ECD Chair’s Nov. 2026 Message

NOVEMBER IS ‘OUR DECISION, OUR DIRECTION MONTH’

OUR BOLD FUTURE DARES US TO BE DIFFERENT

Those political messages that have been clogging our inboxes implored us to get out and vote on Nov. 3. But for PRSA and the East Central District, our balloting took place in October.  I designated November as “Our Decision, Our Direction Month” on the ECD calendar because it’s time to celebrate the new leadership teams we elected and lean into the new paths we will explore in the year ahead.

I want to congratulate the 2027 ECD board and especially welcome our newly elected ECD at-large directors Katie Neal (Thoroughbred), Jim Owston (West Virginia), Steve Radick (Pittsburg), and Niki Mayakova (Dayton).

Our 2027 officers are Chair Kim Skeltis, APR (West Michigan), Chair-Elect Dr. Alissa Agozzino, APR (Central Ohio), Treasurer Christine DeJoy (Hoosier), Secretary B.J. Fischer (Northwest Ohio), and I will be the immediate past chair. Returning directors are TaQuinda Cyler (Detroit), Kerry Francis, APR (Central Ohio), Michele Hill (Thoroughbred), Deeksha Kapoor (Hoosier), and Jamie Ward, APR (Northwest Ohio).

At the ICON Leadership Assembly, our ECD past-chair and 2026 PRSA National Board ECD Representative John Palmer was elected 2027 national board secretary, and John also presented the findings from the PRSA Chapter Leadership Focus Groups Membership Recruitment and Retention Initiative.

As the ECD delegate to Leadership Assembly, it was my privilege to join Chair-Elect and PRSA West Michigan delegate Kim Skeltis in helping elect ECD past-chair Andrea Clark, APR (West Michigan), to the 2027 National Board as ECD representative. Her election came after a hard-earned petition drive to be nominated from the Assembly floor. We are so proud of Andrea, and so grateful to the members who signed her petition, and to all the delegates who voted for her overwhelmingly.

From Assembly through ICON’s four-day run in Orlando, a central message echoed from our PRSA leadership, the keynote addresses, and session speakers. They told us what’s past is prologue. In a tomorrow of AI agents built to outthink us, we must be uniquely human. In a time when LLM searches yield every idea already tried, we must dare to be different.

Notable quotes on this theme from my ICON notebook:

“Our best days are not behind us; they are ahead of us,” said PRSA Chair Heide Harrell, APR, at Leadership Assembly. “How do we remind them of the value? How do we renew their passion? It’s something we have to rally around. The authenticity of why they are a member is how we reach out to other members.

“It is time for PRSA to be bold. It is the time to make significant changes in our governing structure, to lean forward. We have got to modernize. In our profession, we are in the business of change.”

“Have the courage to do things never done before,” said Savannah Bananas Coach Tyler Gillum in the opening keynote. “Have the courage to stand out. Whatever is normal, do the exact opposite. Help everybody else get what they want, and eventually you will get what you want.”

PRSA will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year, CEO Matt Marcial, APR, reminded us. “We have an outstanding history behind us and an even more exciting future ahead.”

“It’s good to be better, but it is better to be different,” author and brand expert Sally Hogsheads said in her keynote speech. “Different is better than good, and better than perfect. PR that wins is not perfect and is not generated by AI.

“The world is looking for messages that matter, messages that engage. Too often we try to make something perfect instead of bringing it to life. You are either adding value, or you are taking up space. Stand out, or don’t bother. Boring is the kiss of death.”

“High standards are a double-edge sword,” ECD’s Katie Neal said in her “Lead Without Limits” session. “It’s internalized that if something bad happens, I have to fix it. When we are chasing the impossible, trying to control everything, we lose ourselves along the way.”

“Last quarter, last campaign, last year’s numbers – all in the past,” said Terrie Ard in her session on 2027 trends and leadership. “They matter, but the question is: what’s coming next, and are we ready to duck?”

“Don’t go shopping hungry,” said former White House speechwriter Steven Kelly in his session on Speaking Like a Human in the Age of AI. “Figure out the essence of what you are trying to say, the ideas, and work out the words later.”

“Ageism is real,” said Ellen Crane, APR, in a panel discussion on retirement. “My clients don’t care how old I am; they hire me because of my experience. Resilience is my thing.”

“They haven’t been beaten down yet by this society,” Andrea Clark, APR, said in her comments to Leadership Assembly about why she has been a career-long advocate for PRSSA. “They are our future. We have to invest in them, and we need to engage them more.”

ECD ruled at ICON! Lessons learned there will help our new district and national leaders guide us to the many opportunities awaiting our discovery.