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WIT; pithy: “Women Involved! How to write an effective press release One of the most difficult tasks assigned to any Wl member is that of Public Relations Officer. The reason for that is simple: few of the women entrusted with this enormous responsibility have had training as a journalist or public relations expert. As a result. the majority don't know how to write a press release that gets to the heart of the matter. without including infor- mation that most newspapers con- sider irrelevant. In other words. if your branch has just donated $500 to a local play- ground. your press release should begin with that information and not who poured tea at the last meeting. We hope the following guidelines will aSsist you in the writing of a press release that will present your WI hraneh‘s achievements to the comâ€" munity in the best possible light. How to write a press release press release is a common way to send information to the media. it can tell of an upcoming meeting or special event and can easily be made interesting and ex» citing by following these steps: I. if you‘re a novice at writing press releases, write down everything that could possibly be said. in‘ cluding all the fullest details. . Choose the facts that answer WHO. WHAT, WHEN. WHERE. WHY and HOW. Arrange them in short sentences with active verbs. IQ Use lots of verbs and few adjecâ€" tires. 3. Develop a catchy opening. The first sentence or two are the most important ones. 4. Keep your press release to one page of typing. Throw away those extra. unnecessary details before you put them in. Have someone read it Over and give suggestions. . Check and doublccheck your press release for grammar. spelling. punctuation and accuracy, Ur There are some other points you should keep in mind before sending the press release to the media. ()h- viously. if you send ii iii covered uitli ink blotches and on a piece of cruma pied paper. your chances of having the release used are lessened. Remem- ber to: ' type or print (very clearly). double-spaced. â€" use only one side of the sheet and use wide margins. â€" put the name of your organiza- tion; your name. address and telephone iiunthcr: and the telephone number of another officer in the upper Icfiahand corner of the tint sheet. 7 begin to type 1 3 of the way down the first sheet. This spticc at the top of the first sheet is for the headline. the editor's instructions and perhaps it re- \\'ritc of the first fen sentences. (the editor \\ ill sm‘tic‘tltltc‘s rc- \\'ritc if he or she thinks the same story has been sent to other papers.) â€" don't split north at the uni ol lines. titir sentences lit the end of pages. Try to end with cont» pletc paragraphs. 7 if more llltlll DllL' page is llk'L‘tJ' ed for the press release put tMURl‘) ill the bottom of tlit‘ lirst \huc1 tintl iiiintlit‘r Ilit' lul lowing sheets. i lollowint.I pages should also litt‘ic the ritinic til ll'lL'ngiltll/il- tion and release date at the top. The woods would be silent if only best birds sang (continued from page 8) nuclear arms; the disallowance of sex offenders to be allowed parole or mandatory supervision; tighter restric- tions on pornography; the prohibition of pornography on T.V.; the endorse- ment of Agriculture Canada's seed preservation policy; and the restora- tion of full indexing of old age security in Canada. Results of Tweedsmuir Competitions In the first section under history. the name ofthe competition was Peo- Ple Who Put My Community on the Map. First prize went to Orwell WI of Prince Edward island. Second prize went to North Shuswat Wt of British Columbia. Third prim went to Woolwich Ever Faithful WI of Ontario. In the needlepoint category. first prize went to Lynne Hobley. of Man- itoba. second prize Mrs. E. Jenkins of Ontario. third prize to Maisic Hanna of Saskatchewan. tn the cultural category. which was an essay. first prize went to Audrey E. Howard of Munson. Alberta. sci;- ond prize to Mrs. H. Viola Clark of Markdolc. ()ttlnriti. third pri/c went to Mrs. I“. Jean Reilly. \Vcsl l€ntl Branch. ()iiturio. Winners of the ('airinc Wilson for their house log â€" lirsi pri/e went to Eileen Broke. second pri/c to lean Payne and tliitd pri/u to Millcy John son. The winner of the lne/ lJL-rhy Scholarship was .luditlt Mills of New- foundland and winner of the Hazel Stiles Scholarship Went to Elizabeth Smith of Pine Lake. Alhcrta. Rena Cunningham is the public relations officer for PW“).