ECD Chair’s January 2026 Message
Greetings and Happy New Year to all my ECD colleagues!
I’m honored to serve as your 2026 ECD chair. It’s a journey that began with becoming president of the PRSA Dayton chapter in 2016, then joining the ECD board in 2019. Over my ECD tenure I have held every executive position, aside from chair.
After so much procrastination, it’s about time for me to take up the duty of chair and get on with the good work of guiding service to our chapters!
Our 2025 chair Mark Weinstein passed the baton to me at the December ECD board meeting, where I outlined my 2026 campaign, “The ECD Dividend: Elevating Chapter Development.”
Our goal is to elevate development of all district chapters with the objectives of providing measurable support services; enhancing communications channels with ECD as the link from PRSA National to ECD chapters, and as a conduit between chapters; and to continue the East Central District Conference transition from a QuickStart leadership rally to a full district conference, including the move to Detroit in September 2026.
One of our strategies includes establishing a theme for each month that communicates and advances our own specific goals, apart at times from the concurrent PRSA monthly theme.
We begin 2026 with “January – New Leadership Month.” This month we welcome new members of the ECD board, congratulate all newly elected chapter leaders, and open communications between ECD liaisons and their assigned chapters.
I’ll mention now that February will be “Caring Month.” We will continue Mark Weinstein’s wonderful “Week of Caring” community service initiative, but it will now be in February. Yes, that’s coming fast, so we ask our chapters to start thinking now about a service project that will “open your hearts” to your community this February.
Additional strategies include launching a toolkit library with best practice digests of chapter functions, beginning with the common challenge of chapter accounting and treasurer duty processes. We to hope to fill any gaps in assistance from PRSA National, including the exploration of shares services to help chapters who struggle to make ends meet.
We have a great team of new and returning committee chairs in place, but we are also welcoming non-board members to serve as committee members. We could use your help, and it would be a great opportunity to learn about becoming a director.
There are some changes to our 2026 committees. We voted at the September board meeting and retreat to discontinue the Diamond Awards. We will shift more emphasis to our Platinum and PRominent Awards.
I am excited to join the 2026 Board of Directors in striving to reach these goals. I’m also grateful for the leadership of Mark Weinstein, past-chair Jennifer Kramer, and all the chairs and directors I have served with who have truly been inspirational stewards of the ECD mission.
I am privileged to be serving with such a talented, dedicated, and generous group of PR pros. Together we will do great things for our ECD chapters and colleagues!
All the best in 2026!
Mark Pompilio
ECD 2026 Chair
