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AAPA Public Relations Committee Past Meetings

2015

April 20, 2015 AAPA PR Committee Meeting in Washington, D.C. 

(Click here for a copy of the committee meeting agenda.)

During this April 20 committee meeting at AAPA's 2015 Spring Conference, Wendy Zatylny, president of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, provided an update on plans for ACPA's 2015 annual conference in Montreal, Sept. 29-Oct. 1. The AAPA PR Committee will hold a 1.5-day committee meeting on Sept. 28-29, immediately preceding ACPA's conference in the same hotel (see above for reference to committee meeting and ACPA conference). Following Ms. Zatylny's update, AAPA's PR Committee liaison, Aaron Ellis, laid out plans for the committee's Sept. 28-29 meeting in Montreal, including distributing a topics agenda and requesting that PR Committee members consider providing presentations on one or more of the agenda topics to be discussed. Additionally, John Roby, the Communications Awards Program Subcommittee chair, outlined changes to AAPA's communications competition for 2015 and stressed May 1 entry deadline (which was later extended to May 8 for late arriving entries). AAPA's Meredith Martino shared with the committee the latest readership survey results for AAPA's Seaports Magazine, while Ellen Kennedy, the Key Media Messaging Subcommittee chair, discussed some of the key media messages that her subcommittee has helped with over the past year, and suggested topics for future messaging possibilities, including using information contained in the two new reports that AAPA released at the 2015 Spring Conference...AAPA's 2015 The State of Freight report, and Martin Associates' National Economic Impact of the U.S. Coastal Port System. The meeting was adjourned after the following member presentations:

2014

Nov. 10, 2014 AAPA PR Committee Meeting at AAPA's 103rd Annual Convention in Houston 

(Click here for a copy of the committee meeting agenda)

In addition to the above presentations, committee members heard a report by Port of Beaumont's John Roby, chair of the AAPA Communications Awards Program Subcommittee, with a recommendation that AAPA change the process in which trophies are awarded. The recommendation, which was approved, will shift away from bestowing trophies on ports based on the highest accumulated point totals of all their winning entries, to a method whereby only the ports with the top three highest scoring single entries will receive a first, second or third-place trophy, with no single port being able to win more than one trophy per year. Note, individual entry awards for Excellence, Distinction and Merit will remain unchanged. There were 106 individual entry awards presented in the 2014 competition, and three trophies, including the Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence (presented to Port of Long Beach), the Overall Award of Distinction (presented to the Port of Los Angeles), and the Overall Award of Merit (presented to the Georgia Ports Authority). 

Also discussed during the meeting was a change in the committee leadership rotation now that Port Saint John's Paula Copeland has completed her two-year term as chairman. Because Dona Regis, the committee's incoming chairman, resigned her position at the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Port in October, the next in line for the committee chairmanship would be the 2nd Vice Chair, Lisa Ashley, with the Port of Houston Authority.  However, Ms. Ashley requested a one-year repreive on assuming the chairmanship, so Patricia Cardenas, Port Corpus Christi, was nominated by the committee leadership to serve as Interim Chair for the 2015 activity year. Ms. Ashley will remain 1st Vice Chair for the 2015 activity year; Patsy Keays, with the Port of Sept-Iles (Quebec), will remain 2nd vice chair; and Judith Adams, with the Alabama State Ports Authority, was nominated by the leadership to being serving as 2nd vice chair at the beginning of the 2016 activity year in October 2015, thereby completing the leadership succession roster until the fall of 2017. 

June 24-25, 2014 AAPA Public & Government Relations Workshop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Click here to view the resource page and download the individual presentations made during the 2014 AAPA Public and Government Relations Workshop in Toronto.

June 23, 2014 AAPA PR Committee Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

(Click here for a copy of the committee meeting agenda.)

The following presentations were made during the June 23 Public Relations Committee meeting, which was held just prior to the June 24-25 Public & Government Relations Workshop:

March 24, 2014 AAPA PR Committee Meeting in Washington, D.C. 

(Click here for a copy of the committee meeting agenda)

2013

November 21, 2013 AAPA Leadership Summit

  • Click here for the memo summarizing the Leadership Summit from AAPA President Kurt Nagle (accessible only to AAPA members).
  • Click here for the list of 2014 AAPA technical committee issues and priorities (accessible only to AAPA members).

2013 Public Records Request Processes Survey

 In January, AAPA distributed an informal survey to member ports through the PR and Legal Review committees on behalf of a request from PR Committee Chair Marilyn Sandifur.  The survey related to the processes ports employ for honoring public records requests. The results, which can be accessed by clicking here, demonstrate that there are a variety of public records request processes in terms of who manages the process from start to finish. 

In summary, there appears to be strong value in having either the port’s legal department or an official records-keeping department involved (depending on the size of the port and available resources) to manage the process and prepare the response. Informing/involving the communications team as well as executive/board is critical if the item is controversial or may lead to a media story. 

Feb. 21-22, 2013 AAPA Public & Government Relations Workshop in Los Angeles, CA

Click here to view the resource page and download the individual presentations made during the 2013 AAPA Public and Government Relations Workshop in Los Angeles.

2012 

Oct. 22, 2012 AAPA Convention PR Committee Meeting in Mobile, AL

Click here for a summary report on the activities that took place during the Public Relations Committee meeting at the 2012 AAPA Convention in Mobile, Alabama.
Click here for the 2013 AAPA Media Kit attachment referenced in the above summary report, published by Naylor LLC.
Click here for the Seaports Magazine Advisory Subcommittee report referenced in the above summary report.

Feb. 28-29, 2012 Public & Government Relations Workshop in Houston, TX

Click here to view the resource page and download the individual presentations made during the 2012 AAPA Public and Government Relations Workshop in Houston.

Port Communications Tools, Surveys & Best Practices

Click here for a survey of the AAPA PR Committee as to the use and distribution of iPads among port commissioners.

2011 

June 21-23, 2011 PR/GR Seminar in Savannah, GA

To view the presentations made during the Show 'n Tell portion of the PR Committee Meeting on June 20, 2011, in Savannah, click on the embedded links below:

To review key "take-aways" provided by participants of the "Communicating the Importance of Infrastructure Investment Seminar" for public and government relations professionals in Savannah, click here.  

Setp. 12, 2011 AAPA Convention PR Committee Meeting in Seattle, WA

To view the formal presentations made during the Show 'n Tell portion of the PR Committee meeting on Sept. 12, 2011, in Seattle, click on the embedded links below:

2010

June 22-23, 2010 Mid-Year PR Committee Meeting in Saint John, NB, Canada

To view the agenda and presentations made at the 2010 AAPA Mid-Year Public Relations Committee meeting in Saint John, Canada, click here.  The meeting took place June 22-23 and was hosted by the Saint John Port Authority. 

January 14, 2010 Social Media Policy Development Webinar
 
AAPA held a Webinar on January 14, 2010, on the topic of public port authorities developing a blogging and social media networking and communications policy. Presenters included Christine Kenny, Esq., Associate, Labor, Employment & Employee Benefits Practice Group, Saul Ewing LLP; Bill Hoch, Associate Chief Legal Counsel, and Lisa Langone, Media Relations Manager, Massachusetts Port Authority; Russell Morrison, Senior Assistant County Attorney and Ellen Kennedy, Corporate & Community Relations Manager, Port Everglades; Art Wong, Assistant Director of Communications & Public Information, Port of Long Beach; and Guy Goodson, Port Attorney and John Roby, Director of Customer Service, Port of Beaumont. 

Sample policies on the use of social networking tools:

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