West of England

The South West is a great place to live and work. So it's no surprise that our CIPR Group is so vibrant, with members from across the region and from many industry sectors.

Help us do more for you in 2012

I am just finishing my plan for CIPR West of England for the coming year. The main focus is on making CIPR membership meaningful in the region, and we've already started to do this by providing low cost events on the topics you have suggested. But to really do this, I need your help.

We have some great speakers and themes for events, but are keen to have venues outside of Bristol, especially in Exeter and Taunton, as well as in Plymouth and Wiltshire. If you have a venue that we could use for free (or at a very low cost) outside of Bristol, please get in touch at ciprwestofengland@gmail.com.

Join us at Goldbrick House for AGM

I will be presenting my plans for the region in full at our AGM. This is taking place at Bristol's Goldbrick House on Tuesday 28 February. If you have ideas or simply want to meet other members, we would love to see you. Places are limited, so for more information or to book a place, please email our Group Secretary Sylvie.Pender@mccann.com. If you are not a member, but would like to come along, you can join us for the presentation from CIPR CEO Jane Wilson – just contact Sylvie to book your place.

Freshly Squeezed in Gloucestershire

We're delighted to announce that our next Freshly Squeezed breakfast event will be held in Gloucestershire. It will take place on Friday 24 February at the Renaissance Restaurant, Gloucestershire College, Cheltenham Campus.

Following his recent sellout talk in Bristol, Aren Grimshaw will once again be looking at 'Getting Social Strategically'. For more information, please see our News page.

Five CIPR CPD points are available for anyone attending this event, which starts at 7.45am.

Tickets cost just £5 for members and £10 for non-members (payable on the day). Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. To secure your place at the event, please email ciprwestofengland@gmail.com.

2012 Conference set for 17 May

Please make a note in your diary regarding our annual South West Communicators' Conference which will be held in central Bristol (at a location close to the railway and bus stations for easy access, with lots of free parking) on Thursday 17 May.

The theme for the conference will be 'Reputation' and we are just confirming our two headline speakers as I write. Please follow us on twitter for more information and keep checking the website, as booking will open online in March!

Watch out for other upcoming events on our Events and News pages.

And please do continue to send any thoughts or ideas you have to me - it's always great to hear from you.

All best wishes