September Member Profile
Giselle de la Moriniere

How long have you been a member of FPRA and what are the benefits?
I'm a brand new member of the FPRA Gainesville Chapter, and I joined for the networking opportunities and guest speakers.

Tell us a little about your job and how long you've there.
I’m currently a Corporate Communications Intern for Regeneration Technologies, and I’ve been with RTI since May 2006.   I’m also pursuing a Master’s Degree in Mass Communication/Public Relations at UF.

Please share with us a challenging and/or important project you successfully completed during your career.
Prior to returning to school, I worked in development for a non-profit organization in Melbourne, FL.  Our biggest fundraising event was a celebrity auction and golf tournament that annually raised about $400,000.  I had a fantastic, well-organized committee to help plan and execute the event.

How did you identify your objectives and plan your project?
The main objective was to reach the fundraising goal specified in the annual budget, and we achieved this through selling event sponsorships as well as proceeds from the live and silent auctions.  In terms of execution, we worked closely with our celebrity host (a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox) to implement any changes or additions he wanted, and we made improvements based on the committee and sponsor feedback from the previous year’s event.  We also worked with the Red Sox and local media to secure coverage for the event in both Central Florida and Boston.

What was the most challenging part of the project and how did you deal with it?
Logistics was probably the most challenging part.  Between making travel arrangements for 35 celebrities, managing more than 100 sponsors and making sure they all got the correct number of tickets, program ads, golf slots, etc., coordinating the 250 volunteers for a multitude of jobs and keeping track of about 450 auction items, it was hectic.  Luckily most everything went smoothly, and we were able to think quickly on our feet to calm any crises that did occur.
 
What advice would you give to public relations professionals when facing similar tasks?
An organized, experienced committee will help you keep (what’s left of) your sanity through any kind of event.  If you’ve got a great committee, they’ll help alleviate your task load, leaving you to oversee the management of the event and handle any surprises that should come your way in the process.

What is your favorite restaurant in Gainesville?
The Top

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.

I’ve played clarinet for 14 years, and I was in the Marching Chiefs for four years as an undergraduate at Florida State University.