The Ehling Report Public Relations Student Society of America

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date with
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Inside: Letter
from
“First Editor
Lady” of PR
Burson-Marsteller
Welch Allyn
Professional Highlight
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Plank also received a Gold Anvil in
1977, the Paul M. Lund Public Service
Award in 1989 and the first Patrick
Jackson Award for Distinguished
Service to PRSA in 2001. She was
the first person to be awarded all three
of these top honors. Public Relations
News honored her in 1984 as one of
the World’s Forty Outstanding Public
Relations Leaders. In addition, Plank
received the Arthur W. Page Society
Distinguished Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Heavily involved with PRSA, Plank was
a founding member of the PRSA College
of Fellows. The organization honors
more than 400 senior professionals
and educators whom have contributed
significantly to the field of PR.
While Plank certainly found success
in her own career, she was determined
to help students and other professionals
in the field as well.
Plank aided in the creation of the
Public Relations Student Society of
America (PRSSA) at the Philadelphia
PRSA Assembly in 1967. She acted as
a national advisor to the organization,
as well. “It was an act of faith and – in
my case – the beginning of a lifetime
love affair with students,” Plank told
PR Tactics.
“Betsey was the ultimate ‘Champion’
for public relations education and
students. She gave a lifetime to
advancing students, especially members
of PRSSA,” Jeneen Garcia, Director
of Education for PRSA told Tactics,
“Her service to the student society was
unsurpassed, from her professional and
financial contributions, to arranging
for legendary professionals to speak
with students, to serving as historian
and mentor to all – including me. She
has left a legacy of ethical practice and
interest in public relations education
for all in this profession to uphold.”
In 1987, Plank co-chaired a national
commission to create guidelines
for public relations curriculum in
undergraduate studies and would
later start a system for reviews and
certification of university programs.
She appeared to speak before a number
of student organizations and PR classes.
According to a profile of Betsy by the
Chicago Tribune after her death, she
devoted much of her time to speaking
to and advising students and young
professionals. Those who knew her
said she called them her children. Plank
indeed acted as a mother to public
relations students as well as matriarch
to the field.
Born in April 1924, Plank graduated
with a bachelor’s degree from the
University of Alabama in 1944. After
graduating, she worked in radio before
entering the PR profession in 1947.
Her alma mater inducted her into its
Communication Hall of Fame and
it’s Center for Leadership in Public
Relations bears her name.
Plank passed away on May 23, 2010
in Chicago after a brief illness. She
participated actively in PRSA, The
Arthur W. Page Society, and many
other organizations until her death.
Her legacy will live on not only
through PRSSA scholarships offered
in her name and the Plank Center for
Leadership in Public Relations at
her alma mater, but through future
generations who become a part of
PRSSA, which she helped establish. •

An afternoon with Welch Allyn By: Elizabeth Holton

The picturesque hills of Skaneateles, N.Y.,
are home to the corporate headquarters of
Welch Allyn, Inc., producer of more than 90%
of medical diagnostic supplies for the United
States.
Allyn gave the PRSSA members a hearty
greeting at the entrance to the company’s
newly renovated wing, unveiled only the
previous day.

