Paul Hart, APR 

By Randy Escamilla

Paul Hart, APR, has taken an active role in the Public Relations Society of America.  “Before moving to San Antonio, I was very involved in Salt Lake City’s Intermountain Chapter, and also served on the board of the Tulsa Chapter. I worked as the PRSSA Chapter Liaison at Oklahoma State University while I was there, among other accomplishments,” Hart said.

Before entering public relations, Hart worked as a journalist. “Being good at PR requires being a jack of all trades. We need to know a little about a lot of things and the media provide a good way to gain vital insights into how things work.”

Hart ranks among the 20% of public relations practitioners who are Accredited in Public Relations. The APR exam preparation is challenging but worthwhile he said.  “I found the APR process to be one of the most challenging accomplishments of my career.”  

Click on the headline above to read more about Hart... 

PRSA San Antonio will celebrate this year’s membership anniversaries during the September monthly luncheon scheduled for noon on Sept. 2 at the Bright Shawl. Nearly two-dozen members will be honored for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years as members of the Public Relations Society of America. Each honoree will receive a PRSA keepsake to commemorate their anniversary. For more information, contact Mike Kelly, PRSA vice president of membership, at michael.kelly@usaa.com.

Irma Orozco, APR
By Randy Escamilla

Irma Orozco, APR, is a native of Cuero, Texas, 90 miles southeast of San Antonio.  All along her goal has always been to keep current in all fields. 

Like many public relations practitioners, Irma took journalism in high school and then studied broadcast journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. By the time she graduated in 1977, she had interned at KVUE-TV and had worked as a news segment producer at KLRN-TV, as editor of Para La Gente, a statewide bilingual newspaper, and then as a TV news reporter and segment producer at KTBC-TV in Austin. However, she always wanted to work in Spanish-language media, so she spent five years doing graduate work in Spanish literature at the University of Mexico in Mexico City. 

When she came back to the U.S., she entered public relations with the hopes of using her Spanish- language skills. She landed a job at CPS Energy as magazine editor in 1985 and three years later became PR supervisor where she supervised writers, video producers, Web content editors, a translator and graphic designers for 15 years. Click on the title for more about Irma...

The PRSA San Antonio chapter is building the slate of officers for the 2011 Board.  If you’re interested in becoming more involved with the chapter and want to further develop your skills utilizing PRSA, several positions are open.  Remember, you must be an active PRSA member to serve on the Board. Please contact Rebecca Villarreal at rebeccamvilla@gmail.com or by phone at (210) 872-6164 for more information on available positions. 

Del Oro Individual Award Winners

Tex Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award

Paige Ramsey-Palmer, APR of San Antonio Federal Credit Union

Public Relations Professional of the Year Award

David Gabler of The University of Texas at San Antonio

Community Service Award Winner

Stephen Chavez of MasonPR

Horizon award

Katie Hornstrom of Medina Electric Cooperative, Inc.