PRSJ Edge

PUBLIC POLICY Telecoms

CORPORATE CANAPE Promotions, new businesses, movements

DEFINITIONS Digital OTT Net Neutrality

EXAMPLE Highlight a service provider

FEEDBACK PRSJ209@gmail.com

Volume 7 Issue 1 April 2016

INCLUDES 3 ISSUES Volume 6 (April 2016) Volume 5 (November 2015) Volume 4 ( November 2014) Subscribe to the PRSJ bulletins by sending an email to prsj2009@gmail.com For 2012—2013 issues of PR Brief (9 issues) visit https://sites.google.com/site/gojamaicapr/home/prtoolbox/Newsletter-PRBrief

For 2009 to 2011 issues of PR Brief email PRSJ2009@gmail.com

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in 1

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The Jamaican Writers Society c/o Jamaica Copyright Licensing Agency Building #1, 17 Ruthven Road Kingston 10, Jamaica jamaicanwriters@cwjamaica.com

Public Service Announcement

March 30, 2016

Dear Authors and Publishers Promotion of reading and local children’s books JaWS is organizing for reading in primary level schools and libraries for May, Child Month, and inviting you to participate.

Authors: 1. We are targeting the primary level, that is, both government owned schools and prep schools, therefore books should be suitable for children from grades 1-6.

2. The books should be local, Jamaican or Caribbean books. You can also read other suitable foreign books if there is time, but the main focus is the promotion of local books and reading. We therefore hope that you will make your books available for reading, that is, either to be directed through me or other JaWS Board Members, or by making direct contact with volunteer readers. I'll let you know who the volunteers are when that list is complete.

3.You may wish to volunteer to read. In which case, please contact me and we will arrange for a venue for you. For example, the library will be arranging for some of our volunteers to read in some schools. You can read your own books, of course.

You may wish to read on your own without being involved with JaWS. In that case, you are welcome to do so. The more people reading the better for our children and reading. Just let us know where you are reading so that we don't attempt to send another volunteer there.

4. We would need the titles of all books being read so that we can use that for publicity purposes: Reading and local children's books.

5. If you make your books available for reading then we would return them to you if they were sent through us. If you contacted the volunteer yourself, then we would expect that you will arrange for the return of the books to you.

Publishers: 1.We are inviting you to make your books available to be read by our volunteers. If you would like to suggest venues or volunteers, please do so.

Authors and Publishers, please feel free to make other suggestions which would make this as effective as we would like it to be.

All the best Diane Browne JaWS Board Member

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Volume 7 April 2016

Corporate Canapé The Minister with responsibility for the Information portfolio is Senator, the Hon Ruel Reid.

Consultancies

(TELECOMMUNICATIONS) On February 8, 2016 the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) had its Third annual stakeholder engagement.

Alethia Lambert, formerly of VTDI, US Embassy, Irrigation Commission has established Lambert Law offering PR counselling; Leo Lambert, formerly of KLAS FM Sandals and Jamalco opened Musgrave Legal Services offering PR services.

Promotions

Among the policy issues raised in the field of telecommunications was that the OUR is partnering with Universal Service Fund (which manages a levy on telecoms providers) , for the Statistical institute of Jamaica (STATIN) and the Mona ICT Policy Centre UWI, to conduct an ICT Adoption User Survey to provide information that will inform strategies to inform the expansion of ICT use in Jamaica.

Congratulations to the following practitioners: Former PR and Communications Coordinator at the College of Agriculture Science and Education, Ms Sonja Simms is the Press Secretary to The Office of the Governor General.

OTT Services and Net Neutrality Director General Albert Gordon said that the OUR technical and legal team found that the regulation guiding Over The Top (OTT) services and Net Neutrality is outdated, and interpretations of the law are “not realistic”.

