PRAM Central

If you missed today's professional development webinar, you can catch it online and gain tips for improving your Lantern entry! This webinar features Kalli Hedgepeth, 2025 Best of Show winner for The Weekly Seed: Green Oak’s Employee Newsletter, and Anne Mertens and Sara Dorsey, 2025 Best of Tier 1 winners for Booth to Bid: Tradeshow Campaign to Reclaim IOU Market Share. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/smaoqnqg66w1q37tv54xx/AO82GbxAPNHA3EtpI3WK8PI/video1813857914.mp4?rlkey=2iynpp6e2kte9npxbu2mux57o&e=2&st=7puwfx12&dl=0

Some brands have a story. Others become part of a city’s story.

For decades, Hal & Mal’s has been one of Jackson’s most recognizable gathering places. But how do you honor a beloved legacy while growing it into something new?

Join PRAM Central on June 24 as Sarah Grace “SG” Ashcraft shares the branding and marketing lessons behind Hal & Mal’s, Hal & Mal’s LIVE, and The Walk-In. She’ll discuss rebranding, content creation, social media strategy, and what it’s really like to manage marketing as a one-person team.

Whether you’re working with an established brand or building something from the ground up, you’ll leave with practical ideas and fresh inspiration.

📅 June 24, 2026
⏰ 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
📍 717 Poplar Blvd., Jackson, MS

We’ll also be collecting bars of Dove soap to support the Youth Detention Intervention Program at Baptist Children’s Village & Family Ministries.

Reserve your seat today:
https://www.pramcentral.org/event-details-registration/june-chapter-meeting-branding-and-marketing-lessons-from-hal-mals-sg-ashcraft

June Chapter Meeting: Branding and Marketing Lessons from Hal & Mal’s SG Ashcraft | wwww.pramcentral.org Join us at PRAM Central’s June meeting as Sarah Grace “SG” Ashcraft will break down the rebrand of historic Jackson restaurant and venue Hal & Mal’s along with branding Hal & Mal’s LIVE and The Walk-In from scratch. She’ll also touch on content and social media strategy, operating as a ....

Some of the best branding stories don’t start with a logo. They start with a challenge.

When Jackson’s beloved Hal & Mal’s began expanding into new concepts like Hal & Mal’s LIVE and The Walk-In, the question wasn’t just what these brands should look like. It was how they could honor a legacy while creating something fresh and memorable.

At our June luncheon, Sarah Grace “SG” Ashcraft will take us behind the scenes of that journey, sharing lessons learned from rebranding an iconic Mississippi institution, building multiple brands from the ground up, creating content that connects, and managing it all as a one-person marketing team.

Whether you’re working in PR, marketing, communications, or simply love a good brand story, you’ll leave with ideas you can put to work immediately.

📅 June 24, 2026
📍 717 Poplar Blvd., Jackson
⏰ 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

As part of our monthly service project, we’re collecting bars of Dove soap for the Youth Detention Intervention Program at Baptist Children’s Village & Family Ministries.

Register now at https://www.pramcentral.org/event-details-registration/june-chapter-meeting-branding-and-marketing-lessons-from-hal-mals-sg-ashcraft

We can’t wait to see you there!

Please join us in welcoming our newest PRAM Central members, Blake Butler and Jake Wimberly! We’re excited to have you as part of our community of public relations, communications, marketing, and business professionals.

We look forward to getting to know you, learning from your perspectives, and cheering you on as you grow in your careers. Welcome to PRAM Central!

Thinking about joining PRAM Central? Whether you’re a seasoned professional, emerging practitioner, student, or communications enthusiast, there’s a place for you in our chapter. Visit pramcentral.org/join to learn more about our organization and membership opportunities.

Some of the best PR work starts with a simple idea, a tight deadline or a challenge no one else wanted to tackle. Months later, it becomes the campaign everyone remembers.

The SPRF Lantern Awards are your chance to showcase the strategy, creativity and results behind the work you poured into throughout 2025.

From strategic campaigns to tactical materials, entries are judged by PR professionals outside SPRF’s four-state region using the four-step RPIE process, with top entries earning Certificates of Merit, Awards of Excellence and Lantern Awards.

Submission deadline: June 30, 2026

If there’s a project you’re still proud of, don’t let it stay buried in your portfolio. Submit it.

Learn more and enter at sprf.org/Lantern_Awards

Southern Public Relations Federation - Lantern Awards The Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF) recognizes its members' outstanding work product through the annual Lantern Awards program. 

PRAMplified📣 Congratulations to PRAM Central member Annie Oeth on earning her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR)!

The APR is a nationally recognized credential that demonstrates expertise in strategic communications, ethics, research, planning, implementation, and evaluation within the public relations profession. Earning an APR is no small feat. The process includes a rigorous application, portfolio review, panel presentation and comprehensive examination designed to measure a practitioner’s knowledge, experience and commitment to the industry.

This achievement reflects Annie’s dedication to professional growth and excellence in communications, and we are proud to celebrate this milestone with her!

Interested in pursuing your APR? PRAM Central is here to support you through the journey with local guidance, encouragement and resources along the way. Learn more here: pramcentral.org/apr

Today’s PRAM Central Chapter Meeting reminded us of something we already know deep down as communicators: facts inform, but stories persuade.

A huge thank you to Brett Kenyon, better known as “Papa Mississippi,” for spending the afternoon with us sharing insight on storytelling, authenticity, audience trust, algorithms, consistency, and what it really takes to build meaningful content in today’s digital world.

From story structure to platform strategy, one theme carried through every slide: people connect with people. As PR professionals, communicators, and Mississippians, that’s at the heart of what we do every day.

We loved hearing Brett’s perspective and walking away with practical reminders that strong storytelling still wins! 🏆

Don’t miss tomorrow’s PRAM Central Chapter Meeting featuring Brett Kenyon, aka Papa Mississippi! We’ll be diving into storytelling, social media strategy and the algorithms behind engaging content from one of Mississippi’s most recognizable digital voices.

While online registration is now closed, we still welcome both members and guests to join us at the door😊

Doors open at 11:45 a.m.
717 Poplar Blvd in Jackson, MS

We’d love to see you there!

What do social media algorithms, Mississippi storytelling, and modern PR all have in common? Brett Kenyon.

Better known online as “Papa Mississippi,” Brett has built a loyal audience by creating content that feels authentic, engaging, and unmistakably local and now he’s sharing the strategy behind it at PRAM Central’s May chapter meeting.

Join us for a conversation on storytelling, social media trends, audience engagement, and how communicators can create content that actually resonates in today’s digital landscape.

If you work in PR, marketing, communications, or social media, you won’t want to miss this one.

Register now before it's too late at https://www.pramcentral.org/event-details-registration/may-chapter-meeting

Interested in social media, storytelling, and a world of algorithms? You're in luck!

Join us as social media star Brett Kenyon, better known as “Papa Mississippi,” shares how he’s built a highly engaged audience through storytelling, strategy, and understanding what actually works on social media today. From algorithm insights to content that connects, this is a session you won’t want to miss.

Whether you work in PR, marketing, social media, or communications, you’ll walk away with practical ideas you can start using immediately.

Register now before tickets sell out at https://www.pramcentral.org/event-details-registration/may-chapter-meeting