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A Letter from the President | December 2025

Dear PRSA Orlando,

With the year coming to an end, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our 2025 Board of Directors and volunteers. Thank you for your commitment, creativity, and the many hours you dedicated to strengthening our chapter. Your leadership has made a lasting impact and will continue to shape PRSA Orlando for years to come.

At the 2025 PRSA Orlando Chapter Recognition Awards Gala & Annual Meeting last month, we proudly celebrated this year’s outstanding honorees: Sade N. Teel, MA, our Communicator to Watch; Jen Atwell, MA, our PR/Communications Advocate; Dan Ward, APR, CPRC, recipient of the Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award; Ann Marie Varga, MHR, APR, Fellow PRSA, honored with the Geri Evans, APR, Lifetime Achievement Award; and our three President’s Award for Distinguished Service recipients — Dr. Doragnes Rivera Bradshaw, SHRM-SCP, Nadia Vanderhoof, MA, and Melissa Zayas Moreno, MA, APR. It was an honor to recognize these remarkable professionals, each a shining example of excellence in communications and public relations.

This year, we also celebrated major chapter milestones. Together, we:

  • Grew to 250 members.

  • Welcomed three new APRs.

  • Hosted eight monthly programs, three mixers (with a fourth one on Dec. 10!), an APR mixer, a family day at the farm, a volunteer day, and partnered with FPRA Orlando on PR Paid Forward, Media Mashup, and the APR workshops. We also engaged in student panels, DEI chats, a Second Harvest volunteer day, and more.

  • Awarded two PRSA District Conference grants, one PRSA ICON grant, and three Prosperity Grants.

  • Supported two students through the Frank R. Stansberry Scholarship at UCF.

  • Earned third place in the PRSA Chapter DEI Awards at ICON 2025.

As I close out my term as president, I want to extend my deepest thanks for your trust and support. Leading this chapter has been one of the greatest honors of my career. Thank you for showing up and helping make this a year filled with momentum and meaningful progress. I look forward to continuing to serve alongside you in 2026.

Please join me in congratulating the 2026 Board of Directors. I am confident that this incoming group, led by incoming president Mike Piacentino, APR, will continue to strengthen our chapter with fresh ideas, renewed energy, and a passion for advancing our profession. I look forward to supporting their leadership in the year ahead.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

Verónica Figueroa, APR
Read the letter in Spanish here 

 

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