The National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), a professional public relations association with nearly 1,500 members in the D.C. metro region, has established a Loudoun-Fairfax Committee to focus the networking group's more specifically in Northern Virginia.

Marketing Manager for the Loudoun Department of Economic Development Lois Kirkpatrick helped spearhead the National Capital Chapter's reach into Loudoun County and will chair the Loudoun-Fairfax committee.

“D.C. has the largest PRSA chapter in the nation ... but most of them live outside the city. For breakfast workshops in particular, it will be much more convenient for those members to meet in eastern Loudoun or western Fairfax,” Kirkpatrick said in a statement.

Loudoun County and western Fairfax serve as hubs for big-name firms AOL, Raytheon, Orbital, Verizon Business, Nortel, ManTech, RagingWire and Volkswagen, all of which have marketing or public relations staff.

The Loudoun-Fairfax committee will host a launch event July 17 at the new Alamo Drafthouse in the One Loudoun mixed-use development in Ashburn. Carrying the internationally-recognized “Ignite” banner, the event will feature eight presenters showcasing "five-minute Power Point presentations about their life's passion."

A fast-paced networking event featuring public relations, communications and marketing professionals, “Ignite” events have been held in more than 100 cities around the world.

“We recognize that as our membership has grown, it has also expanded into the suburban areas of greater Washington, and those members need professional development opportunities and networking closer to their homes and offices,” Samantha Villegas, president of the PRSA National Capital Chapter, said.


Anyone interested in serving on the Loudoun-Fairfax PRSA Committee or partnering with the committee can contact Kirkpatrick at 703-737-8385 or by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

People interested in being a presenter at the “Ignite” event can email Diane Noe at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Tickets for the event are $25 for PRSA members and $30 for nonmembers, with dinner included and beverages available for sale.