A Sacramento State club has received national honors by being granted the ability to be the host chapter for a nationwide event.

Sac State’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America hosted this year’s national conference from Friday to Tuesday in San Francisco.

PRSSA National Conference 2012 is an annual five-day event and the Sac State chapter will be hosting this year’s event for the first time, which is considered a significant honor, said PRSSA adviser Tim Howard.

“To be the host university is one of the highest honors for a PRSSA chapter,” Howard said. “Chances to host are a once-every-decade opportunity. For a university to get it again may take two-plus decades. This is because the event moves around the country each year.”

The theme of the PRSSA 2012 National Conference was “Bridging the Gap” because public relations students will learn to promote themselves with throughout the business, like Twitter and Pandora Radio.

“(The conference) will cover all facets of public relations – the practice, the profession and its players,” Howard said. “Students will learn from experts in (the) private sector, public sector and non-profit sector. It is a time when students learn and network with industry leaders and academics about issues and trends facing the field of public relations.”

Howard said the chapter hosted more than 1,000 students from 200 universities around the country.

CEO and chairman of the Public Relations Society of America Gerard Corbett said as the world’s largest public relations conference, it will be a melting pot of professionals and students alike.

“The members of PRSSA will have the good fortune to take in the keynotes at the PRSA International Conference and to network with thousands of professionals from around the globe,” Corbett said. “It truly is a fabulous opportunity to exchange ideas, absorb knowledge and add value to the stream of information that is the lifeblood of both conferences.”

Some of the events Sac State PRSSA has put on are “A Day in the Bay,” which was the conference’s opening ceremony as well as the awards dinner, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which will recognize all the hard work put into the past four days.

Enrico Dominguez, a public relations senior from the University of Miami, said he considers his experience at the San Francisco conference to be an eye-opener.

“Out here in San Francisco, it’s really nice to see a completely different side of PR,” Dominguez said. “Everything is so forward-thinking here versus in Florida where it’s more reaction, like what do I have and how do I change that.”

Not only did public relations students get to expand on their networking skills, but they heard from some of the high-profile representatives in public relations, such as Biz Stone, the co-founder of the social networking site Twitter and MSNBC political analyst Michael Steele, Howard said.

Dominguez said hearing Matt Prince, the social media manager from Disneyland, speak on personal branding changed the way he thought about public relations.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t realize you have the company or organization you represent and you have yourself,” Dominguez said. “You are your No. 1 client and I never thought of it that way. You have to have a good personal brand. It was really clear, concise and he was really great. He’s one of the greatest speakers I’ve heard at the conference, hands down.”

The events at the PRSSA National Conference 2012 spanned several areas of public relations, such as fashion, social media and the importance of personal branding.

Howard said he’s proud of what the Sac State PRSSA chapter has accomplished with the conference and all their hard work this past year.

“I’m feeling very confident in the work that Sacramento State and its distinguished public relations students have put forward to date,” Howard said. “These are practice-ready professionals with outstanding work ethics that are putting public relations theories into real-time and real-world application.”

Robert Pritchard, the National PRSA faculty adviser, said he looks forward to the conference every year.

“I’ve been going to this conference for the past 11 years and it truly is the highlight of my year,” Pritchard said. “I’m always energized about the state and future of our profession as I get the chance to interact with all these young professionals.”

Howard said he hopes this conference and its members have promoted Sac State as a notable school with an exceptional public relations organization.

“Of growing significance, they are representing Sacramento State very well in this capacity as the host university,” Howard said. “It has spotlighted our university and its public relations program on a national level and as a destination campus to study public relations.”

Camille Anglo can be reached at [email protected]