Mr Robert Nesta Morgan who was the Media Manager for the Leader of the Opposition is now the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Office of the Prime Minister. Mr Morgan is a broadcaster and had a PR consultancy Nesta & Co;

The OUR has engaged its stakeholders to “ find a way of moving forward which protects the services providers but supports the development of the country.”

END

Ms Kayon Wallace who was appointed Director of Communications and Stakeholder Management for Flow in Jamaica; Mr Kingsley Roberts who is now Senior Director of Corporate Communications at the Ministry of Tourism;

Mrs Stephanie Shaw Smith on her promotion to Director, Corporate and Public Relations at the Ministry of Health; Mrs Florene Wilks who is now the Communication Specialist of the Revenue Protection Division at the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

Contd

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Movements Welcome back Mr Vando Palmer who is the Director of Public Relations and Communications at the Ministry of Transport and Mining; Ms Prudence Barnes is the Public Relations Manager at the Office of the Prime Minister; Mr Damion Wilson, formerly of the Ministry of Justice is the PR Manager at the Real Estate Board.

Mrs Kay Cooke is the communications lead at the Heart Foundation of Jamaica; PRSJ Past President Ms Delmares White has returned to ODPEM as Director of Information and Training; The Director of Communications for the Jamaica Constabulary Force is Nathelie Taylor while the head of the Constabulary Communications Unit (CCU) is Inspector Dahlia Garrick; Miss Ammesha Samuels is the Marketing Consultant with the National Youth Service; Dr Claudette Thompson, formerly of Hamline University, Bonaventure University, Red Stripe Corporate Comms and JIS PR is now a lecturer in Linguistics at the University of the West Indies. Dr Thompson is a literacy specialist; Ms Judith Bodley has been appointed head of news, entertainment and sports at CVM Television. Ms Bodley has worked in management at RJR and was a founding manager at Zip 103 FM. She had a PR consultancy, Judith Media; Mrs Andrea Green Brown is the Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at AgroGrace. Andrea was formerly with the Jamaica Football Federation; Ms Camille Beckford is the PR and Communications Director at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, RADA. Mrs Kellie King-Campbell has moved on from PR at the National Land Agency into policy and programs a high commission.

Overseas Past President of the PRSJ, Dr Dayner Clarke Azzellino is now the Business Director of the advertising/ marketing agency Action Europe based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr Azzellino previously managed her consultancy Marcastuta in Italy and also in Trinidad

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Third place awardees of the 2015 Office of the Contractor General Poster Competition, Kevina Blake and Pa’vielle Hamilton of the Edith Dalton James High School in Kingston.

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DEFINITIONS Adapted from the Nigerian Communications Commission

OVER THE TOP (OTT) TELECOMS SERVICES Over-the-top (OTT) services as services carried over the networks, delivering value to customers, but without any carrier service provider being involved in planning, selling, provisioning, or servicing them, thereby implying that traditional telcos cannot directly earn revenue from such services. These overthe-top services include services such as Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony, live streaming and other social media applications.

This includes the RJR Communications Group OneSpotMedia; Whatsapp messaging services; and Periscope video services.

NET NEUTRALITY Net neutrality also referred to as Internet neutrality coined by Prof. Tim Wu is a regulatory concept which eliminates any type of discrimination in transmission and access of content on the Internet. It means all end users are able to access content, applications and services of their choice at the same level of service quality, Internet speed and price with no priority or degradation based on the type of content, applications or services. Some argue that strong legislation is required to ensure that internet service providers do not restrict or filter internet traffic that pass through their network as Net neutrality lends competitiveness to the market, with users getting more options to choose from; other argue against Net neutrality suggesting that it can be used as a tool for internet censorship or invasion of privacy when it is in wrong hands. It is important to note that while there are presently no concrete laws or regulations for the enforcement of Net neutrality, Internet access is generally unrestricted across the world except in a few countries where their governments impose specific restrictions in such jurisdictions.

Net neutrality can also affect search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts.

