Somewhere Between Summer Camp & Homecoming A retrospective look at TSPRA’s Annual Conference
by Tim Carroll, APR
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or the public relations rookie or veteran, the TSPRA conference is a combination of summer camp and homecoming weekend wrapped around three days of professional development.
I attended my first TSPRA conference in February 1995 but the history of TSPRAns gathering for a conference goes back another 32 years to 1963. It was in that year that the newly formed Lone Star Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association began holding workshops at the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) conference. The chapter’s history shows a roster of 57 dues-paying members, most of whom were superintendents. Of course, public relations duties fell on those superintendents since few school districts employed full-time PR staff at the time. If you’ve ever wondered what the appeal for attending three days of professional meetings (surrounded by summer camp and homecoming), ask a first-year TSPRAn. “I didn’t even know this was a thing six months ago when they hired me from the newspaper,” one rookie told me. “It is so great to meet all these people that do what I do.” Another rookie I met had come from a corporate background. “I can’t believe everyone is so willing to share their ideas. In my old job, you didn’t share anything because everyone else was a competitor.”
Keeping It Relevant The conference’s purpose has always been to provide relevant training and discussions about the
22 Winter 2021 | www.TSPRA.org
