Today I attended the CPRS and IABC sponsored Public Relations Leadership Summit: Vision 2020. It was a very valuable experience for me.
The summit was held at the Old Mill Inn and Spa near High Park. My colleague Dr Terry Flynn, an assistant professor in the DeGroote School of Business, President of CPRS, and Director of the Master of Communication Management Program, organized the day, bringing together 50 of the highest achievers and leaders from across Canada in the public relations profession. They came from all sorts of backgrounds – agency, institutional, corporate, not-for-profit, educational, scientific, bureaucracy, etc. Terry then led us through a process of reflection on the state of the profession in Canada – the challenges it faces, the opportunities it must grasp.
What a stimulating and eye-opening day for me. I find that the more contact I have with PR practitioners, the more I am impressed by how much incredible potential this profession has to play a growing role in the social, economic, cultural and political areas of our country.