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SERVICE PROVIDER digital marketing execution and measurement CEO of e-Business Solutions Ltd, Wayne Marsh, was interviewed by Marketing Manager at EXIM Bank, Shelly Ann Henry about the services offered by Branditise.

Branditise is an online digital media marketing platform using digital channels to secure goals. It started in 2005, as e-Business Solutions.

The platform allows clients to create a communications strategy, execute the strategy and measure the strategy.

When an organisation establishes its own digital channels, it has to take its brand related content,and share, and market it to defined audiences.

Branditise allows clients to evaluate how far you are along to achieving the stated targets.

The process requires the PR professional to clearly define: “Who you speak to, how to reach them, content to give to them and how you will measure the effect of the efforts,�

Mr Marsh said. wayne@branditise.com

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Corporate CanapĂŠ

PR Brief

Congratulations to Jean Lowrie Chin of PRO-Comm and PRO-DEV on the opening of Phoenix Central business centre in Kingston.

Congratulations to Jennifer McDonald, CEO of the Passport Immigration Citizenship Agency (PICA for the agency receiving four top awards in the GOJ customer service competition.

Volume 5 November 2015

Mrs Latoya Laylor Brown formerly of the Office of the Prime Minister and JCDC is the Public Relations & Advocacy Officer Southern Regional Health Authority, Mandeville.

Public Relations Trends Jamaica 2015 Why take a look at the profession?

It has been three years since the Public Relations Society of Jamaica (PRSJ) updated its members on the state of the profession, and over the course of that time the expansion of ICT applications has had a direct impact on how PR practitioners deliver value that allows organisations and individuals to achieve stated goals.

Contd

JIS TV manager formerly of TVJ Mrs Stacey-Ann Smith has moved on.

Child Development Agency communications specialist Ms Prudence Barnes has moved on.

Journalist Andre Jebbinson is a communications advisor to the Minister of Justice.

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Contd ...Public Relations Trends This article seeks to give some insights on trends that do directly affect the communication specialist in his or her job or practice.

In memorial Tandy Lewis of the Postal Corporation of Jamaica

From left: Dania Beckford (Jamaica Customs); Patrice Tomlinson, Citizen’s Security and Justice Programme (CSJP); David Brown, Ministry of Transport, Works, Housing;

Three Years - What Has Changed and What Has Stayed the Same?

Training The PRSJ annual conference used to be the source of training in the discipline, today this is offered through recognised tertiary programmes and certified and uncertified ongoing professional development courses, some not related to PR. Today, the administrative professional, officer ranks of the police and business administration executives are exposed to skills training that used to be the exclusive domain of the PR professional such as event planning, media relations, news release writing and public speaking.

The Internet Of Things Jamaican In February 2015, The Daily Gleaner reported that the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) 2014-2015 annual report said that 5.4% of the population in Jamaica had Internet Subscription. The report also said that 37% of the population has Internet access through their smartphones and tablets.

The Technology minister shortly afterwards pointed out that these figures do not include broadband services provided by the government at hundreds of universal service points including schools, public libraries and community centres. This means that most people still do not have Internet at home, and just over 1/3 get Internet access from WiFi at an institution such as work, school or a library.

Social Media In January 2015, Digicel Jamaica announced that the number of its subscribers who use smartphones surpassed one million; and that more than 45 per cent of its subscriber base now use smartphones. How these persons are using their smartphones has not been published, but the use of Facebook campaigns by the telecoms companies to engage their consumers is a big indicator of the value that they see social media engagement delivers towards achieving their business targets.

Contd

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Contd ...Public Relations Trends Jamaica has 17 ministries and 230 public bodies. In 2013, less than 20 maintained social media sites and the post of social media was not on the establishment. Today some entities have job descriptions that call for proficiency in social media engagements.

Mass media companies use social media platforms to break news and promote their partnerships. Their magazine programmes have a social media producer and journalists maintain professional social media profiles to connect with online communities, and build their own. In addition, the country’s young celebrities such as elite athletes, entertainers and fashion personalities have been carefully building their international personal brands on social media.