Pictured: Eric Allyn, one of
the three fourth-generation Allyn
members on the company’s board
of directors.
On Friday, Nov. 5, PRSSA members had the
opportunity to tour the Welch Allyn facilities,
located about 25 minutes south of Syracuse
University.
Fourth-generation Allyn family member and
tour guide Eric Allyn “was really entertaining
and informing,” said public relations graduate
student Colin Thorn.
Since Welch Allyn’s establishment over
90 years ago by Dr. Francis A. Welch and
William Noah Allyn, the company has
remained in the Allyn family. Three family
members, including Eric Allyn, are currently
on the board of directors.
Today, Welch Allyn’s curved glass and
cement building, built into the side of a hill
 and surrounded by walking trails, might
look more at home in Silicon Valley
than in central New York. Welch Allyn
is home to manufacturing, assembly,
shipping, development, research,
customer service and communications
teams, among other divisions.
Allyn, accompanied by Public
Relations and Communications
Manager Jamie Arnold, gave PRSSA
students unique insight into the inner
workings of the corporation. Arnold
said he was pleased that the PRSSA
students showed such an interest in
Welch Allyn, not limited to its public
relations functions.
A unique internal communication
challenge for Welch Allyn’s MarComm
department is the lack of computer
use, especially for employees working
in assembly or manufacturing, said
Arnold.
The use of electronic notification
boards, posters, printed newsletters and
the Welch Allyn intranet, accessible
through several computer stations, has
proven effective in informing everyone,
said Arnold.
Another large challenge for Welch
Allyn is Chinese medical supply
competitors. “Everything that we make,
China makes,” said Allyn. However,
the company refuses to compromise its
raw material quality, focusing instead
A moment-relevant collection of Public Relations
information, commentary and trends from Syracuse
suprssa.tumblr.com
on long-lasting, well-made products.
One marketing tactic Welch Allyn
uses is the highly discounted sale of its
basic products to medical students, in
the hopes that the future doctors will
return to purchase equipment for their
practices.
Other tour highlights included a small
but well-equipped gym, which any
employee may use for just $3 a week,
and the Customer Experience Center,
managed by Kathleen Garofalo.
Garofalo led PRSSA members
around the museum-like center, which
featured an interactive touch screen
with history on the company and facts
from worldwide Welch Allyn locations.
Displays of working Welch Allyn
medical products provide customers,
businesses and hospitals with an up-
close look at the models.
“I think we have a world class
brand,” said Allyn, standing next to a
long display case of medical products
dating back to 1915.
One long-standing component of
the Welch Allyn brand is treating
employees extremely well. Allyn’s
grandfather, William G. Allyn, had a
favored saying: “be always kind and
true,” a mission that lives on in the
company today. “We want to spoil
these guys, we want to keep them
happy,” echoed Eric Allyn.
Introducing our Blog:
The Network: PR 3.0
University PRSSA students.
To contribute contact: Emmelie De La Cruz eydelacr@syr.edu
Susan Deluca works in assembly; she
explained how the company rewards
for workers who go above and beyond.
Employees who are noticed for doing
something kind or extraordinary receive
a balloon and a discount towards the
company cafeteria, said Deluca. “It’s
just a little thank you.”
Welch Allyn also has a solid history
of sustainability in the workplace. “My
granddad was a borderline militant
environmentalist,” said Allyn. “He
believed that the water that leaves
Welch Allyn should leave here cleaner
than it came in.”
Allyn said the facility is LEED
certified, which according to gbci.
org, “is the internationally recognized
distinction that a building… is
environmentally responsible, profitable
and a healthy place to live and work.”
Other environmentally friendly
initiatives include sun-sensitive office
lighting technology and several waste
recycling programs.
“Our experience at Welch Allyn
was incredibly valuable,” said Ehling
Chapter President Megan Alexander.
“We were able to see corporate
communications in action while
meeting an executive with years of
industry experience.” •
 PRSSA Ehling chapter news
SU collects over 1,200 jeans
for denim drive
By: Laura Foti
Syracuse University’s PRSSA chapter has
collected 1,229 pieces of denim for the Cotton. From
Blue to Green. Denim drive.
“The amount of support and generosity
we’ve received from the University and surrounding
community has been fantastic,” team leader Laura
Foti, a sophomore PR major, said. “It’s important for
our generation to learn about sustainability and the
denim drive has done a wonderful job relaying this
message.”
SU competed with five schools across the
nation in Cotton’s “Cotton. From Blue to Green”
campaign and doubled its original goal of collecting
500 jeans during the month of October. The call-
to-action denim drive recycles donated denim into
UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber used to insulate
houses in communities in need. SU’s contribution
will be enough to insulate two entire houses.
The State University of New York College
of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Green
Campus Initiative also partnered with the denim
drive. The SU team also received support from
members in the community such as the Carrier
Corporation, South Louis High School, and Queens
College. The SU denim drive was also featured on
the Channel 9 news. •
Student-Run PR Firm Assists in
Crisis Communications
By: Katie Di Vita
Over the past months the Syracuse PRSSA student-run PR
firm has worked closely with Director of Communications
Betsy Bedigian to meet the public relations needs of North
Medical, P.C. Several company incidents indicated that
there was a need for a crisis communications plan for the
organization, which prompted Betsy to employ the services
of Hill Communications. The North Medical account team,
led by Katie DiVita, began by preparing bios, press releases
and other items on an as-needed basis. The team’s first
major task was to help organize the reopening of the new
and improved Urgent Care Center, a building affected by an
electrical fire in July. They prepared a press release, media
alert and fact sheet for event, which was scheduled for
October 19. They also used Cision to update and improve
her existing media list with more current information. They
also utilized the media list to call reporters, anchors and
producers in Central New York to remind them of the event.
Many attended and the client was pleased with the media
turnout.
Now that the Urgent Care Center has officially opened for
business, the team is focusing on the crisis communications
campaign. Utilizing their faculty adviser, Michael Meath,
as well as their own research, they developed a framework
for a crisis communications plan. This framework was
presented to the client on November 9. The client approved
the framework and helped the team develop the specifics
of each section of the plan. Now, their task is to complete
the plan by the end of the semester. The client expects to
implement the plan into the framework of the company
once it is completed. In addition to the crisis planning, they
also continue to monitor media coverage of North Medical,
P.C. and provide Betsy with bi-weekly news forwards. •
Boutique PR firms:
the next “small” thing
Corporate public relations agencies far overshadow
boutique firms in earnings. Yet even in today’s cloudy
economic climate, small agencies are flourishing.
New York-based Edelman, the top independent firm of
2009, employed over 3000 workers and netted more than
$440 million, according to an O’Dwyer’s report. Boutique
PR firms may not be top industry earners, but according to
a recent survey, some companies prefer the mom-and-pop
alternative to corporate agency giants.
Boutique PR firms typically offer specialized services
to clients in particular focus, such as technology or travel,
boasting direct involvement from senior practitioners at a
lower price.
But it’s not just current economic concerns that are
driving clients toward small firms. Bill Cowen, president
of PR Boutiques International and CEO of Metrospective
Communications, said a recent PRBI survey “found that
clients made conscious decisions” in hiring boutique firms
November Report Staff
Editor-In-Chief
Emmelie De La Cruz
Contributing Writers
Laura Foti
Elizabeth Holtan
Brianna Quglia
Katie Di Vita
By: Elizabeth Holton
before the economy soured.
Survey respondents chose “flexibility, ability to meet
deadlines, level of service, quality of strategic counsel and
return on investment” as the top five benefits of a small
agency.
Large agencies may staff a wide range of specialists, but
they may also experience a high employee turnover rate.
Short tenures could mean a less thorough understanding
of client products.
Practitioners at a large agency may be from lower
levels of management; Burson-Marsteller’s entry-level
employees are known as “client executives.”
That doesn’t mean that clients won’t receive quality
results from a large, structured firm and that all boutique
PR agencies are better. In the end, all that matters is that
the client chooses the best model for their unique PR
challenge •