View highlights from some of our past meetings.
Photographs by Barbara McCormick
April 2012
"Meet the Jennifers" - that was the theme of GCPRC's April lunch meeting. Nearly 50 people attended and had the opportunity to network with Jennifer Tormo, associate editor of Gulf Stream Media Group (left), and Jennifer Pfaff, associate editor of Palm Beach Illustrated (middle). Standing with them is Gold Coast PR Council Board Member Elaine Meier, a two-time Bernays Award winner.
March 2012
The theme of GCPRC's lunch meeting in March was "Meet the Media" and it attracted 45 local PR & Marketing professionals. Featured speakers included (L-R) Jay Zeager from Kool 105.5 & Gater 98.7; Emily Pantelides, the anchor of WPEC-TV's Good Morning South Florida; and John Watts and Caroline Breder-Watts, the masterminds behind the up and coming Arts Radio Network.
February 2012
35 PR professionals attended GCPRC's monthly lunch meeting on February 21. The speaker was advertising guru Stuart Dornfield, the witty and creative mind behind Office Depot's wildly successful 20-year "Taking Care of Business" campaign. His topic was, "4 Marketing Essentials You Ignore At Your Own Risk!"
December 2011
The December lunch meeting brought out more than 40 members and nonmembers to meet two important media contacts: Em Mendez, the Editor of the Notables section in The Palm Beach Post, and Laurel Sauer, the new face and voice of WXEL-TV. Attendees at the meeting also elected GCPRC's Officers and Board for 2012 and were the first to hear about the 2012 Bernays Awards nominees.
(L-R: Em Mendez of the Palm Beach Post and Laurel Saurer of WXEL TV)
November 2011
The topic of GCPRC's monthly meeting in November was Corporate PR. The speakers were Cheryl Budd, Chief Communications Officer of NCCI Holdings; Marc J. Spoto, Director of Corporate Communications for JM Family Enterprises; and Bob Tucker, Director of Public Relations for ADT.
(L-R: Bob Tucker of ADT, Cheryl Budd on NCCI, Marc J. Spoto of JM Family)
September 2011
The September lunch meeting of the GOLD COAST PR COUNCIL attracted 60 people to hear seven speakers cover two different topics. The focus during the first half of the meeting was Classical South Florida, which is operating two different FM radio stations in South Florida, represented by President & General Manager Doug Evans and Host/Producer Caroline Breder-Watts. The last half of the meeting was spent hearing from five local entertainment/cultural bloggers: Tim Byrd (The Byrdman) from PalmBeachLWP.com, Marvin Glassman from FloridaJewishJournal.com & ENVMagazine.org, Bill Hirschman of FloridaTheaterOnStage.com, Skip Sheffield of skipsheffield.blogspot.com and BocaRatonTribune.com, and Greg Stepanich from PalmBeachArtsPaper.com.
(L-R: Greg Stepanich, Skip Sheffield, Marvin Glassman, Caroline Breder-Watts, Bill Hirschman, Tim Byrd (The Byrdman) and Doug Evans)
August 2011
More than 60 PR & Marketing professionals attended the August 16 lunch meeting of the GOLD COAST PR COUNCIL. The topic was "Social Media: Hot Tips & New Insights," and the four speakers were Tiffany Tobol, President of Web Chique Marketing; Ceci Dadisman, Director of Marketing & PR at Palm Beach Opera; and EVP Douglas White and Account Director Matt Gardner, both from MindComet.
July 2011
PR YAK-YAK
Thursday, July 21, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Crane's BeachHouse Hotel & Tiki Bar in Delray Beach.