Of note is the 2013 advocacy that rose on social media for all Jamaicans, everywhere to vote for 2012 & 2013 PRSJ President Christopher Benjamin with Minister with Responsibility for Information, Senator pop singer Tessanne Chin on the NBC singing Sandrea Falconer. competition, The Voice. Website editors, entertainers and professionals did weeks of round-theclock mobilisation that garnered the necessary votes by Jamaicans in the USA that kept Chin in the show.

Blogs The core community of Jamaicans who live in Jamaica and who generate blogs, would, it may be presumed, be drawn in the main from the 5.5% of Internet subscribers or who live in a home that has Internet subscription. This does not discount persons who create articles using WiFi access at an institution. The influence of blogs is yet to be studied.

Mass Media Platforms In August 2015, the merger of the country’s two largest media houses The Gleaner and the RJR Group was announced.

It is a discussion point that, in the medium to long term, more than 70% of the television market and more than 60% of the print market and most of the online news market will be guided by one editorial and advertising hub.

Contd

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Contd ...Public Relations Trends This has implications on PR plans and programmes that will satisfy clients and achieve in-house targets.

IRIE FM controlled the largest single share of the radio market at about 19% at peak. The survey was completed before the departure of their prime time host to another free-to-air broadcast radio station, and any effect of this will be recorded in the next survey.

Events Jamaican PR professionals understand the importance of immersing an audience in an event. This can be to build brand loyalty or exposure to an idea that you want to become a movement. There is no current data to evaluate the number and scope of events that are held and their goals and this is a rich area for research.

New Ways to Evaluate Campaigns Five years ago there were perhaps no Jamaican companies, as yet, dedicated to search engine optimisation, with the ability to deliver fast and precise information on the performance of communications campaigns, today there are a few outfits that offer valuable analytical services for public relations activities. Alongside these providers are social media practitioners who do valuable and energetic legwork, and who are able to provide reports of audience reach, which is useful, but does not replace what a full slate of metrics can provide in supporting targeted campaigns and goal reaching.

Salaries Public and Private Sectors The Ministry of Finance and Planning (MFP) and the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF) have made public the 2015/2017 Revision of Salaries, and the 2014 Salary and Benefits Survey respectively which together give an indication of current salaries in Jamaica.

The posts in the civil service that are related to PR are, in general but not exclusively, placed in the Information and Editorial Series (IE).

These include Information Officers, Public Relations Managers, Public Relations Specialists and Communication Consultants. There are in total just over 70 civil service establishment posts in the IE series. Alongside this are posts in the public sector where the compensation may or may not be aligned to the civil servant salaries. It is a general rule of thumb that statutory bodies and companies that are fully owned by the government have larger compensation salaries.

Contd

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Contd ...Public Relations Trends Salaries in Government As of August 1, 2016, the lowest point in the IE series will start at $744,000, (TT$40,000) managerial posts start at about $1,369,145 (TT$73781.93); and the highest point is $2,493,000 (TT$134345). This is before travelling allowance or motor vehicle maintenance is applied.

There are some public sector PR posts where the PR specialist can earn a $6 million compensation package.

Salaries in the Private Sector The JEF 2011 Salary and Benefits Survey noted that posts in the media, advertising and marketing sector, one of the eleven groups surveyed, accounted for 6.5% of all posts surveyed. In 2014, there were six sector groups and the size of each group relative to the others was not in the survey report. Inclusion of this would have been helpful.

The six groups are: Equipment Sales and Services; Financial; ICT; Manufacturing & Distribution; Media, Communications and Advertising and Logistics & Fleet Management Regulatory.

The positions that are related to public relations generally came under the subheadings of Brand Public Relations Manager, Global Brand Manager, Head of Corporate Relations, Head of International Sales and Marketing, Head of Marketing, Senior Communications Manager, Marketing Officer, Marketing Supervisor, Editor, Sub-Editor, Marketing Officer.

