NEW BRIGHTON, MINN. – Risdall McKinney Public Relations is celebrating Sarah Ryder’s election to president of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), University of Minnesota chapter.

Ryder, a Risdall McKinney assistant account executive and current PRSSA vice president, will assume the organization’s presidency beginning in June 2007. Ryder is currently an honors student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Minnesota. She expects to graduate in May 2008.

“Sarah’s leadership is evident across the board,” says McKinney, who is president of the Minnesota chapter of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and a community faculty member at Metropolitan State University. “She’s a model student. She consistently demonstrates her ambitions to expand PRSSA members’ knowledge of the profession and industry, and she brings new and fresh ideas to our work at Risdall McKinney. She’s in a terrific position to lead the next generation of PR professionals.”

McKinney, whose team of seasoned PR staff has more than doubled in size since opening its doors as Risdall McKinney Public Relations in March 2006, says having someone like Ryder on board dovetails with the agency’s philosophy that the strongest PR work is derived from a combination of tried-and-true strategies coupled with contemporary concepts and tactics.

“The power and potential of PR to evolve brands and affect business goals is the cornerstone of our work,” says McKinney. “The next generation of professionals will need to achieve those objectives in their work, and for Sarah to share that information with her peers early on advances the profession, immeasurably.”

For Ryder, the opportunity to work with the current PRSA chapter president as she simultaneously leads the student chapter is a unique privilege. “PRSA and PRSSA exist to advance the PR profession and its professionals, or future professionals,” says Ryder. McKinney, she says “has a vision for the industry’s future. Her interest in my work for PRSSA and her personal guidance were instrumental in my decision to pursue the presidency and will, undoubtedly, impact my leadership of PRSSA.”

Advancement of new talent is a core commitment at Risdall McKinney. “An investment in the next generation is an investment in the professional leadership of the future,” says McKinney.

About Risdall McKinney Public Relations
Risdall McKinney Public Relations, a division of Risdall Marketing Group, LLC, is an integrated, marketing-oriented PR agency headquartered in New Brighton, Minn. With 2006 billings of $3.3 million, the agency is ranked as the 7th largest PR firm in Minnesota. Its client roster includes local, national and international work for business-to-business and consumer accounts.

Anne Cloeter
Risdall McKinney Public Relations
651.286.6746