Howard University will host the 2012 National Black Public Relations Society (NBPRS) Conference and Career Fair, Oct. 25 – 28. The conference will provide four days of networking, training and honoring those who have paved the way for African Americans in the PR field.

The Washington chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMADC) is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. To mark this milestone, on Oct. 25, they will hold a gala 80th Anniversary Awards Celebration. This networking event, sponsored by AMADC and Washington Business Journal, will provide area marketers with a platform to showcase their work

The Baltimore ad community is presenting Baltimore Ad Week, Sept 18-20. All events for this year’s Baltimore Advertising Week, will be held at Pier 5 Hotel, 711 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. Although a number of sessions are still to be finalized, the first day features sessions on “Three Keys to Integrated Social Media”, “Media in the Digital Age” and “Mobile Marketing”.

Life Out Loud Films is seeking resumes from interested production staff and technical crew to work on an independent film with an anticipated shoot in Giles County, Virginia, this Fall. The film is based on best-selling author David Baldacci’s “Wish You Well.”

Genetic Alliance, a nonprofit health advocacy organization committed to transforming health through genetics, is partnering with Environics Communications to build national awareness for its “Baby’s First Test” program ... Rodney Ferguson is rejoining the D.C. office of Lipman Hearne ... and, The Borenstein Group received the Gold Stevie Award for Social Media Marketing App design in the 2012 International Business Awards.

Two great firms are teaming up to bring nonprofits one can’t-miss Capitol Communicator luncheon on Sept. 19. “The Story of You - Building an effective traditional and digital media strategy for nonprofits” is brought to you by Carousel30, one of DC’s first full-service digital agencies, and Susan Davis International (SDI), one of the nation’s premier full-service communications and public affairs firms.

If you know a woman who lives in the D.C. metropolitan area and is making a positive difference in the community, send in a nomination to WJLA-TV’s 18th annual "Toyota Tribute to Working Women" campaign.The deadline is Friday, Sept. 14.

Since the early 1960s, Ad 2 chapters across the nation have been providing pro-bono advertising and marketing campaigns to non-profit organizations in their communities. And, each year, local chapters select an organization, research the organization’s needs and author a complete marketing plan.  Ad 2 DC’s 2011-2012 campaign placed third nationally, providing Space Of Her Own with advertising, social media, public relations, fundraising and infrastructure support at no cost to SOHO.

Advertising Week DC, billed as "the region's largest and most diverse gathering of advertising, marketing, digital, technology, public affairs, social media, event marketing, and traditional media leaders," runs from Sept. 10-14. Now in its ninth year, ADWKDC celebrates the best of our industry with a week of networking, professional development, education, and parties! This year's Advertising Week DC theme is AWE ... as in awesome and awe-inspiring.

The 23rd annual Washington PR Woman of the Year luncheon is approaching and WWPR is seeking nominations for Washington PR Woman of the Year.  This annual award recognizes and promotes leading women in public relations who have impacted the profession through their leadership abilities, integrity and creativity.

With the approach of Advertising Week DC, which runs from Sept. 10-14, DC agencies were issued a challenge - have your most junior creative person dream up something that inspires AWE, the theme this year’s ADWKDC. At SmithGifford, their new junior art director, Alex Biles, was put on the case and dreamed up a number of fun ideas, but the big bold idea was "15 minutes to awe us."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women’s Health selected Hager Sharp as its health communication and website contractor ... Widmeyer Communications' Margaret Dunning and Nona Richardson are in the news .... and, MDB Communications moved.

The Carlyle Group, one of the biggest private equity firms in the world, plans to buy a controlling stake in the photo and video distributor Getty Images in a $3.3 billion deal that gives the Getty family and management a larger share of the company, reports the AP. The deal is expected to close later this year.

August, Lang & Husak collaborated with MRB Creative Content Studio’s Bryan Elsom to produce a 30-second TV spot touting PBS NewsHour’s extensive 2012 convention coverage. The spot, now running, conveys NewsHour’s storied depth of coverage -- walking viewers "behind the scenes and inside the action" to the convention floor.

A film production company is looking for extras and featured extras, as well as production assistants, for a feature film being shot in the Richmond area. The film, Coach of the Year, is described as an independent, kid-friendly, sports comedy based on “the inspiring true story of a rag tag swim team that tries to win a state championship—without a pool to practice in!”  Over 300 swimmer extras and 15 – 20 speaking roles will be used in the production.

