This is one for the book

From time to time there are those great life moments where an event, person or maybe even a vacation makes you stop and put everything into perspective. Or, maybe it is an expereince where something new is learned or a battle is won. I often highlight these experiences by saying "one day I will write a book and this will be a chapter."

This week definately deserves a chapter in the book as I had the opportunity to attend the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) conference where speakers provided insight on everything from new media and research to leadership and internet marketing. However, the highlight was the opportunity to meet and learn from two leaders in our industry: Harold Burson, founding chairman of Burson - Marsteller and Aaron Cushman, former chairman and CEO of Cushman & Associates.

Notable achievements for Mr. Burson (pictured below) include being the architect of the largest public relations firm in the world today. He started practicing integrated marketing decades before the term was even invented. Mr. Cushman has represented clients including Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and dozens of Fortune 500 corporations. He also tells the story of representing the White Sox in 1950 and how he created a music night at the park with a large orchestra and a promotion where visitors had to come to the park with an instrument in addition to their ticket. At the seventh inning stretch he had the conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra lead the 50,000 or so attendees in playing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and that is where the tradition started.

Attending the Counselors' Network meeting at the FPRA conference and having the opportunity to chat with these two industry giants in an intimate room with other PR professionals from around the state was priceless. Some of the highlights from this discussion included thoughts on new media and citizen journalism. Aaron Cushman (pictured below) discussed the concern of the increased need of authentication with blogging and Harold Burson indicated that new media is a revolutionary process that supports the First Amendment. Mr. Burson also discussed how the media is becoming more responsible in pulling information from the internet and our industry challenge is real time monitoring. Both agreed that there is a great opportunity for newspapers to be more analytical and interpretive and to set the agenda for what is on the internet.

What an honor to learn from these leaders and to personally meet both of them. This is one for chapter two, career highlights.