The story of the 'Seasoned Professionals'
By Lynn Perez-Hewitt, APR, Madison PRSA member
The PRSA Seasoned Professionals Affinity Group
How do you find kindred spirits in our distributed, disrupted, disconnected, hyper-connected digital age? The answer, even for a semi-retired PR pro from the days of fax machines, was to reply to a thread, a post, a question.
“Anyone want to stay involved post-retirement?’ the post asked. How could I resist? That was December 2021. Our conversation started, albeit on Zoom. But wasn’t everything back then?
It turns out that the number of smart, funny, energetic semi-retired and retired PR pros is growing. About 10,000 people are turning 65 every day—and have been every day for at least the last 10 years. Since that’s expected to continue until 2034, it’s not surprising that some of them are PRSA members.
The conversations were semi-regular as we tried to find a time that would work for four time zones. Some showed up more often than others, but it’s an understanding and adaptable group. Show up when you can, bring your updates: What’s happening, how are you doing, what are you doing? Many of us are still working part-time, teaching, consulting, and caring for clients or family. Common to all of us, we want to remain engaged with our profession and fellow practitioners.
After meeting for almost three years, and with the watchful assistance of PRSA staff, our group developed a survey. We used the RPIE (Research, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation) framework. Imagine that!
The survey was emailed to 524 PRSA members who pay retiree dues. One hundred and forty members took the survey, reflecting a 25 percent response rate. Respondents overwhelmingly want to stay active and engaged with their local chapter and the profession.
Why the name “Seasoned Professionals?” The description reflects a bit of wear and tear combined with experience, knowledge and skill. No chronological number is needed. Besides, age is only a number.
Next step… what does a professional association do with an articulate group of seasoned professionals? Create an Affinity Group, under the DEI umbrella. We are diverse, ageism is not equitable, and we want to be included. The Affinity Group was launched in June. With no pomp and circumstance, our grassroots effort has attracted more than 100 members in two months. The threads are lively, opinions are candid, and the stories are compelling.
The group is free to join for current members of PRSA. If you know a former member who stepped back from their fulltime career and may be interested, PRSA will let them rejoin at the retiree rate of $57. No discount on chapter dues, though, so let’s grow the chapters with seasoned pros.
Our chapters are diminished when longtime, seasoned practitioners stop coming to network, share, learn and laugh. Have you practiced for 10 years or more? Semi-retired, retired, thinking about retiring? We welcome you all—your status is self-declared.