This paper is a summary of the internship undertaken in the City of Canning Council.

It also discusses the PR activities implemented by the City Councils Public Affairs Division. Overview In February 1987, the first Canning Road Board was elected. It governed until 1907 and when the district was divided, the area was formed as a municipality and the Queens Park Municipal Council came into existence .During the twentieth century, Canning grew from a semi rural district into a becoming part of the metropolitan area of Perth. In 1961, the district became the Shire of Canning, the shire then became a town in 1971 and ultimately the City of Canning in 1979. Vision/Mission The City of Canning is a local government organization in Western Australia. It is one of the most progressive local authorities in the state. For almost fifteen years, it has continually worked towards the highest standards of accountability by implementing a strategic plan. The city encourages community input, building a strong relationship between the community and the council, the members and staff to ensure an open and responsible government. It operates based on the principle that there should be ongoing and continuous improvement in the services provided to the people. In lieu of this, the City determines a set of standards referred to as Strategic Policies that will test its performance. Fundamentally, these standards represent the Citys commitment in fulfilling the key values of the organization. Organizational Chart Chief Executive Officer

Dominic Carbone

Public Affairs Services

Human Resource Services

Information Technology Services

Orderly Services

Real Estate Services

Executive Engineering & Technical Services

Executive Finance & Client Services

Executive Strategic & Regulatory Services

Executive Community Services Library Services Community Recreation Facilities& Program Disability, Youth & Family Service

Engineering Services Engineering Works Services Parks & Streetscape Services Property Services Waste Services

Accounting Services Rate & Client Services Record Mngt Services Customer Services Data Processing

Planning Services

Building Services

Environmental & Health Services

Aged care Service

Plant & Equipment PR Duties and Responsibilities

Patrol & Security

Generally, the PR officer is responsible for planning and conducting public relations activities that are designed to maintain and reinforce the favorable image of the City council. He develops the dissemination of information to keep the public informed of the programs, projects and accomplishments of the organization. All aspects of public information such as newsletters, media releases and events are entrusted to the Public Affairs Division. At present, there is only one PR officer that oversees the PR activities of the Council. The responsibilities are as follows

Write, edit and arrange print materials such as newsletters, media releases, pamphlets and brochures Produce articles for the Councils official newsletter called the Canning Letter for the 30,000 residents on a monthly basis Assist in the preparation of organizational documents such as annual reports and budget Write speeches and make public presentations Manage the production of visual and audio materials including the management of an internet website Organize special events. The PR officer usually organizes the New Year Celebration and is currently working in preparation for the 2008 celebration Seek sponsorships from various organizations to support the council s activities such as the proposed opening of the theatre next year Support the Council Members of their bulk mailings Evaluate the organizations communication activities and propose future actions

The Public Relation officer is a central figure contributing significantly in maintaining the strength of the council and its prestige. This division is responsible for many important roles within the council which includes helping to build closer relationships with the community. But the most important task is to present the best image of the Council. Contribution of PR to the Organization Publicity provides the organization with a systematic way of telling others about itself. In this sense, Public Relations contribute in establishing the image and maintaining the prestige of the organization. It also help the organization determine what it must do to gain the will of other people, plans the ways to do it and implements the activities to achieve it. This entire process encompasses a series of functions and techniques including the range of activities in public affairs. Summary of Work

The internship I had at the City of Canning is a great learning experience. I had the opportunity to participate in their PR activities and assist in accomplishing them. The actual work in Public Relations gave me a new perspective on the nature of the profession. Although my tasks were limited to writing speeches and preparing media releases I was able to see the complexities of the job. Week One During the first week of my internship, I was tasked to write a media release about the celebration of one century with the formation of the Queens Park in January 25 th 1907. I have to read voluminous amount of information to come up the media release. One of the books I read was F. G. Cardens Along the Canning A History of the City of Canning Western Australia. I have successfully completed the assignment and provided several ideas for my supervisor. Aside from this, I also had to read some valuable information regarding our sponsors. The City of Canning was seeking support from different organizations to sponsor their theater opening set in February or March of 2008. The projected budget needed for the opening is at 100,000 and the PR division aims to generate this amount through sponsorships. The PR did not fail in its attempt and a number of generous sponsors contributed to complete the needed amount. Healthyways and Lottery West both agreed to contribute 20,000. Another sponsor pledge to give 10,000 and two other sponsors contributed 5,000 each. Finally, five sponsors will grant 2500 each. The support given by these sponsors made it possible to pursue the project and so we thought of giving them something in return as a token of appreciation. My task then was to provide suggestions on what we can give them based on the contributions they made. Week Two On my second week, I was assigned to produce a media release regarding the celebration of one century. Again, I have to read a lot of information to write about. The media release was intended to inform the community of upcoming event. The Council also hopes to coordinate with the family members of first elected councilors of the Queens Park. The media release was then intended for this purpose. Week Three This week I got in charge of writing a news story article. The news story was about the award received by the City of Canning. It was the Excellence Award for Innovative Practice in Traffic Safety and Management given by the Institute of Public Works Engineering in Australia. The news article is aimed at promoting the accomplishments of the council. It also shows that the suggestions from the community residents are taken into consideration when implementing projects. This news story was included on the official newsletter of the City of Canning. Aside from the news story, I also did an article about a resident of the city. The Council is planning to award him as a tribute for his contributions in the local community. Week Four

In week four I was asked to assist in doing quotations which are supposed to be sent to some organizations. Over the past five years, the city has been hosting the New Year celebration and it will do so gain in 2008. My task was to make necessary adjustments on the letters from previous years and check them for any mistake. In addition to this, I had to change some information and replace them with the new data. I have also written a request letter for one of the supplier to provide a quote. Lastly, I assisted with the Mayors photo opportunities with environment volunteers. Week Five For this week I was tasked to prepare a speech for the Mayor. The speech is about the council signing a memorandum of understanding with the following parties

Swan TAFE Collage Castledare Miniature Railways OF WA Wilson Wetlands Action Group

The speech needs to reflect the character of the Mayor so it was a tough task for me. I also had some difficulties writing the speech due to the lack of familiarity as to how Westerners do their speeches and the differences between writing speeches for them and the Middle Eastern people. Although the task was hard, I managed to accomplish it and learned ways of writing speeches for Western people. For this week, I was again tasked to prepare a speech for the Mayor. The speech will be delivered at the Cluster Accommodation for disabled children in celebration of their tenth founding anniversary. The event will be attended by some government officials as well as the parents of the children and residents

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