10:00 a.m. Welcome
1:15 p.m. Break
Join us for PRCA Montgomery’s 2022 Professional Development Workshop.
Thursday, September 29 | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
REGISTRATION RATES
$100 PRCA Member
$100 Student
$120 Non-Member
EMERGE is a one-day workshop for professionals in public relations, communications, marketing, and related fields.
Join us on Thursday, September 29 at Venue 901 for sessions with:
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Christopher “Brandmaker” Thomas - inMMGroup, Founder; Branding/Marketing Consultant itsCThomas.com; Founder/Publisher inCity Magazine
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Cassandra Snyder – Client Engineering Designer - IBM
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Tiffany Chaney – Chief Diversity Officer - Baptist Health
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Ellenann Yelverton - Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel - Gray Television
Registration includes:
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a National Coffee Day spread to kick the day off
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a delicious lunch with your PRCA colleagues
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many fabulous prize drawings
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a “Swag Bag” for the ages (seriously – don’t miss it!)
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and MORE to be announced soon!
We’re ready to EMERGE together IN-PERSON on 9/29, and seating is limited! You know what to do. Register now!
Christopher ‘Brandmaker’ Thomas
Background
Christopher Thomas, a leading business entrepreneur, marketing mogul, and motivational speaker, is passionate about helping his clients reach their highest potential. He has spent his entire career helping business leaders and executives solve complex marketing problems, and his innovative approach to business and marketing strategy consulting has significantly increased the bottom lines of all of his clients.
Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, Christopher was born and bred to excel in innovation and business expertise. He started his first business at 15 years old and has expanded his business portfolio to include several other ventures, including inMMGroup - a full service marketing agency.
Before establishing inMMGroup in 2002, Christopher worked his way through the corporate and government sectors to gain the knowledge, skills, and expertise needed to thrive as a marketing and business strategist for clients from any industry.
Christopher provides a unique viewpoint to each of his clients and uncovers undervalued potential in their businesses. This ingenious quality provides an opportunity for his clients to increase the income, wealth and success of their business. Many of his ideas and strategies have led to millions of dollars in profit increase for his diverse portfolio clients.
As an industry leader, Christopher identifies and teaches clients the factors that limit and restrict their business growth. He exposes his clients to a myriad of effective and profitable marketing strategies with lower risk. He also takes successful concepts from different industries and adapts them to a specific business - giving his clients an advantage over their competition.
Christopher has the unique ability to see hidden assets and overlooked opportunities to maximize results for his clients.
Awards and Recognitions
Christopher’s innovative marketing and business strategies have garnered recognition by major media outlets, such as Benzinga, NBC, Fox, and CBS.
He has also been selected to serve as an ongoing marketing instructor for GoDaddy and the SBA.
To enhance his knowledge in the government and finance sectors, Christopher attained his County Government Law and County Government Finance Certifications from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia.
Publicity
Christopher has been featured in several noteworthy publications, including Modern Luxury Magazine, inCity Magazine, RollingOut Magazine, Creative Loafing, Marketing Week, Adweek, Entrepreneur, SQSB, and Campaign Magazine.
His notable speaking engagements have included: PRE NBA All Star’s Business OutReach, epiConference, US Virgin Islands Economic Development, Making the Global Brand – Master Class, The Wealth With A Vision Tour, and the Los Angeles Independent Filmmakers Power Summit.
Notable Clients
Through inMMGroup, Christopher and his team serve a broad range of clients, varying in size and covering over 50 industry sectors. Industry sectors include, but are not limited to: automotive, finance, entertainment, health and wellness, government, technology, and hospitality.
Many major industry clients have called on Christopher and the inMMGroup to help them achieve their marketing and business goals, such as Rolls Royce, Coca Cola, branches of the United States Armed Forces, The W Hotel, the City of Montgomery, the City of Atlanta, Health Services Incorporated, Publix, Bloomingdales, Macy’s, and American Express.
