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Nonprofits Profit From PR Class Project at Embry-Riddle

Daytona Beach, Fla., April 27, 2006 -- Last January, students in Joanne Detore-Nakamura’s media relations course at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University got an unusual assignment for their final project: hit the streets and help area nonprofit groups get better publicity.

Detore-Nakamura, who teaches a media relations course in the university’s communication degree program, is always looking for ways to help her students build portfolios they can show prospective employers when they graduate. Having once managed public relations and fundraising at a social services agency, she realized nonprofits would welcome getting free P.R. help from her students.

Each student in the class project, which ended this week, consulted with one of 19 participating local agencies and made a PowerPoint presentation detailing their plans for a publicity campaign. The students then combined the theory and tactics they learned in class to create a news release, brochure, and two public service announcements their organization could send to radio stations.

“Some of the students had deadlines from their agency that forced them to complete their work well before my deadline for the class portfolio, and they rallied to do that,” Detore-Nakamura said. “Many worked with their agency and assignment as if it were a regular job.”

For the Daytona Beach chapter of the American Red Cross, student Holly Davis produced a news release announcing March as Red Cross Month and a brochure celebrating 25 years of service. “We used all of Holly’s documents in our office,” Red Cross public affairs director Pam Hamlin said, “and I’ve asked her to return and work here.”

Student Chris Spain enlisted WESH-TV meteorologist Amy Sweezey to narrate 30-second and 60-second radio spots he wrote about the new Heroes of the Sky exhibit for his client, the Orange County Regional History Center.

Melanie Pugh, a communication major who also writes for the Embry-Riddle student newspaper, worked with the 7th Circuit Court’s Guardian Ad Litem program, which serves the legal interests of children. In addition to the materials required for the project, she helped write and design a web site, a calendar campaign, and new letterhead.

“When these students graduate, they’ll have a real-world client who can vouch for their abilities,” Detore-Nakamura said proudly. “But more important, they used their talents to help organizations give back to those who are less fortunate than they are.”

Students and Nonprofit Organizations:

John Alestra – Father Lopez Catholic High School
Joe Antonucci – ArtHaus Foundation
Ken Baylor – His own business promoting aerobatic pilots
Kelly Billon – Museum of Arts and Sciences
Daniel Blaich – Coast Guard Auxiliary
Holly Davis – Daytona Beach American Red Cross
Todd Edwards -- Embry-Riddle Communication Degree Program
Judith Emmanuel – Embry-Riddle International Student Services
Christopher Gorman – Embry-Riddle Admissions Office
Victoria Graf – Daytona Beach YMCA
Gavin Hutchinson – Hospice of Volusia/Flagler
Ivens Jean – Art League of Daytona Beach
Don MacAnlalay – Southeast Photography Museum
Liam McIlhatton – Embry-Riddle Athletic Department
Alec Pohan – Easter Seals
Melanie Pugh – Guardian Ad Litem, 7th Circuit Court
Trent Sellers – Port Orange YMCA
Chris Spain – Orange County Regional History Center
Stephanie Taylor – Pace Center for Girls
Chris Wagner – Dream-A-Wish Thrift Shop
Megan Zeller – HART Equine Challenges

For more information about any of the projects, contact Joanne Detore-Nakamura, assistant professor of humanities and communication, at (386) 226-7903 or detor6ee@erau.edu.

Embry-Riddle, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering and meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 32,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Extended Campus at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, and through distance learning.