Representatives of 9 Faith Groups to Lead Religion Communicators Council in 2008-09

CHANTILLY, Va., April 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Communicators from nine faith groups are leading the nation's oldest public relations association for the coming year.

Members of the Religion Communicators Council, founded in 1929, elected 2008-09 officers today during their 79th annual convention. The slate included members of seven Christian denominations, a Muslim and a Hare Krishna.

    New officers are:
    --  President: Douglas F. Cannon, APR, communications and public witness
        director, Southwest Texas Conference, United Methodist Church, San
        Antonio, Texas.

    --  Vice president: Anuttama Dasa, director of communications,
        International Society of Krishna Consciousness, Washington, D.C.

    --  Treasurer: Deb Christian, director of customer relations, UMR
        Communications, Dallas.

    --  Secretary: Brian R. Gray, APR, National Catholic Education
        Association, Washington, D.C.

    --  Past president: Philip Poole, APR, executive director of university
        communications, Samford University, Birmingham, Ala.


    Newly elected members of the board of governors are:
    --  Paul Black, director of communication ministries, Illinois Great
        Rivers Conference, United Methodist Church, Springfield, Ill.

    --  Sandra Brands, director of communications, Troy Conference, United
        Methodist Church, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

    --  Janice Rizzo, editor, Seeds of the Parish, Evangelical Lutheran Church
        in America, Chicago.

    --  Donn J. Tilson, APR, associate professor of public relations,
        University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla.


    Continuing members of the board of governors are:
    --  Mohamed ElSanousi, director of communications and community outreach,
        Islamic Society of North America, Washington, D.C.

    --  Cindy Feldman, Des Moines, Iowa.

    --  Danette Griffith, senior writer, Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa.
        Polly House, corporate communications, Lifeway Christian Resources,
        Nashville, Tenn.

    --  Shirley Paulson, Christian Science lecturer, Evanston, Ill.
        Susan E. Jackson-Dowd, communications coordinator, Presbyterian Women,
        Louisville, Ky.

    --  John R. Spangler, executive assistant to the president for
        communication and planning, Lutheran Seminary, Gettysburg, Pa.

    --  Amelia Tucker-Shaw, resource consultant, United Methodist
        Communications, Nashville, Tenn.

The council is an interfaith association of nearly 600 communicators working for faith-related organizations in print and electronic communication, marketing, and public relations. For more information about the council, visit www.religioncommunicators.org .