The London Chapter of IABC is dedicated to providing professional development opportunities to its members and interested individuals. Please provide us with your name and email if you wish to be added to our mailing list of individuals who wish to receive program notices. You are invited to make program suggestions or submit an on-line evaluation of our programs.

Our line-up of events beginning September, 2004 is listed below. Although the full roster of events has not yet been finalized, we hope you will join us at an event of interest.

Past Events:

Virtuoso Gala - more information click here

P.R. Winners & Sinners - Thursday, May 26th, 2005

Media moments of brilliance, resilience, gaffs, and laughs!!!!

Who will the winners and sinners be this year? Will Jean Chretien’s collection of golf balls get a special mention? Will Mr. Dithers make the cut? What about the kindly folks at Jetsgo? To find out, join us for David Estok’s annual round-up of public relations faux-pas and successes. "Winners and Sinners" is a perennial favorite with IABC members, so register early to be sure of a spot.

David Estok is Associate Vice President, Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Western Ontario. He holds a BA from Western and an MA in Journalism from Carleton University. In his past lives, David was Associate Business Editor for Maclean’s Magazine, and a senior editor and writer for The Financial Post and The Hamilton Spectator.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

"Give to a gracious message a host of tongues. . . "
Act II, Scene V, Anthony and Cleopatra

For 600,000 patrons each year, the Stratford Festival creates theatrical magic, bringing to life the words of Shakespeare and other great dramatists. IABC London member Leanne Perreault and her team have the challenge of communicating for and with of the world's best repertory theatre companies. Join us for a fascinating presentation that will take us backstage at Stratford.

Thursday, March 24th - IABC London Grammar Game Show

Missing hockey?

The thrill of watching skilled and intensely competitive players face off? The emotional ups and downs of following the fortunes of your favorite? The cathartic effect of knowing that only one team will emerge victorious?

Well, we've got an antidote! Make plans to attend the IABC London Grammar Game Show, on March 24. Watch the finest grammarians in the City battle for supremacy.

Quizmaster Sandy Ross will pose the questions; panelists Ken Steele, Jacqueline Sullivan and Simone Graham - all tough competitors - will defend their honour and grammatical skills. Winner takes all (a copy of Eats Shoots and Leaves, the world's first best-seller about grammar, and of course, the glory).

Thursday, February 17th - Panel Discussion on Communication Ethics

Ever since the Enron scandal, corporate ethics have been front-page news. As communicators speaking on behalf of organizations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, we must be ready to deal with complex ethical questions on a daily basis. We have the IABC Code of Ethics as a guide, but the devil, as always, is in the details!

The IABC London panel discussion on communication ethics was moderated by President Maureen Spencer-Golovchenko.

The panel included:
Jim Etherington, former VP at London Life,
Mary Gillet, Director of Communications for London Health Sciences Centre, and
Michelle Floyd, ABC, of ON Communication
They all bring diverse perspectives and vast experience. We’ll be asking them to talk about real dilemmas they’ve faced, and to address several hypothetical ethical dilemmas created by IABC International.

Thursday, February 2nd - "Polishing Your Professional Image"
with Amy Casson, Polished Image

Amy is a former marketing supervisor and public relations supervisor with 3M Canada who recently launched her own image consultant company. Said Casson recently: “Have you ever seen the TLC show, “What Not to Wear?”

That is my inspiration for this business. I help people maximize their potential by teaching them the principles of appearance, behavior and communication.

Thursday, January 20th - Sharpening your Verbal Communication Skills

Want to sharpen your verbal communication skills? Be more credible and clear? Give presentations that hold and persuade your audience? IABC hosted a presentation by Mila Naimark, Vice-President of Hunt Communication. Hunt is one of North America's leading spoken communication consulting firms. Mila brings a rare combination of expertise and experience in marketing, leadership development, strategic management, coaching, and verbal communication.

Thursday, December 2nd - Spirit of Giving

Share the spirit and sponsor a local child today.

The Children's Aid Society, with the help of IABC is once again combining forces to help bring Christmas into the life of a child that may otherwise not be touched by it. The children that are going to be the recipients of these gifts are between the ages of 11 and 18. This age group is the hardest group to get donations for which is why they have been selected.

November 18th - Achieving Excellence: A case study in strategic communications

IABC London members are always wowed by The Lashbrook Group's success in local, national and international award programs. What's their secret? It all starts with a great project, then it comes down to basics - clear objectives, measurable results, thorough research, targeted messages and strong delivery.

Laurie will use case studies to take us behind the scenes on some of The Lashbrook Group's most interesting, high-profile projects, sharing the communication planning process that has helped her team and their clients achieve award-winning results.

You'll learn:
- How to develop communication objectives that support organizational goals
- The importance of really understanding the organization and examining the issues
- Various research methods for getting to know your audiences
- How to develop key messages and tactics that get attention
- Evaluating and measuring your results

P.S. Laurie's work is featured in the IABC resource manual, The Communication Plan - The Heart of Strategic Communication.

Thursday, October 21st - Telling the Good Story:
Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility

Increasingly, corporations are recognizing the need to balance the needs of many stakeholders. To this end, many companies are involved in environmentally and socially responsible practices. They understand that being perceived as a good corporate citizen is a way to enhance competitiveness. But if the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are to be fully realized, they must be effectively communicated. As this is a new and emerging area of communications, many organizations are still foundering in their attempts to implement cohesive and credible strategies.

Whether you work for a private or public sector organization, CSR is probably high on the agenda right now. And if your work involves the not-for-profit or fundraising world, it’s important to understand what CSR can mean to you

Anne Papmehl is President of Ecostrat Communications. Her professional background spans academic administration, management, finance, education and journalism. She has published more than 100 articles, papers and reports, and much of her work centers on environmental sustainability issues.

Thursday, September 16th - Five Seconds at a time
Leadership lessons and communications principles learned while facing death at 8,300 feet

On a bright spring day seven years ago, Denis Shackel, now a Professor of Management Communications at the Ivey Business School, and his brother-in-law set out to climb Mt. Ruapohu in New Zealand. Although Bruce was an experienced climber, he lost his footing as they approached the summit, and fell to his death.

Stranded for the night in T-shirt and shorts, and with temperatures plunging to minus 30 degrees, Shackel managed to stay alive through a technique that he calls “five seconds at a time.” Shackel believes that this technique, and other practices and principles that saved his life, can be used by business leaders to achieve success. Now working on a book about leadership, Shackel sees his role, like C.S. Lewis, “to remind rather than instruct.” “There’s nothing profoundly new about these principles and practices,” he says, “but they helped me survive in impossible conditions. When leaders internalize and implement them, they too can achieve the seemingly impossible.”

Denis Shackel taught elementary school in New Zealand while earning his BA, Diploma of Teaching and Masters degree. He completed his PhD in School Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Education, University of Toronto, where he taught Educational Psychology until 2000. He was honored as Professor of the Year in 2000, when he retired and moved to London. In 2004, his first year teaching at Ivey, he was awarded the UWO Award of Excellence for Undergraduate Teaching. Shackel has operated a management consulting company, Unlocking of Talents, since 1978, and has delivered workshops to managers in business, industry and government agencies around the world. Denis is also a music teacher, marathon runner and fine woodworker, and is married with five children.

http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/faculty/Denis_Shackel.htm