- May 4, 2024
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When it comes to public relations, Shelley Szafraniec is an expert.
As the vice president of accreditation and certification for the Volusia-Flagler Chapter of FPRA (Florida Public Relations Association), Szafraniec was recently honored as the chapter’s Member of the Year for her service to the community.
“My role with the chapter is to encourage people to seek their accreditation,” Szafraniec said. “It’s a great reinforcer and affirmation of their knowledge base with regards to practicing public relations.”
Szafraniec, a Port Orange resident, explains that typically once a public relations official graduates from college, that isn’t nearly the end to their training. There are two separate levels of accreditation, five years and 10 years, and Szafraniec has eclipsed both thresholds as a public relations professional since 1992.
It’s important that public relations officials pursue their accreditation in order to learn the right tools to use to send the proper messages.
“It’s important to understand and have that confidence,” Szafraniec said. “The accreditation is a reinforcer to give you that confidence. It proves to others that you can provide that counsel.”
As a graduate of the Air Force in 1992, Szafraniec knows firsthand what the experience is like to pursue for accreditation. She explains that everyone might think they can do public relations, but with the proper experience one learns that there is a method to it and there are significant ethical implications that need to be learned of and addressed.
Szafraniec took over as president of the new program year on Sept. 1, and she also is the assistant community director for Volusia County government.
In addition, Gary Davidson, a colleague of Szafraniec’s, was honored with the 2017 Great Communicator award for his long public service career in the field of media relations.
Davidson was a graduate of the University of Central Florida and he has more than 30 years of experience in communications, working as a reporter for the Daytona Beach News-Journal and DeLand Sun News before joining the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office as the public information officer.
“Gary, as the PIO for the Sheriff’s Office, did an outstanding job in that role and understanding the needs of the media, the organization and balancing all of that very effectively,” Szafraniec said. “A lot of times PIO’s may be a one-person shop, so having this network of people you can reach out and call is invaluable and Gary Davidson wasn’t just super effective in his role but he also was a great role model to many public information officers and left a significant mark.”
For more information about the Volusia-Flagler Chapter of FPRA, visit fpravf.org