Within these groups, the highest salary published is J$16 million which may be a special consideration compensation package, as it is very far from the local norm. The next highest salary is J$9.02 million. The lowest salary in this PR grouping is J$1.5 million.

The JEF report is helpful in noting qualification requirements for each position. Of the positions that are connected to PR, none in the group, including at the executive level, required more than a first degree, and two to five years of experience in the field. This indicates that in the private sector a PR manager's salary does not directly relate to high qualifications and many years of experience in PR. Contd

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Stay woke, follow @cybersecurityja

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Contd ...Public Relations Trends In my experience, the central government selections process is weighted to give an advantage to candidates with PR related qualifications and years of PR work experience.

Salaries in the USA and the UK US:JA $118 £/JA$182.20 Comparing salaries across global regions, or even to compare major cities in any country has to be done with sensitivity to context, and not ever be taken at face value. The comparisons are of value for local agencies who must employ overseas talent, or for local consultants when pitching proposals to international clients.

Looking at the USA, the Public Relations Society of America (PSRA) uses the annual survey that is compiled by Spring Associates Incorporated to determine salaries for Public Relations and Corporate Communications professionals in that country. This year’s survey revealed that the average salary for a Senior Vice President is $175,400 (J$20,697,200); Vice President $157,400 (J$18,573,200); Director $141,300 (J$16,673,400); Manager $98,200 (J$11,587,600) and Communications Specialist $76,700 (J$9,050,600). The details are available by buying the publication.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (UK) publishes its salary scales and makes them available to the public at no charge. Consultants earn an average of £51,835; Inhouse PR £49,654; In-house Not-For-Profit PR £43,704; In -house public sector PR £40,417 and Independent consultants £35,964.

Industries Employing UK PR Practitioners The UK survey provides information on trends that may be relevant for the Caribbean. The public sector is the single largest employer of public relations practitioners, with 40% of those surveyed working for local or central government; 20% said they were with private financial corporate, and 16% utility companies.

A total of 30% of consultants said that they mainly worked for charities or volunteer organisations, 27% construction, and another 26% were with the financial services industry.

The survey revealed that 79% of UK practitioners found that experience was the number one determinant of employability whether at the entry, consultancy or managerial levels. The practitioners themselves rated professional qualifications in PR with 9% importance and 4% for academic qualifications in the field.

Contd

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Contd ...Public Relations Trends Skill Sets Important in the UK / UK Challenges and Trends The top three areas of PR practice were media relations, research and planning and social/digital media management.

The skills set seen for a competent PR professional today is written communication (#1); interpersonal skills, leadership, creativity and strategic management.

The challenges that were identified are: the constantly changing social and digital landscape; the need to have an ever expanding skills set; under-representation on the boards of governors; the 24/7 news cycle; convergence with other industries and a lack of understanding measurement and evaluation among the practitioners.

More than 90% of respondents thought that affiliation to a professional organisation was very important; even if they did not avail themselves of the courses and other services offered by their chartered body.

Director of Development and Public Relations, Durrant Pate, received the Press Association of Jamaica 2014 Digicel Award for Technology for his article ”Maximising technology for SME development and cloud technology; its benefits and shortcomings.”

PR in the Communications Mix The field of PR in Jamaica was, as elsewhere, being seen as less accountable to the bottom line, when compared to sales or marketing, which have outputs that are directly linked to revenue goals. Public Relations differentiates itself from marketing as it is in service to multiple areas of an organisation such as Finance (production of annual reports); sales and marketing (IMC); HR (employee communications); corporate governance (corporate social responsibility not to be confused with charitable giving; foundations; and legal services.

