ECD Chair’s July 2026 Message

RECHARGE WITH MIDSUMMER REST & RETURN RARING TO GO

We welcome July as the height of summer, the month of star-spangled celebrations and well-earned relaxation.

But the ancient pagans celebrated “Midsomer” in June, meaning July was the last blast of summer. And in our more modern rituals, July 4th marks the end of retail summer. Swimsuits go on the sale rack, and marketing pivots to back-to-school buying.

That’s not supposed to be a downer. Plenty of summer remains, and I for one refuse to stop wearing shorts until maybe Thanksgiving. July is ECD “Recharge Month” for a reason. We have no formal ECD board meeting in July, and we expect many of our colleagues to be absent from Zoom calls and out of the office.

What I encourage everyone to do this month is rest, recharge, and reawaken, ready to go with a real sense of purpose.

Since we have no ECD board meeting, I am inviting chapter presidents to an informal “Leadership Huddle” at 9:00 a.m. on July 22. ECD Immediate Past Chair Mark Weinstein initiated the Leadership Network of chapter presidents during his term. I am reimagining it as a “huddle” so we can again share concerns, concepts, and accomplishments. I would also like to use it as a chance to unveil drafts from the developing ECD Toolkit Folder.

We will be taking a first look at a Membership 3R (Recruitment, Retention, Revenue) Toolkit; a Leadership Transition Checklist to help jump-start your chapter succession well before the winter holidays arrive; and a “Financials 101” Toolkit to demystify treasurer tasks.

With the help of our PRSA National Board ECD representative, John Palmer, our district put special focus on declining PRSA membership with ECD +April Membership Month. We hosted a Membership Forum with ECD chapter membership committee chairs, and we devoted the April Leadership Roundtable to a review of the forum ideas.

PRSA used chapter health audits from 2024 to identify five chapters experiencing membership growth and five experiencing declines. The Board of Directors asked the PRSA District Council to invite the presidents of those chapters to a series of virtual focus group meetings to discuss membership engagement efforts, specifically recruitment and retention. The meetings got underway in late June, with PRSA Northwest Pennsylvania participating as a chapter with declining membership, and PRSA Northwest Ohio volunteering to participate because of equal concern about membership. We look forward to sharing the results of the membership focus groups before summer ends.

Also, as the end of summer nears, we will introduce a thoughtful new version of our annual ECD 360 Survey. I’ve had so many great opportunities to get input from chapter leaders and members across the district this year in our Coffee Chats, Leadership Roundtables, and informal gatherings. All of this feedback has gone into the melting pot of the 2026 ECD 360 Survey.

We acknowledge that in the age of AI, new directions in public relations skill development, and competition for professional association fee dollars, the future can seem murky. That makes the 360 a highly important crystal ball. We will be relying on the valuable responses of the chapter leaders who will be survey recipients.

Above all, we follow the recharge of midsummer with our engines revving and our GPS mapping dialed toward Detroit. Last year, ECD ended the tradition of an annual QuickStart Leadership Rally in favor of hosting a full district conference open to all. This year, we will head to Detroit to hold the first ECD Conference outside of Ohio.

ECDC Committee Chair and ECD Chair-Elect Kim Skeltis, with enthusiastic help from the PRSA Detroit chapter, has masterminded a brilliant vision for PRSA East Central District 2026 Conference, Built on Hustle: Communicating in an Age of Change, Sept. 17-18, to be held at the former Detroit Tiger stadium, The Corner Ballpark.

By August, we will be running warm-up laps for Motor City and taking swings in the on-deck circle, as we make the final push for ECDC 2026 Detroit. Regardless of where your midsummer travels take you, please think ahead to fall and circle ECDC Sept. 17-18 on your calendars. We invite ECD Chapters, PRSA, and PRSSA members and non-members to attend, engage, and benefit!

September will be here before you know it. There is still time for baseball and shorts. There will still be baseball and shorts in September! But something big is brewing in Detroit. You deserve some summer downtime, but come back ready to revive because more than ever, our work as PR pros is “Built on Hustle.”