At last week’s general meeting on October 6, we discussed the PRSSA 2014 National Conference in Washington D.C. which was attended by representatives from our Chapter, including executive board and general members. At this conference, our e-board had the opportunity to meet and interact with their counterparts from other universities in different activities and workshops.
Before we were introduced to the speaker, the fall field trip was revealed! One of the perks of being a paying member is being able to go field trips that are related to communications and public relations. This past spring some very lucky PRSSA-UD members travelled to Buzzfeed. Buzzfeed is one of today’s hottest and most culturally relevant websites so this trip was truly a once and a lifetime opportunity. This semester, paying members will have the chance to go to iHeartMedia, the parent company of iHeartRadio, located in Wilmington, Delaware. The field trips and other opportunities PRSSA-UD provides leaves the potential for relationships to be formed that can lead to internships and careers after college. 
Monday’s speaker was Jim Delorenzo. Jim started doing PR work while he was a junior in high school in New Jersey. He would write reviews of his high school’s sport games and give them to his local town papers to run. At Villanova University, Delorenzo became involved with sports information and the athletic department and he began covering sports that he previously had no experience with. By the time graduation rolled along, he found himself with the opportunity of being the Direction of Sports Information at Villanova – where he remained for 11 more years.
In 1999, left Villanova and started his own business. Delorenzo continued to work with sports, but he began to expand his services. To date, Jim has worked the sport industry, entertainment industry, companies, and law firms too. During his presentation, the audience was given important tips and pointers including “you’re only as good as your last good deed”. In addition, Jim advised that when you take on a new client that it is important research your client and make sure that there is a target audience for them. In addition, Jim also pointed out that in order to have good PR, you must take responsibility of your actions.
As a pre-professional society, PRSSA-UD brings in speakers who are involved in different types of PR. Jim Delorenzo was a great guest speaker to have and he provided great insight for those who are interested in sports PR.
Make sure you continue to check out meetings so you don’t miss out on one of our great speakers!
By: Brett Blee
Brett Blee is a sophomore communication interest major and journalism minor. On campus, Brett is a member of PRSSA-UD and is a writer for Spoon University. She is also a sister of Kappa Alpha Theta. Follow her at @bblee13 for all things pop-culture and at @BrettBlee for all COMM/PR related matter.
Photo credit: Katerina Vlitas
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