Sarah Flynn, Debbie Abrams, Suzanne Hayward
Carol Herz, Judy Joffe
Glen & Kristin Calder
Julie Kaminski, Suzanne Hayward, Divya Sukumar
Jennifer Sullivan, Ann Margo Peart
Mary Kate Leming, Melissa Carter, Alison Redmond, Jerry Lower
Jenni Garrison, Enid Atwater
Betty Wells, Scott Simmons, Michelle Noga
Beth Cohen, Betsy Silverfine
Carla Powers, Skip Sheffield, Kim Kadel
Christy Potter, Joan Goldberg, Dana Donoty
Amanda Rowe, Brittany Miller
Daniella Crouch, Tiffany Faublas
Evan Nierman, Gary Truitt, Bryan Rudnick
Kim Tisdale, Kim Rubin
Christina Wood, Andy Preston, Amy Woods
JUNE 2011
The topic of GCPRC's June meeting was "Too Hot to Handle." Four local media experts gave PR advice to celebrities in trouble: Thom Smith of The Coastal Star discussed LeBron James, Jay Van Vechten advised "The Donald" (Donald Trump), Gary Schweikhart of PR-BS yakked about Representative Anthony Weiner and The Buzz Agency's Elizabeth K. Grace offered outstanding counsel to Lindsay Lohan.
May 2011
Guest speakers at the May lunch meeting of GCPRC were Jeff Zbar, the luxury real estate columnist for the South Florida Business Journal, local food and features journalist Jan Norris of JanNorris.com, and Jason Parsley, managing editor of SFGN (South Florida Gay News).
April 2011
(L-R) GCPRC Board Member Suzi McCreery with the speakers at the April 2011 lunch meeting: Toni May, Host & Producer of "Your Health Community" on WXEL-TV, and Gretchen Day-Bryant, Features Editor of the Sun-Sentinel.
March 2011
The topic of the March 2011 lunch meeting of the Gold Coast PR Council was "Meet the TV Assignment Managers," and included presentations from David Gould of WPTV News Channel 5 and WPBF Channel 25's Ben Stein. More than 60 people attended this lunch.
February 2011
Guest speakers at GCPRC's February 2011 lunch meeting were Jay Berkowitz of Ten Golden Rules, whose topic was "Monetize Yourself," and two representatives from the Boca Raton Tribune, Dale King and Chris Catoggio.
December 2010
The special guest speaker at GCPRC's December 2010 lunch meeting was Jose Lambiet, columnist for The Palm Beach Post and Page2Live.com. His topic was "The High Lights & Low Lifes of 2010."
November 2010
The topic of GCPRC's November 2010 meeting was "Meet the Editors" and included presentations by Joella Cain, editor of Florida Woman; Felicia Levine, editor of Boca Raton Observer; and Betty Wells, managing editor of Florida Weekly.
September 2010
Nearly 60 PR and marketing professionals attended the September 21 lunch meeting of the Gold Coast PR Council. The topic was More New Media, and the speakers included Scott Simmons, managing editor of the new Boca Raton edition of THE COASTAL STAR; Amy Woods, society editor of the new publication PALM 2 JUNO; Marie Speed, editor of the new DELRAY BEACH Magazine; and Bill Hirschman, editor of SouthFloridaTheaterReviews.com.
The topic of GCPRC's August 17 lunch meeting was SLICK: PR Lessons Learned from the BP Oil Spill. Nearly 50 public relations and marketing professionals listened to four outstanding speakers:
(L-R) Marcia Pounds, Business Columnist for the Sun-Sentinel; Kenneth Morgan, PR Manager of Visit Florida; Jessica Taylor, Media Relations Director for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Don Silver, Crisis Management Guru and Chief Operating Officer of Boardroom Communications.
August 2010
GCPRC VP Judy Joffe and Treasurer Rich Pollack present a $1,000 scholarship to Palm Beach State College student Luana Goncalves during the August 17 lunch meeting. GCPRC's College Scholarship is funded in part by our Premier Members.
June 2010
The June 15 lunch meeting of the GOLD COAST PR COUNCIL offered a great opportunity for nearly 60 local public relations and marketing professionals to meet and learn from this area's three most important Business Editors.
