Elevate Next

ELEVATED NEWS just won a 2026 SPRF Lantern Award. 🏮

At the Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF)'s "PR Roots" Conference in Tuscaloosa, our monthly newsletter — ELEVATED NEWS: Building Community Through Monthly Business and Marketing Insights — earned the Lantern Award, the program's top honor, in the Advertising & Publications category.

SPRF entries are judged by PR practitioners outside the region on the comprehensive research, planning, implementation, and evaluation (RPIE) process — so this recognizes not just how the newsletter looks, but how it's planned, produced, and measured.

Thank you to the Emerald Coast Public Relations Organization, ECPRO for a valuable membership program, support, and encouragement; to SPRF for the recognition; and, most of all, to every reader who opens ELEVATED NEWS each month. You're the reason we publish it!

Not on the list yet? Subscribe: www.elevated-news.com/subscribe

Hispanic Heritage Month began yesterday and runs through Oct. 15.

The significance of the dates comes from the independence days: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all declared independence from Spain on Sept. 15, 1821. Mexico's is Sept. 16. Chile's is Sept. 18. Belize's is Sept. 21.

The observance began as a one-week observance in 1968 and grew into a full month, mandated by the U.S. Congress, in 1988.

New Pew Research data shows how broad the "Hispanic" category is: 70.1 million people in the U.S. as of 2025, with roots in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central America, South America, and other Spanish-speaking nations.

More than half describe themselves first by country of origin — Mexican American, Cuban American, Salvadoran American — before reaching for a broader label.

Two local ways to celebrate: Gallery Night's "Viva Pensacola" Latino Festival on Sept. 18 in downtown Pensacola, and the Hispanic Heritage Festival on Oct. 4 in Fort Walton Beach.

🗓️ Both are on our Elevated Experience calendar ➡ https://www.elevate-next.com/events

🦞 Fewer lobsters. Same warming ocean conditions. Very different outcomes.

I recently returned from my annual Florida Keys lobster trip with a smaller catch than usual — and a business lesson I didn't expect. 1,500 miles north in Maine, lobster fisheries are booming in that same warming water.

The difference wasn't luck. It's regulation, resilience, and whether businesses tell their story or just quietly do the right thing.

Read the full story → https://www.elevate-next.com/blog/necessary-not-sufficient-lobster-fishery-management-for-business

This month's Elevated News is here! Inside this issue:

✔️ Beyond Compliance: Get Credit for Telling Your Story —> a lobster 🦞 fishery lesson in regulation, resilience, and public relations

✔️ Two new website projects: a launch and a design refresh

✔️ Partner highlights and success stories

✔️ A curated list of events to celebrate Labor Day, art, and more in September, and

✔️ Story time with our therapy dog, Chloe, with Dog-Harmony at Defuniak Springs Library on 9/29.

→ Read the latest news🎈→ https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/1702500/emails/196074956436538972

Thank you, Emerald Coast Public Relations Organization, ECPRO, for the feature! Looking forward to attending the next Lunch & Learn on Sept. 8!

🌟 Member Spotlight: Christie Solomon

Meet Christie Solomon, Founder and Principal of Elevate Next and a valued member of ECPRO!

💬 What’s your favorite part of working in PR, marketing, or communications? “My favorite part of the job is helping a client realize they’ve had a great brand story all along. I never clock in to the same job twice. One day I’m writing a press release or designing a website, and the next I’m untangling a brand identity crisis. PR keeps the adventure alive in the workday!”

🛠️ Go-to tools: Canva and Adobe for visual projects, Claude and Gemini for brainstorming and research, Squarespace for web design, and Publer for social scheduling.

💡 Best professional advice: “Think before you speak. Give yourself time to really process what the other party has said rather than reacting quickly. You have a better chance of ending a conversation on more favorable terms.”

We love getting to know the professionals who make up our ECPRO community and the experience, perspective, and creativity they bring to the Emerald Coast!

"Facts inform. Stories transform."

Takeaways from today's ECPRO Lunch & Learn on strategic storytelling with Bobby Parker:

✔️ Your organization isn't the hero — the people you serve are
✔️ Every good story needs real conflict, not just a happy ending
✔️ One clear call-to-action beats five vague ones
✔️ The story doesn't stop when the campaign does — keep your audience engaged with updates and outcomes

We always leave these sessions with something to apply right away. Thanks, Emerald Coast Public Relations Organization, ECPRO, for another great meeting!

If you are a professional on the Emerald Coast, consider becoming a member of ECPRO 👉 https://www.ecpro.org/membership?utm_source=fb_page&utm_medium=Elevate+Next&utm_campaign=publer

In July, our group, composed of various nationalities, cheered for the same team in the 2026 World Cup finale during problematic streaming from a sailboat in Sweden. ⛵⚽

In the latest issue of ELEVATED NEWS, Spain's win provides a blueprint for small business team success.

Also inside: our interview with Conexion MEDIA GROUP on marketing in a tight economy, community news from Frame Gallery Gifts & Art, Dog-Harmony, JC's Gourmet, Robin's Bikes & Fitness, Renee Broxson Fine Art, and more—plus the Dental Associate Edge’s latest podcast episode and Emerald Coast Public Relations Foundation’s historic three-scholarship milestone.

Read the full issue: https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/1702500/emails/193138445241026537