Council of Public Relations Firms

The Council of Public Relations Firms is a trade association of over one hundred public relation firms. Their stated purposes are to grow the public relations industry through advocating it benefits to business professionals, displaying to prospective employees the positive aspects of a PR career, and setting a code of standards for the public relations profession.

2004-2005 Board of Directors

Executive Committee

• Chairman: Harris Diamond - CEO, Weber Shandwick Worldwide
• Vice Chairman/Chair-Elect: Helen Ostrowski - Global CEO, Porter Novelli
• Secretary: Abigail Gouverneur Carr - Principal, Bliss, Gouverneur & Associates
• Treasurer: Douglas Spong - Managing Partner, Carmichael Lynch Spong PR
• Immediate Past Chairman: Lou Capozzi, Chairman & CEO, Manning Selvage & Lee

Board Members

• Cathy Ackermann - President, Ackermann PR
• Cathy Baughman - President, HLB Communications
• Lou Capozzi - Chairman & CEO, Manning Selvage & Lee
• Lynn Casey - CEO, Padilla Speer Beardsley Inc.
• Leanna Clark - Principal, Scheinkein
• Steven Cody - Managing Partner, Peppercom Inc.
• Fred Cook - Chairman, Golin/Harris International
• Andrea Coville - CEO, Brodeur Worldwide
• Harris Diamond - CEO, Weber Shandwick Worldwide
• Abigail Gouverneur Carr - Principal, Bliss, Gouverneur & Associates
• Sandy Hermanoff - President and CEO, Hermanoff & Associates
• Philip A. Nardone Jr. - President, PAN Communications, Inc.
• Helen Ostrowski - Global CEO, Porter Novelli
• Jeffrey Sharlach - President & CEO, The Jeffrey Group
• Douglas Spong - Managing Partner, Carmichael Lynch Spong PR
• Paul Taaffe - CEO, Hill and Knowlton
• Melissa Waggner Zorkin - CEO, Waggener Edstrom

Abridged Website Map

• General Info
  • Background
  • Board of Dir.
  • Contact Info
  • Council Members
  • Code of Ethics - more of a minimal set of standards consisting of five short paragraphs listing five behaviours. All are basic ethics:

1. work hard for clients and charge them fairly
2. don't steal competitor's employees
3. don't lie to the media or the public
4. honour the non-disclousure terms of current and previous clients
5. business relations are handled professionally, which includes refraining from the theft of others' ideas.

• Industry Resources
• Client Services
  • Client advisory Committee
  • Standard Industry Contractual Documents
• Member Services (login page)
• Press Releases
• Career Center - Basic information for prospective employees, including a common pool to submit resumes
• Searcable Database of members the fields are:
  • Location.State
  • Location.City
  • Size
  • Experience.Industry_Sector
  • Experience.Practice_Area

Other SourceWatch reources

• Public relations associations

Contact details

Council of Public Relations Firms
100 Park Avenue, Suite 1600
New York NY 10017
Phone: (877) 773-4767
Website:http://www.prfirms.org/

External links

• Hamilton Nolan, "Sloane withdraws from Council of PR Firms due to its response to Ketchum imbroglio", PR Week, January 13 2005.(Sub req'd).
• "Council Mulls need for Gov't guidelines", O'Dwyers PR Daily, March 21, 2005. (Sub req'd).
• "CPRF Re-Evaluates Ad Campaign", O'Dwyers PR Daily, April 3, 2007. (Sub req'd).