What a Difference a Year Can Make
Published on November 9, 2016, at 4:34 p.m.
By Sonny Franks
Tomorrow night, hundreds of the most influential public relations professionals in the country will gather in one place to celebrate seven of their own… and I’ll be there too.
The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations hosts the Milestones in Mentoring Awards each year to bring together a community of professionals and recognize the accomplishments of distinguished leaders across the public relations industry.
Thanks to some incredibly good fortune, this will be my second year attending the event. As I prepare for the event, I cannot help but reflect on how it has impacted my life over the past year and what I am looking forward to the second time around.
My experience last year can only be described as a whirlwind. Attending an event known as “The Oscars of Public Relations” as a student is both incredibly daunting and immensely inspiring.
I walked away from my two days in Chicago with a greater understanding of the industry at large than I ever could have obtained from a class or even from studying the pages of PRWeek on a daily basis. (Side note: I mention this because I had been studying the pages of PRWeek.com and the like for months leading up to the event in an effort to immerse myself in the industry and had still struggled to make sense of it all. As I read the articles highlighting the goings-on in the industry, I couldn’t help but feel that they were somewhat beyond me as a student. I simply didn’t have the same frame of reference as the professionals for whom these articles were intended.)
However, after attending the event, I found the articles suddenly relatable. I started noticing the names of people I had met at the event popping up in the headlines of PRWeek and PR Daily. I began noticing industry trends and issues mentioned in articles that I had heard discussed amongst attendees during the pre-awards cocktail hour. Hearing from some of the best in the industry gave me the confidence and insight to take a keen interest in the state of our industry in a way I just couldn’t seem to before.
At the event, I met leaders who would become some of my new idols and mentors during the coming year. I met Ron Culp, my longtime industry idol, for the first time in person, and he told me he liked my business card. I met Pat Ford of Burson-Marsteller, and he sent me a follow-up note before I had even had the chance to put my thank-you note in the mail. I met Barri Rafferty , one of the most inspiring women I have ever met, and then ran into her again the following day at a coffee shop. The list goes on and on.
The people I met at this event have gone on to be more than just my idols, and in many cases, my mentors. They have allowed me to guest blog for their websites and interview them for articles here on Platform. They have introduced me to their colleagues and accepted me into their vast network made up of accomplishments I can only aspire to and generosity I never expected.
Looking back, last year’s event was my first taste of the wealth of knowledge and mentorship that The Plank Center has offered me over the past year and I am so grateful.
All that being said, I am still a little nervous about attending again (because I’d be crazy not to be), but I am beyond excited for what this year’s event holds. Tomorrow I will get to see Ralph Campagna make history as the first-ever Betsy Plank Mentorship Award honoree, and watch Dr. Stuart Bell, president of The University of Alabama — my university — be honored as the winner of this year’s Executive Award.
However, what I am most excited for is not what comes tomorrow, but instead what comes a year from tomorrow, when I get to look back and see how the things I learned and the connections I made at the 2016 Milestones in Mentoring Gala have impacted my year once again.
Have I officially sold you on how amazing this event is? Well, I have some good news! You can watch the Milestones in Mentoring Awards from home Thursday, Nov. 10, starting at 8:40 pm ET! Check out the live stream here and join the conversation using #PlankMentor.
