The Canadian Public Relations Society held their national conference from June 7 to June 9 at the Westin Bayshore in downtown Vancouver. I was lucky enough to volunteer as a live blogger and MC assistant during those three days, working as little as six hours to a maximum of fourteen hours each day. No complaints here – it was quite literally, one of the best decisions I made this year (second only to applying for school – and getting in).
On July 16th (last week), the CPRS conference steering committee held a “thank you” reception for us volunteers. I brought my newly won Flip Ultra camera from Chef Patrick on Twitter along, and was able to capture steering committee leader, John Kageorge thanking us on video.
(spotted in the video: Don MacLachlan, Shawn Hall, Francine Gaudet)
The reception was held at The False Creek Yacht Club, where I discovered that all Kwantlen PR program events were held there. This was because PR program coordinator, Terri Smolar, is a member there and can get the venue for free… Which as you can imagine, is a huge load off any event planner’s shoulders!
I gained a lot of insights into the PR world from just volunteering at this conference and also made a few new friends on the way. I’m really, truly looking forward to starting school in September and utilizing what I’ve learned in classes – and in real life! Sooo… If anyone out there’s looking for a PR intern (who doesn’t really know what she’s doing, but is pretty quick and smart, and witty), please let me know!
(I also do web design!)