In the civil service, PR practitioners are generally placed in the Information and Editorial series, suggesting that the role is to communicate programmes and policies – which is a top down approach. Words such as “Integrator”, “Advocacy” and “Communication” are now appearing in post titles, and this suggests an acceptance of the role of the PR person as a collaborator and a facilitator.

Contd

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Contd ...Public Relations Trends Summary Over the past three years, the most effective ways to reach communities and groups of Jamaicans, where they work, live and play has changed as, following a global trend, print publications do not command the attention they could a decade ago. Print publications that have gone online are directly reaching a mass audience that has access to WiFi on smartphones and at institutions.

Despite declines in number of TV and radio sets, the influence of radio and television and subscriber TV still has an overwhelming influence.

streaming.

Lecturer in Communications, Phillip Hamilton and PR Manager at Jamaica 4H Karelle McCormack at a PRSJ meeting.

At far right is Public Relations Manager, Student’s Loan Bureau Analisa Downes Allen.

With the ability to reach most of the Jamaican population in their peak periods, the popular prime time free-toair television and radio programmes will continue to be the platforms to reach the mass markets in Jamaica.

Many radio stations also offer their programmes free through Internet

Research needs to be done in the areas of event scope and attendance, influence of blogs and other social media.

There is an opportunity to do research to determine the reach of persons who practice PR as their primary occupation in Jamaica. This could include a survey to determine the total number of practitioners in parastatial government organisations. The private sector equivalent could be available through the Jamaica Employers Federation.

Salaries in the public sector and private sector seems to be in the same range for the trained entry and mid levels. The senior managers in private sector and director level in government seems to be generally in the same ranges. Top level private sector posts far outstrip senior management. /END

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PR Brief Volume 4 November 2014

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Thank you PRSJ Dear Colleague, I convey my heartfelt thanks to all who responded to the questionnaire on my research on the state of the PR profession that was used in the chapter The Caribbean in the volume Latin American and Caribbean Perspectives on the Development of Public Relationswhich is the fourth volume in the six part series National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations. The entire series examines Public Relations outside of the traditional corporatist AngloAmerican framework.

The questionnaire was apart of my study aimed at obtaining information on the practice of Public Relations in the English-speaking Caribbean.

I extend my sincere compliments to you as you pursue your own professional endeavours.

Best regards, Carroll Edwards PhD Member, PRSJ Director, Marketing and Public Relations Officer, UWI Mona

Dr Carroll Edwards and Wife of the Governor General, Lady Allen at an I Believe function of the Governor General. File Photo

CORPORATE CANAPE September 2014 Best wishes to NEPAs PRO Deleen Powell as she undertakes publicity of the 2014 International Coastal Clean-up -Day -Jamaica on September 20 along Hellshire Bay, St Catherine. _______________________________________________________ Compliments to Mrs Alison Christie Binger head of St John's Ambulance, Kingston. Alison also heads her consultancy Illuminarte, and was a former head of communications at JNBS. _______________________________________________________ Ms Andrea Braham is acting PR and Marketing Manager at the Jamaica Information Service. Andrea was a former head of communications at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. _______________________________________________________ Congratulations to Oliver Fagan, now the Public Relations Director at the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.

Oliver was a former PR officer at the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment. _______________________________________________________ Best wishes to head of communications at Jampro Mark Thomas who will be moving into private practice and consultancy in local and international business communications in mid October. Mark will operate out of Corporate Image and Solutions at 3 Ardenne Road, Kingston 10, while Sovereign Communications, the international side of the business will be based in the Doral Business District in Miami Florida. Mark was also a former head of communications at HEART Trust/NTA. _________________________________________________ We wish Carmen V Miller every success, as she has moved on as Communication Specialist of Vision 2030 - Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). ____________________________________________ Best wishes to former PR Officer at OPM, Latoya Laylor who is now the Public Relations Manager at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and congratulations on her first "Emancipendence" season in the post. ____________________________________________ Congratulations to new PR Manager at Jamaica Anti Doping Vanessa Reid who has launched a new website for the agency. http://www.jadco.gov.jm/ Vanessa was formerly with UDC Corp Comms.