Community Involvement
Outside of helping clients reach their highest potential, Christopher enjoys partnering with local nonprofit organizations in “Community Giveback” initiatives to support members of the community. He is a Founding Chapter Member of the Private Directors Association, a volunteer-run organization designed to help private companies create, upgrade, and professionalize their boards. He also serves as Chairman of the Board for Women of Refined Gold, Inc., an organization established to educate, empower, and end repetitive cycles of unhealthy relationships. In his free time, Christopher enjoys spending time with his family, fishing and other outdoor activities.
Cassi Snyder
Cassi Snyder is a highly-motivated marketing strategist and web developer who currently serves as Client Engineering Designer at IBM as well as Founder of Cassi Snyder Marketing.
Cassi’s career spans over ten years of experience in:
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Social media strategies - paid and organic
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SEO, copywriting, and online reputation management - including information architectures and content restructuring for optimal user experience
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Paid advertising strategies - digital and print
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Website development and maintenance
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Branding - style guides, logos, brand guidelines, voice guidelines
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Organizational change management and thought leadership
She thrives in developing and driving targeted, multichannel marketing campaigns and strategies that meet business goals, drive acquisition and volume, and improve loyalty and retention. Committed to transparency and empowerment, Cassi provides her clients with tools and skill sets to be real partners in their marketing strategies. She's developed more than 200 marketing programs across a range of industries and led an award-winning website redesign for the 4th largest healthcare system in the nation.
And when not being a strategist, Cassi, a self-proclaimed "Crazy Plant Lady", spends time watering her 400+ houseplants.
Tiffany C. Chaney, FACHE
Tiffany Chaney serves as Chief Diversity Officer for Baptist Health, a three-hospital health system based in Montgomery, Alabama. In this role, she leads strategic development, promotion, and implementation of health system initiatives to continually shape the organization’s culture as one valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Over a nearly 25 year health administration career, in addition to serving at Baptist Health, Tiffany has served in DEI, strategic planning, and business office roles in a health care consulting firm, academic health system, public hospital, and physician practice. Tiffany is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the National Association of Health Services Executives.
Tiffany is also an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), where she serves as Pastor Developer of Gathered by Grace, a Montgomery-based mission community serving young adults.
A native of Mobile, Alabama, Tiffany is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she received the Bachelor of Science in finance, the Master of Business Administration, and the Master of Science in Health Administration degrees, and a graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, where she received the Master of Divinity degree. Tiffany received a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and a Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida. She was a member of Leadership Montgomery's Torchbearers Class I and Legacy Class XXXVIII.
A member of the International Coaching Federation, Tiffany is a trained coach, working with individual and organizational clients to achieve desired goals. Committed to serving the community, Tiffany is a board member for the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama and Inspiritus. She serves on the executive board of the UAB Women in Health Care Leadership Committee. Tiffany is a member of the Beta Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and was selected by the chapter as the 2020 Humanitarian of the Year.
Ellenann Yelverton
Ellenann Yelverton is the Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel of Gray Television, Inc. During Ellenann’s 15 years with the company, Ellenann has handled over $8 billion in acquisitions of television stations, digital assets, and production companies to help grow the company. This growth included the successful acquisition of Raycom Media in 2019 and Meredith Corporation in 2021. Ellenann leads the Legal Department of 10 attorneys and 2 support staff.
Ellenann is a proud graduate of Auburn University, The University of Alabama Law School, and Class 10 of the Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum. Ellenann is a longtime volunteer with Hope Inspired Ministries, currently serving on their executive board.
About Gray Television:
Gray Television, Inc. is a multimedia company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Gray is the nation’s largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States and serves 113 television markets, reaching approximately 36 percent of US television households. This portfolio includes 80 markets with the top-rated television station and 100 markets with the first and/or second highest rated television station. Gray also owns video program companies Raycom Sports, Tupelo Honey, and PowerNation Studios, as well as Third Rail Studios.
