEEK

Hi, my name is Vanessa Stiles. I am an APR geek and I am proud.

There I said it. In the interest of full disclosure, I say it fairly often, so more appropriately: There I wrote it! I am a full-fledged-pin-wearing Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) geek.

I am addicted to explaining to people, in and out of the public relations field, how important an APR is to professionals, to achieving goals, to accomplishing objectives, and to moving businesses forward with their target publics.

Be warned, if you run into me and we start talking about APR, this is a road map of how our conversation will go:

I get going on research, planning, implementation and evaluation and you cannot stop me. Oh and then, I hunger for the conversation to turn to goals and objectives. With great anticipation, I wait for the part when we get to talk about behavior, level of change, time and publics.

If I am lucky enough to still have you trapped in an APR discussion, we can move the conversation forward and have a healthy debate on strategies. Oh sweet strategies! You elusive masters of how we get it done in communication plans. Strategies though, walk the fine line of “is this a strategy or is this a tactic”? While at times dizzying, the debate is truly invigorating!

Are you willing to stick around for diffusion theory? Pull up a chair if you are, because we can chat about all those innovators and early adopters who stay a few steps ahead of the rest of us and our publics. We may even make a few light-hearted jokes about the laggards of the world and how "change" is just not part of their vocabulary.

After a post-laughter sigh, I would get serious, maybe even a bit somber in my tone, and move on to PRSA’s code of ethics. For me and my APR geekdom, there is no room for laughter when it comes to the code of ethics, its core values and code provisions. It is what separates the spin-doctor hacks from the true professionals. With the weight of our profession’s integrity on both of our shoulders, I might pepper you with questions, “Are you willing to be a true advocate? Dedicate yourself to honesty? Always act independently? Can you truly be loyal? Will you execute communication plans with expertise? Are you devoted to being fair?” You may or may not be caught off-guard by my line of questioning, but please know that it is inspired by a dedication to enhancing our profession.

I realize that revealing my inner APR geek in such a public medium like this blog could mean that at the next luncheon, I will sit alone. I am willing to take that risk. I and my APR pin will do just fine if forced to dine solo.

Or maybe, just maybe other APR geeks will come running to me, show me their pins, and invite me to be at their table. We can share tales of Readiness Review panels, research findings, evaluation techniques and countdown the days until National APR month (It is in April! APR get it?! Funny, huh?).

Want to know more about achieving your APR, but after reading this blog are too afraid to ask me in person? Email accreditation@hoosierprsa.org to learn about the next review session.