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Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America Announces 2026 Officers and Board of Directors

Fort Worth, Texas – The Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (GFW PRSA) has named its officers and board of directors for 2026. Approved by a vote at the chapter’s annual member meeting earlier today, the following nominees were elected:

• President – Sydney Hanes, public relations manager at Cook Children’s Health Care System.
• President-elect/ Vice President of Membership – Sara Mitchell, vice president of marketing communications at Camp Fire First Texas.
• Vice President of Programs – Detavious Hill, marketing and communications manager at Key School and Training Center.
• Secretary – Myisha Washington, executive assistant and strategic business partner at Cook Children’s Health Care System.
• Treasurer – Eline deBruijn Wiggins, communications manager at Cook Children’s Health Care System.
• Treasurer-Elect – Cindy Vasquez, senior internal communications specialist at UNT Health Fort Worth.
• Past President – Reggie Johnson, APR, director of communications for the division of student affairs at UNT Health Fort Worth.
• Director (3 positions) – Richie Escovedo, APR, director of project management and PR specialist at Balcom Agency, Michelle Clark, APR, associate vice chancellor for advancement strategy and administration at TCU and Maricar Estrella Hastings, director of digital development and content strategy at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU.
• Assembly Delegate (2 positions) – Beth Lamb, APR, executive director at Key School and Training Center and Jessamy Brown, APR, publications and special projects manager at Cook Children’s Health Care System.

“This talented group of leaders will continue to strengthen our chapter and advance the strategic communications profession in Fort Worth,” said Reggie Johnson, APR, 2025 president of GFW PRSA. “I’m confident they will build on our momentum and create valuable opportunities for our members to connect, learn and grow.”

GFW PRSA is part of the larger community of more than 22,000 PRSA members nationwide. The organization’s mission is to advance the profession of public relations and communications through networking, professional development opportunities and award programs. Members also help mentor the next generation of PR professionals through partnerships with local chapters of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) located on university campuses across North Texas.

The Public Apology: Sorry, not sorry – well, maybe, but it depends

By Caroline Conkle

FORT WORTH – Organizations should stop apologizing every time they are criticized online. That’s the argument Josh Bentley, Ph.D., made last week at a September 3 professional development program from the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Bentley, a public relations scholar at Texas Christian University, spoke about his new book, “Devaluing Public Apologies in the Age of Social Media.” With a full house in TCU’s Dee J. Kelly Alumni & Visitor Center ballroom, Bentley described how public apologies are viewed as less sincere and less meaningful due to the frequency with which organizations apologize. He said cancel culture and polarization play a role in the disregard for most apologies today.

Audience member Kendal Clark, the Web Manager at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCU, shared some of her takeaways.

“He talked a lot about apologies and how they are phasing out because people aren’t feeling that satisfaction anymore from receiving those apologies, and I think that has a lot to do also with cancel culture phasing out,” she said. “Cancel culture was such a widespread thing, and it was something that you were hearing everywhere, with YouTubers apologizing for things they were getting caught on, and now people are just not entertained by it anymore.”

Reilly Ternan, a TCU alumna and Digital Communication Specialist at Cook Children’s Health Care System, shared her excitement for the event and pride for her former communication law professor.

“I was a student of Professor Bentley in 2020 during COVID,” Ternan said. “So, I was really excited to hear him speak. We have been looking forward to this for weeks ever since we heard it was booked.”

The Bob Schieffer College of Communication sponsored the event with appearances from both Dean Kristie Bunton and Associate Dean Julie O’Neil.