Last nights PRSSA event was the PRSSA/SPJ Crisis Challenge.  Members from both organizations showed up to flex their muscle and put the skills they have learned from their classes thus far on display.

The PRSSA members were split into three teams and given separate crises.  Each team had 25 minutes to create a public statement, organize a team of executives and develop a communications plan. 

Team #1 was presented with an embezzlement case.  Their company’s CFO had siphoned $2 million in the last two years.  The media found out and leaked the story.

Team #2 was a toy-making company whose product had killed two toddlers in the last week.  Small pieces of their popular racetrack had been discovered to be a choking hazard.

Team #3 was a banking institution that had an attempted robbery.  During the course of apprehending the criminal there were four shots fired.  One hit a security guard, one hit a teller and one hit a customer.  The fourth shot was fired by a second security guard, which killed the robber.

After their preparation, each team had two minutes to present their statement.  The SPJ students then had eight minutes to question the company executives in a mock press conference.  SPJ students asked probing questions that made the PRSSA students have to think on the fly and try and represent their companies in the best possible light.

Judges analyzed the performances and decided that Team #3 was the winner of the competition.  SPJ students then had a few minutes to create anchor leads for each story.  They were also judged and awarded prizes.

Great job to everyone who participated, both PRSSA and SPJ alike!  This was a fun and successful event.  A big thanks to PRSSA chapter president Lauren Lytle and SPJ president Spencer Flanagan for organizing the event.