About NSPRA
Author: Alyssa Teribury/Monday, December 15, 2025/Categories: News
When state chapters talk about revitalization, the Sunshine State School Public Relations Association (SUNSPRA) has become a model of what’s possible: a chapter that moved from stagnation to statewide influence in just a few years.
Their turnaround didn’t hinge on luck. It came from intentional leadership, strategic partnerships and a shared belief that Florida’s school communicators needed each other more than ever.
Two leaders were at the heart of this effort: immediate past president Katherine Crnkovich, APR, and longtime treasurer and former president Kevin Christian, APR.
SUNSPRA has supported Florida’s school PR professionals for nearly 50 years. But like many chapters, it hit a difficult stretch of leadership turnover, dwindling capacity and the intense pressures of pandemic-era crisis response.
“COVID basically tanked the SPRA,” Crnkovich said. “We were running day-to-day crisis operations—moving districts online, shifting to hybrid instruction, responding to rapidly changing parent sentiment. We didn’t have time to run a chapter.”
By the time Crnkovich assumed the presidency, SUNSPRA had several areas ready for rebuilding:
“There was no structure,” she said. “We had to resurrect it.”
Christian saw the same reality: “We needed a reset—something that allowed us to modernize, be relevant again and reconnect with the people doing this work across the state.”
That moment—seeing the gap clearly—became the turning point.
“Instead of accepting the decline as permanent,” Crnkovich said, “we rebuilt the chapter piece by piece.”
SUNSPRA’s reboot didn’t start with an event or a marketing campaign. It started with research.
“You cannot build a chapter if you don’t know who your people are,” Crnkovich said. “In some places, the ‘communications department’ was just the superintendent. In others, you couldn’t even find a communication contact on the website.”
She rebuilt the contact list district by district with help from statewide partners like the Florida School Boards Association.
Once the picture was clearer, SUNSPRA surveyed communicators, superintendents and school board members to understand what they needed from the chapter, whether they were members of SUNSPRA or NSPRA and what types of professional learning and networking would be most valuable.
“It’s important to survey your membership: what do they want?” Crnkovich said. “If they say ‘crisis communication,’ we build a coffee conversation or hot topics panel around that. Sometimes people just need space to talk about what’s working and what’s not.”
Those insights also fueled two rounds of bylaws overhauls as the chapter modernized its structure and codified new board roles.
Christian was a key thought partner in this phase: “We needed clear expectations, clear roles, something future boards could actually follow.”
Because of the pandemic, dues had quietly lapsed—and some members assumed the chapter had folded entirely. Rather than start by charging fees, SUNSPRA made a deliberate choice: lead with value.
“I’ll be honest, we gave a lot away,” Crnkovich said. “We still provide webinars and resources that aren’t just for SUNSPRA members. We wanted to build the value proposition and give people tools to help them do their jobs well.”
Only after consistent programming had returned did SUNSPRA reintroduce dues:
“They need to really see: how much are we charging people, and does that fit with the budget situation and the current picture of public education in the state?” she said. “You’re probably not going to get rich that way. You have to get them in the door and then give them the value to keep them there.”
The strategy worked. Membership grew from 27 to around 120—enough to retire the spreadsheets and move to a membership platform.
Christian put it simply: “You want people to join because they feel served, not because they feel obligated.”
A pivotal moment came when SUNSPRA pursued a partnership with ParentSquare.
SUNSPRA needed support to bring back in-person professional development—without creating financial barriers for members. ParentSquare, meanwhile, was looking to deepen its presence in Florida.
“Others told us we were crazy for asking for that kind of money,” Crnkovich said. “But we needed to put ourselves back on the map.”
ParentSquare believed in that vision. Their investment allowed SUNSPRA to reintroduce high-quality programming and rebuild momentum. With their support, SUNSPRA:
“We didn’t make money on that conference,” Crnkovich said. “But we created an opportunity to show our value and let people come see for themselves that SUNSPRA was back.”
Christian underscored the impact: “That funding allowed us to do things that had not been done in decades.”
And the in-kind support was equally transformative.
"I would absolutely recommend chapters to ask partners for access to their tools,” Crnkovich added. “You can use them for polls, newsletters, conference updates… it’s been a game changer.”
ParentSquare was the beginning. SUNSPRA also strengthened relationships with the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA), the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS), the Florida Association of School Administrators (FASA) and the state’s finance officers—opening doors for co-branded campaigns, shared visibility and statewide influence. Christian highlighted just how critical those relationships are: “If you can have a seat at their table, it elevates you. When school board members and superintendents from across the state are in the room for your awards, you couldn’t buy that level of visibility.”
These partnerships positioned SUNSPRA to lead statewide messaging campaigns that lifted up public education—cementing the chapter’s role as Florida’s trusted voice for school communication.