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Public Relations Pioneer Ralston Smith CD is Dead Promoted understanding and respect between an organisation and its publics Kingston, January 19, 2015 The Public Relations Society of Jamaica (PRSJ) notes with sadness the passing of Jamaican PR pioneer, Mr Ralston Smith, one of our founding members, and who was a leader who brought respect to our profession over the course of just under 50 years. Mr Smith died on January 14.

The dedication and professionalism that Mr Smith brought to the field of Public Relations helped to establish its reputation in Jamaica as a core part of the management function. The PRSJ notes that his firm but kind hand in training young journalists and others who entered PR during the 1950s to 2000s has ensured a legacy of fairness, attention to detail, and commitment to the role of a communicator, which is to promote understanding and respect between an organisation and its publics, including clients/customers, employees and the community; not only in the best of times but also in the most challenging Ralston Smith (front centre) was the Director of Communications at of times. the Office of the Prime Minister in the 1990s. His team was (back row Founding President, Keith Brown says, "Public Relations from left) Byron Buckley who later became Gleaner News Editor and is has been dealt a huge blow with the passing of a pioneer now Ministry of Education Communications Director; Michelle Powell, who played an invaluable role in the growth and develop- Maxine Francis who is now the PR Manager at Kings House and Huntment of our profession. Ralston played many roles in his ley Medley, OPM Director of Communications 2015. Front row Diana long career, but he seemed to most relish the role of val- Daly, senior secretary. Mr Smith and administrative assistant Pauline ued counselor. He had a huge enthusiasm for public rela- Thomas. tions and believed completely that ours was an honourable profession, and that what we did brought value to our clients and the community at large. He knew that nurturing young talent was an important part of his role as leader and relished the opportunity to teach, and more so, to give newer professionals the chance to achieve things that they didn’t know they could."

Mr Smith was a co-founder of Jamaica's first public relations agency Public Relations Associates (PRA) at 8 Waterloo Avenue in 1957. The other two founders were Desmond Henry (now deceased) and Ken Jones who later became an Executive Director of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS). His career included being the Public Relations Officer for Kaiser Bauxite, and Account Executive with the Jamaican office of the international public relations company, Ketchum McLeod and Grove.

Communications consultant, author and lecturer, Elaine Commissiong says,"Today I salute the memory of a Mentor and friend.

One who shaped my professional life as a Communications Consultant. He gave me the foundations and piqued my interest when as an Education Officer at the Ministry of Education, I attended one of his workshops introducing PR Practice as a Profession. I subsequently became one of his employees as a Client Executive in his company (the first agency of its kind in Jamaica,) Public Relations Associates (PRA), through which I gained hands-on experience under the guidance of the "Master" himself. Ralston was a true professional. He honed my skills, but more importantly, guided my thoughts on what it means to be a professional communications consultant. I will always be grateful to him. May his soul rest in peace!"

Mr Smith was passionate about the professional training of PR officers, and his company conducted development seminars that prepared more than 60 professionals who went on to hold important positions in organisations across Jamaica spanning the 1970s to the present. His public service includes being Executive Director of the then Agency for Public Information (now JIS) in the 1970s. He served as the Executive Chairman of the government news agency Jampress in the 1990s before its operations were eventually incorporated into the JIS. Mr Smith was also a communications consultant to then deputy Prime Minister PJ Patterson in the Ministry of Development Planning and Production in the early 1990s. He went on to work with Mr Patterson during his term as Prime Minister until late 2005 or 2006. In 1999, Mr Smith was inducted into the Honour Society Order of Distinction – Commander Class for services to communication and public relations. He was inducted as a Lifetime Member of the PRSJ in 2003. The PRSJ offers its condolences to his widow Pearl, his children, extended family and wide circle of friends and professional colleagues. END

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