Vincent Power, APR, FCPRS
2022-2023 CPRS National President
Dear CPRS Colleagues,
I am honoured to serve as your President for the 2022-23 Board year and I thank the Nominating Committee for its faith in my ability to provide leadership to the Society over the next twelve months. I had the pleasure of serving as your Vice-President and Treasurer this past year while Cam McAlpine, APR was President. I thank Cam for his leadership of the Society during that time. The current Board is fortunate in that Cam will continue to serve as a Board member as he concludes the final year of his second three-year term so we will continue to have his counsel available to us on a regular basis.
I’m so pleased to be working alongside Claire Ryan, MCM, APR who will be serving as your Vice-President and Treasurer. I am confident that the Society will be well served by Claire and I look forward to her contribution as a key member of the Executive Committee.
I congratulate the three incumbents who were re-elected on September 21, Lisa Covens MA, CAIP who will continue in her role on the Executive Committee as Board Secretary, Rashpal Rai, APR and Matt Wood, APR. I’m so glad to have you back on the Board to continue the meaningful service you provide to CPRS.
I also congratulate the members of our Board who were elected for the first time on September 21, Jane Antoniak, MCM, APR, Colin Babiuk, APR, FCPRS and Danielle Côté, APR. I look forward to working with you in the coming year.
I also want to acknowledge the Board members who are continuing their terms in addition to Cam. These are Michelle James, MA, Peggy Kulmala, MBA, APR, Brigitte Stock, MA, ARP and Guy Versailles, ARP, FSCRP.
All 13 Board members and the Society's membership and volunteers are supported by the immense contribution of our Executive Director, Sara Rafuse who provides strategic and tactical leadership to the Society, and to Larissa Johnston, our Operations Manager and assigned CPRS National Staff. Together, they make up our CPRS National team.
One of the important aspects of the Board is to support our Local Societies, whose Leaders and Board Member volunteers are the face of CPRS to our members from coast to coast. The Presidents' Council meets on a regular basis and I look forward to working with all Local Society Presidents as we collaborate to optimize the value of CPRS to our members and enhance local and national membership and engagement. My role includes sharing, on a monthly basis, updates from the Presidents’ Council meetings with our National Board.
I also look forward to communicating with members over the course of the next year, and hope to meet many of you in person, or virtually, as the Board continues to focus on providing CPRS members meaningful and relevant tools to help you develop in your careers as communications and public relations professionals.
I will continue the path of stabilizing the organization as we recover from the impacts of the pandemic and organizational change. A priority to me is to either re-establish or bring new services and support from CPRS National that matters to our members and our profession. We will be making a concerted effort to build understanding and interaction with all that is going on with a focus on introducing, and updating on, the work of the Councils, Committees and Task Forces and bringing concerns and opportunities for discussion and potentially new approaches. My virtual door is always open and I welcome the opportunity to meet you or reconnect!
Vincent Power