Final thoughts and recommendations for the Fellowship

Hi everyone,
Officially, my placement with the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA came to an end last week. However, I will be staying on to assist in the management of the Mattie Furphy House opening discussed in my last post.

Looking back on my time with FAWWA, I believe I have learnt a lot about the practice of public relations in the real world. I was able to complete a number of tasks which had a direct correlation to what has been taught at university. This included the production of regular media releases, the implementation of more effective clerical systems, event planning concerning the Mattie Furphy House opening and a wide range of other tasks.

I would like to think that the experience has been not only beneficial to me, but also to FAWWA now and into the future. As outlined in my report,I have listed a number of public relations recommendations aimed at helping the organisation meet its short and long-term goals. These included suggestions to broaden FAWWA's membership base my targeting young writers. A high school literary prize and workshops for teenagers were some of the recommendations.

I also thought FAWWA could contribute to local newspapers through the production of a weekly book review column - something which would help gain exposure within the community. In turn, this would help attract new members and increase FAWWA's current revenue stream.

My final recommendation centres around the creation of a public relations handbook FAWWA would use to guide its future strategies and programs. This document would include an understanding of the organisation's communication objectives, key message and a breakdown of each individual's role with FAWWA.

Thanks for reading,

Dean Stacey.

Two for one - Event Planning and Media Engagement

Hey everyone, 
While my official 20-day placement with the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA) will soon come to an end, there is still one more major task which I'm helping to implement.

The Fellowship is busily preparing for the opening of Mattie Furphy House - a retreat for visiting guest writers where workshops and classes are held. The opening is set down for October 17 and represents one of the most significant events in the Fellowship's long history.

Among the distinguished guests attending are Heritage and Local Government Minister John Castrilli, Minister for Culture and Arts John Day, Governor General Malcolm McCusker, as well as numerous dignitaries from the Department of Culture and Arts, local government representatives, university professors and other industry professionals. 

The timing of the Mattie Furphy opening provides an opportunity for me to practice event planning skills which I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to complete. So far I've been responsible for creating an electronic invitation, helping to organise catering and drafting a media release. 

Due to the number of high-profile dignitaries who will be attending, FAWWA identified an opportunity for media coverage. This is an area the organisation is largely unfamiliar with.   

Next week I will send out a media release to the West Australian Newspaper, Sunday Times, Western Suburbs Weekly and Claremont Post in the hope of securing a photographer for the opening. It is our aim to have photos of the opening published within the newspapers' social pages. 

All things going smoothly, I'm pretty confident that this will happen because of the number of high-profile people who will be attending. This should make the event attractive to the newspapers. 

Thanks for reading. 

Dean Stacey

Behind the scenes - media engagement

Hi fellow work placement students,
Today's blog entry outlines some of what I've been up to in the past month working at the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA). Specifically, I'll take this opportunity to detail the responsibilities I've had in relation to media interaction.
Early in my placement I was asked to prepare several media releases promoting upcoming writing workshops hosted by FAWWA. This media releases were distributed to community newspapers throughout the western suburbs.
The template I created for the media releases is now on file and will be reproduced in coming weeks as we gear up for the special opening of Mattie Furphie House - a writers' retreat in Swanbourne. The official opening of the house is set down for October 17 and preparations are in full swing. The Governor General Mr Malcolm McCusker will be among the special guests attending. His presence provides a unique opportunity for FAWWA to receive media coverage in the West Australian Newspaper. As I'm writing this blog, I'm also preparing a media release which will be distributed in the hope of securing a photographer for the event. It is hoped we will have photos of the event published in the newspaper's social section after the opening.
Interacting with the media has formed only part of what my overall responsibilities with FAWWA, but it is still a very interesting aspect of my placement. 

Dean Stacey

The Fellowship of Australian Writers WA - first impressions

Dean Stacey PR393 Blog One
Curtin University

Hello everyone.
Currently I'm in week two of my placement at the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA) - a non-for-profit organisation which provides training, support and friendship to the state's writing community. The Fellowship (FAWWA) is based in Swanbourne and operates out of a heritage-listed cottage. It is staffed by two women who work Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Have a look at their website or Facebook page for my information - www.fawwa.org.au, http://www.facebook.com/WAwritersfellowship.
The real benefit with this placement is the opportunity to work in conjunction with another PR student to help FAWWA better promote itself. Rather than having an established public relations department, the organisation relies on the existing staff to handle every aspect of daily operations. Because of this, we have a fantastic opportunity to put the knowledge learnt at university into practice. It is also beneficial that we are able to manage all PR related associated tasks by ourselves (in consultation with staff). This means we don’t have someone directing us what to do and allows us to show initiative.  
Initially I was sceptical as to how significant the role of public relations would be in the organisation's day-to-day running. However, after my first day I'm pleased to say that there appears ample opportunity to put into practice the skills learnt at university.

Below is an overview of what tasks, ideas and skills I've been able to utilise so far.  
- Administration/organisational skills: We have created a file-sharing system known as Dropbox where staff can save information and items. Dropbox allows those with access to view, edit and contribute to one another's work. Examples of documents we've placed into the system include a database of current members, membership forms, templates for media releases etc.
- Media releases: FAWWA hold regular workshops and events with established writers. These workshops are attended by members and the general public. In order to raise awareness, I created a media release which was distributed to a newspaper in Rockingham and subsequently was published last month. This media release now serves as a template for future releases and includes the FAWWA logo, contact details etc.
- Promotional material: In order to attract new members to I created a postcard which will be dropped into mailboxes and distributed around university campuses. The postcard was modelled on a similar design the organisation had used in the past. I created the card using a web-based printing company which FAWWA has an account with. The postcards are currently being printed and readied for distribution.
- Website and Facebook authorisation: We have been given access to modify the organisation's website Facebook and website. This allows us to update new material such as upcoming workshops, call for membership renewals and correspond with members. 

There is plenty more we've been tasked with, but in the interest of keeping this blog to a reabable length, I'll leave it there for today.
Thanks