July 13, 2026

- A Special Video Message from NCSPRA President Sheena Cooper

- Membership Renewal 2026-2027

- Fall Conference UPDATE and a Call For Presentations

- A Survey About the Spring Leadership Retreat in 2027

- An Invitation for NSPRA 2026 Attendees

- Blue Ribbon Awards UPDATE

NCSPRA President Sheena Cooper has a special video message for all members.

She mentions a lot of upcoming events, a call for proposals, your NCSPRA membership, and much more. All the links are contained in this newsletter. Be sure to watch the video here or just click on Sheena's picture on the right. When you're done, just scroll through this newsletter for all the links and more information.

Invest in your future today! Be sure to renew your NCSPRA membership here.

As a new school year approaches, it's vital to make sure you're prepared for everything that comes your way. That means renewing your membership in NCSPRA! As an NSPRA Exemplary Chapter, NCSPRA will make sure you have the resources to respond to crises, controversies, mandates, public records requests, social media storms, legislative curveballs, funding cuts, enrollment challenges, attacks on public education, parent issues, and more. We also will make sure you get the recognition and support you deserve through our awards and scholarship programs. You won't want to face the year ahead without NCSPRA's support, resources, and expertise at your fingertips.

Even as our member benefits increase, our dues remain the same. Membership is only $125 for the first person from each organization, and $50 for each additional person. It's the best investment you can make to ensure that you and your colleagues are ready to face the challenges ahead.

The joint NCSPRA/SCNSPRA Fall Conference will be November 11 -13 at the Embassy Suites Riverfront in Wilmington, NC! Special rates are being offered to NCSPRA members starting at $179 per night. We will be sending out the link for registration and the link to book hotel rooms in the next week.

For budgeting purposes, the registration fee for NCSPRA members will be $225 for Early Birds (before August 28) and $240 after that. Non-member attendance is $300 for Early Birds and $350 after August 28.

It is going to be an incredibly exciting conference and we want YOU to be an even bigger part of it. Check out our Call for Presentations below!

As we prepare for the sessions, speakers, events and ALL the excitement of this year's Fall Conference, we want to extend an invitation to YOU to submit your ideas for presentations. You'll be sharing your expertise with members from across North and South Carolina.

Some possible topics include AI, boosting enrollment, event planning, FOIA requests, social media engagement, crisis management, or your original idea! Please fill out this form by July 31 if you would like to present this year in Wilmington!

As you may remember, the NCSPRA Spring Leadership Academy has been held at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching in beautiful Cullowhee, NC. They've been going through some renovations, so we held the event virtually this year.

Those renovations and upgrades will be complete in February 2027, so once again, NCCAT has generously offered to host our Spring Leadership Academy at no cost to our members! We will release more details and a link to sign up early next year.

Until then, and in an order to help you prepare and have a say in when the event takes place, we want to hear from you! We have been offered three sets of dates:

1. Thursday and Friday April 1 and 2
2. Thursday and Friday April 8 and 9
3. Thursday and Friday April 15 and 16

Which set of dates would you prefer? PLEASE let us know HERE and we will tally the votes and book the most popular Thursday and Friday for next year's Academy.

If you're going to be in New Orleans for NSPRA 2026, please join us! Our wonderful partner Finalsite is hosting Team Texas & Carolinas for an evening of networking, great food, and a little friendly competition during NSPRA.

Join fellow Texas & Carolina school communications professionals for drinks, heavy appetizers, SINGO (music bingo), trivia, and prize giveaways as we connect, share ideas, and enjoy a fun night together in New Orleans.

• Tuesday, July 21, 2026
• 5:30 PM–8:30 PM
  
• Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant
  
• 701 Tchoupitoulas St. New Orleans, LA 70130

Located just an 8-minute walk or 4-minute rideshare from the conference hotel. Spaces are limited so RSVP is required! Sign up at this link.

Next year's Blue Ribbon Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday, February 12, 2027 at the Guilford County Schools Community Education Center. Once again, a special thanks to GCS for their generous offer to host us!

Key dates, holidays and events all in one place

Do you have colleagues in neighboring districts who should join NCSPRA? Tell them about us! We want our chapter to be not only the best, but the most active in the country! Share details with those who may not be part of our chapter, but who could benefit from the camaraderie and professional development. Tell them to sign up here.

NCSPRA is an Exemplary Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). For five consecutive years, NCSPRA has been honored with the prestigious Mark of Distinction Award for delivering outstanding professional development to members and to school PR professionals throughout the country.