With clear intel from surveys and new partnerships, SUNSPRA redesigned its programming for consistency, relevance and predictability.
“It was really important for us to bring back programming—something structured, something predictable,” Crnkovich said.
Christian added, “Sometimes people don’t need a sit-and-get—they need the conversation. They need to hear how other districts navigated something tough.”
SUNSPRA’s conference—initially a one-day event—has since grown into a day-and-a-half program with two nights, mixing:
“You don’t have to start big,” Crnkovich said. “But you do have to start.”
Rebuilding SUNSPRA’s awards program was not simply about plaques and ceremonies. It was a deliberate strategy to reinforce the strategic value of school communications work.
Crnkovich emphasized the importance of meaningful recognition. “We wanted to elevate the way we celebrate the work happening in Florida districts,” she said. “Providing high-quality plaques—something people can take back and proudly display—helps reinforce the strategic value of school communication and the professionalism of our field.”
The chapter revived their Medallion Awards, maintained long-standing honors like their Superintendent Communicator of the Year (pictured at right) and the Margie Davidson Leading Light Award, and added a School Communicator of the Year recognition.
The results went beyond good feelings. The awards helped elevate the communications function in districts, build pride and visibility for members, and reinforce SUNSPRA’s role as a standard-bearer for strong school communication.
“It was a great way to underscore the importance of what they do,” Christian said.
SUNSPRA’s leaders are quick to credit NSPRA as a crucial ally in their rebuilding efforts.
“That’s the great thing about having a parent organization that is so supportive,” Crnkovich said. “Since I took over, we’ve had to redo our bylaws twice. We’ve leaned on NSPRA for guidance and on the national speakers who come to Seminar.”
Not every national topic aligns perfectly with Florida’s unique communication landscape, she noted, but the fundamentals translate everywhere.
“Being able to tap national experts, including NSPRA leaders and well-known communication professionals who came to our conferences, often at no additional cost, was invaluable,” she said.
For SUNSPRA, NSPRA is more than a logo. It is a pipeline for ideas, speakers and validation that what they are building in Florida aligns with national best practice. That validation included SUNSPRA earning NSPRA's annual Mark of Distinction (pictured at right) for exemplary chapters in 2024 and 2025.
The chapter also embraced a simple but powerful leadership philosophy: ask people directly.
As Christian put it, “If you need a treasurer, ask somebody. If you need a secretary, ask somebody. The worst they can do is say no—and then you’re right where you were. If they say yes, it’s all the better.”
Ultimately, SUNSPRA’s leaders emphasize that revival is rarely about perfection. It is about clarity, purpose and service.
“For us, it’s not about the number of members; it’s about the quality of membership,” Crnkovich said. “Are we serving families well? Are we serving K-12 public education well? That matters more than a number on a spreadsheet.”
Behind SUNSPRA’s comeback is a board culture grounded in clarity, stamina and joy.
“Some people chase titles because it looks good on a résumé,” Crnkovich said. “We don’t have space for that. Anyone serving in an official role has to have the stamina to be a working board member.”
To make the work sustainable, SUNSPRA added board roles including a vice president of marketing, outreach and sponsorships, a vice president of member services and an expanded immediate past president role focused on professional development.
“We created places for people to shine where they are,” she said. “The key is to find the right people, make sure they understand their roles and keep it fun. Get along. Like each other. We’re all in the same trench—let’s battle it together, arm in arm.”
Christian agrees: “You have to keep it fun. We all do the same dull, mundane things other chapters do. We just try to do it in a fun way. And we genuinely like each other.”
That culture extends to new members as well. Feedback from first-time attendees consistently notes how approachable and welcoming the SUNSPRA community feels—no cliques, no insider-only circles.
“If you’re doing it for the wrong reasons, it’s probably always going to fail,” Crnkovich said. “If you’re doing it for the right reasons… you’re going to win. No matter what.”
For SUNSPRA, success is not measured solely in membership numbers. It is measured in connection, support and staying power in hard moments.
“I now know there are people I can call anywhere in Florida, any time, if I’m dealing with a lot,” Crnkovich said. “Kevin’s my personal mentor. I can call him anytime to talk through an issue. Our other members have that now, too. They’ve built those connections through SUNSPRA.”
It is, at its core, a professional lifeline.
SUNSPRA’s journey shows that revitalizing a chapter isn’t about perfection, prestige or a dramatic overhaul. It’s about clarity, consistency and the courage to start where you are. It’s about leaders who are willing to ask hard questions, rebuild trust and create space for connection in a profession that can feel isolating.
Most importantly, it’s a reminder that when communicators come together with intention and purpose, they can rebuild something stronger than what existed before. For chapters ready to begin—or begin again—SUNSPRA’s path offers a practical blueprint.
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