Can’t believe it’s March already! We’ve finished three more months of successful virtual events and programming.
December
As we closed out 2020, it wasn’t just COVID-19 that disrupted our December in-person lunch plans but Mother Nature. When the weather forecast called for a significant storm on our event day, our featured guest speaker, Action News co-anchor Alicia Vitarelli, kindly rescheduled her appearance online. It was worth the wait as Alicia gave us insights on how the Action News team is broadcasting from home, how she and other anchors get the most out of their wardrobes, and how 6ABC celebrated the 50th anniversary of Action News.
We rounded out the year with a Holiday Happy Hour. Brittany Scharr, Delco’s Secret Santa, was a special guest. Her highly successful fundraising initiative in support of local restaurant and hospitality workers evolved from her original idea ‘The Twelve Days Before Christmas’ into ‘365 Days of Kindness,’ a larger effort raising almost $30,000 to date. Using social media to communicate her message, she earned local, national, and worldwide recognition. You can read more about her and her television coverage, including an 'America Strong' segment on “ABC World News Tonight,” in our latest blog.
In recognition of her creative use of social media in communication, we made her an Honorary Press Club Member. Welcome, Brittany!
January
We kicked off the New Year with a State of Broadcasting webinar featuring Club member Sean McDonald, director of Neumann Media at Neumann University. Sean shared his experiences with remote broadcasting with video clips from his work for Preston & Steve’s Camp Out for Hunger; explained how he and his students began using existing and new software to transmit video; and gave us great tips for improving our at-home backgrounds, audio, and video.
February
Still not able to meet in person, we couldn’t have our scheduled Lunar New Year celebration at Margaret Kuo’s restaurant. Again, we had another plan: we had the good fortune to secure Irene Levy Baker, PR consultant and author of “100 Things To Do in Philadelphia Before You Die,” as a speaker. Irene presented great ideas for having fun in Philly: staycations; secret spots to explore; outdoor activities where you can social distance; family outings; and more, and answered individual questions from members. I look forward to checking out many of her suggested restaurants and attractions and hope you will, too.
Moving Forward
The Board hopes you’re enjoying the season in spite of the limitations we are experiencing. We welcome ideas for topics or guest speakers you might recommend for a future Press Club event. All feedback is welcome.
And stay tuned for the next round of webinars and (we hope) in-person get-togethers in the next few months.
Visit thepressclubpa.org or check the Club’s Facebook page for the latest news and information on Club activities and schedules.
Andrea DiFabio, Press Club President