(L-R) GCPRC Board Member Michelle Brown of Kaliah Communications, Carolyn DiPaolo of the Palm Beach Post, Cyndi Metzger of the Sun-Sentinel, Leslie Kraft-Burke of the South Florida Business Journal and two-time Bernays Award winner Margie Yansura of Wordsmith Communications.
May 2010
The May 18 lunch meeting of the GOLD COAST PR COUNCIL offered practical how-to tips on mastering Social Media by four local PR gurus:
(L-R) Sharon Patterson of d+g / Green Light Communications, Alexia Davis of the Norton Museum of Art, Toby Srebnik of Tilson Communications and Shamin Abas of Shamin Abas PR in West Palm Beach. More than 60 local public relations and marketing professionals attended.
The April 20 lunch meeting of the Gold Coast PR Council attracted more than 80 public relations and marketing professionals to listen and learn from the three local TV News Directors.
(L-R) GCPRC Board Member Elaine Meier, Jeff Brogan from WPTV News Channel 5, Cathy Younkin from WPEC CBS News 12, Kyle Grimes from WPBF Channel 25 and GCPRC Board Member Karen Lustgarten.
The March 16 lunch meeting of the GOLD COAST PR COUNCIL featured five local editors:
(L-R) Marci Shatzman of the Forum Newspapers, Dale King of the Boca Raton Tribune, GCPRC Board Member Michelle Brown who organized the panel, Jan Tuckwood from The Palm Beach Post, Joey Amato from the South Florida Gay News and Sara Fiedelhof of Cravings Magazine.
Gary Schweikhart, President of the GOLD COAST PR COUNCIL, with Tim Burke, the new Publisher, Executive Editor & Vice President of Audience Development at THE PALM BEACH POST, following GCPRC's February 16 meeting. More than 50 PR and Marketing professionals attended.
About 40 PR and Marketing professionals attended the November 17 lunch meeting of the GOLD COAST PR COUNCIL. The topic was Meet the Calendar Editors.
(Sitting L-R): Meredith Clements of the Sun-Sentinel Society Scene, Laura Kokus, the Universal Calendar Editor for Tribune Publishing, and Michelle Centrone from New Times.
(Standing L-R): Abbi Schorr of South Florida Parenting with GCPRC Treasurer Rich Pollack
GCPRC Immediate Past President Jeanne Epstein with Leslie Gray Streeter of the Palm Beach Post
L-R: The two guest speakers at the October 20 lunch meeting of the Gold Coast PR Council: Amy Royster, editor of the Palm Beach Post Notables, and advertising/marketing columnist Jeff Zbar of the South Florida Business Journal, with GCPRC President Jeanne Epstein.
More than 50 people attended GCPRC's lunch meeting on September 15, 2009. The topic was Social Media Strategies for PR Professionals. Speakers included (L-R) GCPRC Board Member Neil Bardache, who served as panel moderator; Seth Liss, News Community Manager for the Sun-Sentinel; Ceci Dadisman, President & Creative Director of Ceci Creative; and Laura Sturaitis, Senior VP, Media Services & Product Strategy at Business Wire.
There was another big turnout at GCPRC's August 18 lunch meeting. The topic was The Power of Radio. Speakers were (L-R) WXEL's Caroline Breder-Watts and Chris Pike, Director of Marketing & Promotions at Clear Channel Radio, with GCPRC President Jeanne Epstein.
Guest speaker Bob Norman, the media columnist for NEW TIMES, flanked by Gary Schweikhart and Barry Epstein, the two co-founders of the GOLD COAST PR COUNCIL at the June 16th lunch meeting.
(L-R): Antonio Fins of the SUN-SENTINEL, lunch sponsors Neil Bardache and Sylvia Clark from Business Wire, and Randy Schultz of the PALM BEACH POST at the May 19 lunch meeting of the Gold Coast PR Council.
