By Amanda Hardt

This year’s Professional Development Day focused on the transformation of Pittsburgh — from a smoky steel town, to an up-and-coming city, Pittsburgh has grown and become one of the most popular places to live, work, eat and play.

For the keynote panel, Ashley Dougherty, Meteorologist from WTAE-TV, moderated to kick-off the evening’s events. The panel of distinguished Pittsburgh communicators included: Lou Corsaro, PR Director at Point Park University; Lynne Glover, Communications Director at Visit Pittsburgh; Mike Lee, Executive Producer at Pittsburgh 365; and Nick Paradise, PR Director at Kennywood. Each panelist had varying backgrounds and experiences, in addition to their own preconceived notions of how Pittsburgh has turned into the city it is today, which made for a healthy discussion.

Throughout the night, the panelists spoke about how the city has changed, especially when it comes to traditional media no longer being the main source for news.

When it comes to the changing landscape of communicating messages about your organization, “the target audience is very straight forward; you have tens of thousands of followers where people have [voluntarily] signed up to receive information [via social media], so you market to them with specific messages. A press release is probably not going to get picked up [by traditional media]; however the downside is that some of it is crap. There are so many messages out there it creates clutter,” according to Glover.

Lee agreed, noting that it can be a double-edged sword; we don’t have the control and the filter that we used to have with traditional media.

In addition, when talking about leaving Pittsburgh, each panelist also brought a different view point when it came to traveling, but they all agreed on how there is a greater appreciation for your hometown when you come back.

“It’s a natural thing to want to leave [your hometown], but Pittsburgh has become a place that is better,” said Lee. According to Corsaro, “take a look neighborhood by neighborhood. You can find any kind of living experience you want here,” when it comes to the versatility of the city.

As the keynote panelists continued to debate throughout the night, however, one of the biggest key takeaways was their advice to the college students in attendance looking for jobs.

“I need to see work ethic because you will learn on the job. Don’t expect to know everything.  Show dedication.  It’s up to you to create the job, so go out there and do it,” said Lee.

All of the keynote panelists were passionate and able to pull in the audience through their experiences and little bit of banter back and forth. The panelists not only spoke about Pittsburgh’s growth, but also how professionals can transform themselves in their field— by being assertive, writing “kick-ass” letters and not “locking yourself in, just keeping your eyes open.”

The 2016 Professional Development Day keynote panel was very insightful and overall was a great success. Thank you to co-chairs Robin and Beth who coordinated a great event; I can’t wait to see what next year will bring!

Amanda Hardt works in the Marketing Department at Schneider Downs, one of the 60^th largest accounting firms in the United States. She has been involved with PRSA since she was in college at Marietta and serves on the board currently planning the 2017 Renaissance Awards. Amanda is an avid runner and loves to make new connections.  Feel free to connect with her on Twitter: @hardtamanda and LinkedIn.