“Ping Pong Summer” will begin six weeks of filming in Ocean City in September. The coming-of-age comedy, which is written and will be directed by Maryland native Michael Tully, is set in Ocean City during the 1980’s and is based on Tully’s annual vacations to the beach.  The film’s cast includes Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”, “Thelma and Louise”, “Bull Durham”); Amy Sedaris (“Strangers with Candy”, “The Good Wife”); and John Hannah (“The Mummy”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”).

There's some new racial intrigue in the unlikeliest of places: the awarding of D.C. government advertising contracts, reports Washington City Paper. According to a City Paper piece, the controversy centers around a contract to advertise unclaimed property that's been awarded to the Washington Times. Washington Informer publisher Denise Rolark Barnes claims her paper was denied a chance at the contract by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer because her paper's coverage centers on Washington's black residents

Join a free BurrellesLuce webcast, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 11:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M., when Scott H. Cytron, a frequent speaker on growth strategies and organizational communications, including using social media for business building and retention, will discuss how to maintain client satisfaction.

The Virginia Film Festival has announced a call for entries  for its upcoming festival, and filmmakers are invited to submit features, documentaries and short films. Festival staff has made a commitment to supporting Virginia filmmakers, and want quality films from across the state. All Virginia residents and students at Virginia schools can submit their work for free.

Gold Medalist Katie Ledecky visited WTOP radio this week (and is shown with Program Director Laurie Cantillo) as well as other media outlets following her return from the Olympics in London.   According to www.dcrtv.com, the July monthly radio ratings for DC, full-day, age 12+, show WTOP in first place in DC; while WWIN-FM came in first in Baltimore.

There’s a new creative group in DC, and they want to connect women. The DC chapter of She Says, an award-winning mentoring and networking organization for women in creative industries, held its kick-off event at Edelman DC on July 31. Visionaries define creativity in many different ways, and how they motivate others to share their ideas often takes additional creativity. The panel, shown above, included

Four years ago, Razia Jan, right in photo, opened a school for girls in a rural village in Afghanistan, despite threats and acts of violence. On Aug. 3, CNN highlighted Razia’s accomplishments by naming her a CNN Hero. Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of women and children in Afghanistan through community-based education at the Zabuli Education Center.

According to the Washington Post Company, revenue for the first six months of 2012 was $1,979.4 million, down 6% from $2,103.2 million in the first six months of 2011. Revenues were down at the education and newspaper publishing divisions, while revenues were up at the television broadcasting and cable television divisions.

DPR Group announced that Protech Associates selected the agency for PR/marketing services ... ADG Creative reports a number of new projects ... Weitzman Agency has been selected by Ginger Cove as agency of record ... Qorvis Communications added D. Archibald Smart  ... Read More »

There’s been a “cesspool of layoffs and resignations” at CQ Roll Call, stated Betsy Rothstein of Mediabistro’s FishbowlDC. The changes follow an announcement that CQ Roll Call, which produces a variety of publications including CQ Weekly, CQ Today and Roll Call, will consolidate its brand into one daily print publication and lay off up to 30 employees.

The Citi Open tennis tournament taking place in D.C. this week features the skills of a number of professional tennis players – and also features the voice of stadium announcer Charlie Brotman. You might wonder why Brotman’s involvement deserves a mention, and the answer is that he’s been involved for 43 years

The Washington Post Company has divested its interest in Avenue100 Media Solutions to a management group. Avenue100 Media Solutions is an analytics-based performance marketing company that helps institutions acquire qualified customers, states the company’s website.  Its flagship site, CourseAdvisor.com, was founded in 2004 by a group of entrepreneurs and alumni from MIT and the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.

The D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development announced that Robin Smith, Emmy award-winning filmmaker and founder of Video/Action, is their August 2012 Filmmaker of the Month. Smith began her career more than 35 years ago with the production of a documentary about her father, a Marine Corps fighter pilot who was declared missing in action when his plane was shot down over Vietnam in 1969. CBS ultimately bought rights to the film. She began her producing career, first in New York City with Charles Kuralt on CBS News Sunday Morning, and later

The Public Relations Society of America - National Capital Chapter (PRSA-NCC) will celebrate the talent and innovation in Washington public relations professionals at its 44th annual Thoth Awards Gala occurring on Thursday, September 13, 6 - 9 p.m., at the National Press Club.

SmithGifford in Falls Church added Jason Henricksen as associate creative director ... Abel Communications in Baltimore announced the addition of Jessica Epperly as senior publicist ... and, ADG|Creative in Columbia reports a number of staff additions.