News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Jennifer Phillips
Public Relations Senior
(716) 785-1077
jphillips2@fredonia.edu

Ann Carden, APR, Fellow PRSA

Associate Professor, Communications
(716) 673-3822
Ann.Carden@fredonia.edu

SUNY FREDONIA PUBLIC RELATIONS STUDENTS SELECT COUNTY

ORGANIZATIONS FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERS PROGRAM
FREDONIA, N.Y. (Feb. 18, 2014) SUNY Fredonia President Virginia Horvath announced
today that the seniors within its Public Relations Capstone course have chosen Chautauqua Rails
to Trails and Greystone Nature Preserve as the two organizations they will support during their
2014 Community Partners Program.
This project highlights the positive contributions SUNY Fredonia students make to the
local community, said Dr. Horvath. Chautauqua Rails to Trails and Greystone Nature Preserve
exemplify the pure beauty of Chautauqua County. This year the students have a chance to do
more than just help these organizations grow; they have a chance to preserve some of the greatest
areas in the county as well.
The announcement was made earlier today during a news conference hosted by the
seniors in the Williams Center at SUNY Fredonia. The organizations were chosen from 16
applicants, which is the largest amount of applications the program has received since it began in
2001. This is also Fredonias largest class of public relations students to work on the project,
marking the fourth straight year of record enrollment.
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Community Partners Program Page 2

The Community Partners Program is an annual project of the public relations major
capstone course, Public Relations Campaigns. Students divide into groups which act as mini
public relations agencies and develop comprehensive strategic plans for local, nonprofit
organizations. At the end of the semester, each student group pitches its campaign, which
includes research, goals, objectives, strategies, tactics and creative materials, to their assigned
client. Both organizations will be given all of groups materials and recommendations, however,
at the end of the project, to aid them in further implementation.
In addition to preserving 71 acres of land in Chautauqua County, Greystone Nature
Preserve provides experiential education to community members of all ages and abilities. Its
mission is to welcome all community members to experience, enjoy and appreciate the natural
world, while also fostering the natural environment around them. Greystone offers a mixture of
spectacular landscapes and walking trails, as well as a panoramic view of Lake Erie. Greystone
Nature Preserve has done activities with local schools, home-schooling groups, The Resource
Center, Hospice, and individuals alike to give community members a hands-on education on the
importance of nature and the beauty of the Chautauqua County.
Chautauqua Rails to Trails also aims to preserve the beautiful, picturesque countryside of
Chautauqua County. Its mission is to acquire, develop, manage and maintain multipurpose
recreational trails for public use on or near unused and abandoned railroad corridors. Currently it
maintains over 30 miles of trails and owns approximately 26 of those miles. Rails to Trails offers
a safe place for people to obtain exercise and enjoy nature while hiking, biking, running,
horseback riding, cross country skiing and much more. The trails provide public access through
scenic woodlands, wetlands and flowering meadows, which offer trail users unparalleled
opportunities to experience the heart of Chautauqua County.
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Community Partners Program Page 3

For more information on the Community Partners Program and this years nonprofit
partners, please visit www.fredonia.edu/department/communication/cpp.asp, or contact Ann
Carden, associate professor, at ann.carden@fredonia.edu.
SUNY Fredonia educates, challenges, and inspires students to become skilled, connected,
creative, and responsible global citizens and professionals. The university enriches the world
through scholarship, artistic expression, community engagement, and entrepreneurship. It is a
comprehensive, public, liberal arts university that offers bachelors and masters degrees and
advanced certificate programs.
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