From left: Caleb Yarbrough, Lea Whitlock, Mary DeLoney-Logan, Sandra McGrew and Kerri Nettles.
Central Arkansas has five more communications professionals certified with Accreditation in Public Relations, according to the Arkansas Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
Mary DeLoney-Logan, Sandra McGrew, Kerri Nettles, Lea Whitlock and Caleb Yarbrough were honored with their APR pins in a ceremony April 21 at the Red & Blue Events Venue in Little Rock. The PRSA described the accreditation as the “gold standard” in the PR industry, with most candidates requiring more than five years of experience or a bachelor’s degree in a communications field. Candidates present a portfolio to panelists as a test of readiness to take an exam by computer administered by the Universal Accreditation Board.
DeLoney-Logan is the marketing and communications specialist for Cromwell Architects Engineers Inc. with strong experience in marketing, communications, journalism, advertising and PR. A University of Central Arkansas graduate in journalism and public relations, she is also president-elect of the Junior League of Little Rock.
McGrew is director of external relations for the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, overseeing the health policy center’s strategic communication efforts. She has two decades of communications experience. After starting her career as a broadcast journalist, she worked for the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office and was editor of Little Rock Soireé, an Arkansas Business Publishing Group magazine. She also did PR and content marketing work for Ghidotti Communications. A journalism graduate of Harding University. McGrew is on the executive board of Friends of Central Arkansas Public Radio.
Nettles is senior community and public relations coordinator at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, working media relations and helping implement community outreach programs and social media planning and strategy. She previously was director of public relations and community engagement at Goodwill Industries of Arkansas and executive producer/managing editor at THV11, the Little Rock CBS affiliate. A journalism graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, she earned a Mid-America Emmy Award for the news special “Lives Forever Change: The West Memphis Murders.”
Whitlock is PR manager for the Little Rock advertising agency Stone Ward, leading teams that put together creative public relations strategies for businesses and nonprofits. She earned a bachelor’s in public relations from the University of Central Arkansas and is certified in crisis communication management through the Institute for Crisis Management. She also serves on committees for Arkansas Community Foundation and Home For Healing.
Yarbrough, a strategic communications expert for more than a decade, is public relations account manager for CJRW, the Little Rock advertising agency. He previously spent eight years in religious journalism and communications, publishing in regional and national publications and winning multiple awards for writing and photography. He has a bachelor’s in journalism and history from the University of Georgia and a Master of Science in strategic communications from Arkansas State University.
About 40% of the PRSA Arkansas chapter members are accredited, ranking it among the highest chapters in APR-to-member ratios. The PRSA has 111 chapters across the nation, according to APR Chair Keli Jacobi, a lecturer in public relations at the University of Central Arkansas and founder of GenXMarketing LLC.
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