IABC - International Association of Business Communication, Wellington, New Zealand

Distinguish yourself and the work of your team by becoming part of the international best practices represented by the IABC Gold Quill Awards®. Enter this global competition to receive the highest level of professional acknowledgment within business communication and become a legend (in certain circles).

• Early-bird deadline: 27 January 2010
• Final deadline: 3 February 2010

The Gold Quill Awards gala will take place on 7 June 2010 at the 2010 World Conference in Toronto.

All professional members will receive a copy of the call for entries via postal mail by mid-October. If you have an upcoming chapter event where nonmembers will be present, a limited supply of Gold Quill Awards brochures will be available in October. Contact Stacey Thornberry at sthornberry@iabc.com.

Complete entry details available in October at the Gold Quill website.

Get inspired! Check out this news story: NZ public sector wins big in global communication awards [April 2009]

All members and friends are encouraged to join us for a pre-Christmas knees up at the Backbencher, where Sean Plunket will be our special guest speaker.

Fresh from another fruitful year of verbally eviscerating politicians and other hapless figures of authority, Sean will give us his thoughts on the year that was.

RSVP essential so please let us know ASAP if you’re coming. Free nibbles and drinks til the money runs out, so don’t be late…

Date: 3 December 2009
Time: 5.15 pm til late
Venue: The Backbencher pub, Molesworth St (upstairs bar)
Price: FREE to IABC members, $20 to non-members (non-members please pay at the door)
To register: Click here - Pre-registration necessary for entry - please register by Thursday 26 November.
Please note: the Chatham House Rule will apply to this event.

The Member-Get-A-Member promotion is now running again. The basic premise is that members who recruit a new professional member will get three free months of membership for each new member they bring in…up to a full year at no charge (complete rules below). The promotion runs through the end of the year.

There are just four rules:

1. The new member must identify the referring member in one of the following ways:
   • For mailed, faxed, and online enrollments: Write the referring member’s first and last name and chapter (or region if he or she is a member-at-large) on the application form, we cannot apply credit if the referring member’s name isn’t mentioned, so please be sure it is. We want everyone to benefit from their efforts!
2. The new member must not have been an IABC member since 1 October 2008.
3. The limit for this promotion is four members, which would provide the referring member with a full year of membership at no charge.
4. The new member must be a professional member (not a student member), although recruiting members can be any type.

If you’ve already dipped your toes in the social media pool and are ready to dive in, then don’t miss this Be Heard session!

Social media have given PR professionals new tools for reaching people. This month’s Be Heard features tips and tricks for successful use of social media in campaigns.

Many of us have our own Facebook pages and may even have tried Twitter. But there’s a big jump between keeping in touch with friends and family and using social media professionally.

Emma McCleary from Ideas Shop has used Facebook and Twitter in client campaigns. She will present case studies from the Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day, along with a couple of small business examples. She will discuss how to manage risk in using social media and ways of measuring effectiveness.

Date: 17 November
Time: 12.15pm-1.15pm
Venue: Media Monitors, L4 Dominion Building, 78 Victoria Street
Price: free to IABC members, $20 to non-members
Bring: your own lunch - we’ll supply tea, coffee and juice.
To register: click here

Catch up with your colleagues and swap stories on the year’s successes – or otherwise – at our Christmas party. All welcome – free nibbles and drinks til the money runs out - so get there early! We’ll have a guest speaker and prizes – details to be advised soon.

Date: 3 December
Time: 5.30 pm til late
Venue: The Backbencher pub, Molesworth St
Price: FREE to IABC members, $20 to non-members (non-members please pay at the door).
To register: Click here