When Tuscaloosa native Betsy Plank graduated from The University of Alabama in 1944, the public relations field did not exist. By the time of her death in 2010, Plank was known by professionals and students alike as the “first lady” of public relations, a now internationally recognized industry. She is remembered for her leadership and personality, and at The University of Alabama for her 2005 endowment of the The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations.

The Plank Center, in collaboration with Capstone Agency, will host the first national #BetsyDay celebration Thursday in honor of what would be Plank’s 90th birthday.

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Myreete Wolford, a senior majoring in public relations and the Capstone Agency account executive to The Plank Center, said the event is open to people of all professions nationwide. Its goal is to encourage leadership and effective communication. Wolford said she believes Plank’s quoted advice can benefit students and professionals in any field.

“A cool thing about Betsy Plank is that everything she put out there was not just focused on PR,” Wolford said. “Business people and even engineers can read one of her quotes and get something from it.”

The celebration will begin with an exhibit of Plank’s legacy held in the Reese Phifer Hall rotunda from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday. Before and during the event, attendees can also ask the board members leadership and industry-related questions on social media using the hashtag #askBetsyPlank, said Jessika White, communications specialist for The Plank Center.

“A lot of people don’t have mentors, and that was something that Betsy focused on was mentorship,” White said. “We pass those questions on to board members and people who knew Betsy, so her words are still living on through Twitter.”

The Center is also accepting one-minute video submissions describing how organizations across the nation “lead like Betsy.” The videos will be posted on the Facebook page, Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, and the 10 videos with the most likes will be judged for a grand prize Skype session with one of the Center’s board members.

“If I could give any advice to anyone at UA right now, I’d say grab on [to] The Plank Center and its board and see what they can do for you,” Wolford said.

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The celebration will end with a leadership panel at 6:30 p.m. in 216 Reese Phifer. The panel features Plank Center Director Karla Gower and board member Gary McCormick, director of partnership development for HGTV.

Wolford said she was inspired by Plank and the Center while searching for jobs. She discovered a quote from Plank saying she never planned her career, which Wolford said she finds encouraging coming from the late leader in her future profession.

“As someone who is a job searcher, as a student, as someone who’s freaking out about my future, this is going to calm me down,” Wolford said. “[Plank] had no idea what she wanted to do when she was in undergrad, and if she has had this much of an impact on my profession right now, then there’s no telling what I can do.”

White and Wolford agree the goal of Betsy Day is to encourage education, leadership and effective public relations practices. Both said they want to see Plank’s legacy perpetuated across the University and America so her advice can help people of all professions.

“We all need to be more aware of leadership and what better way than Betsy Plank,” White said. “We can learn so much through the lives that she touched, the stories that I’ve heard and the stories that you’re going to know on Thursday.”

Plank is quoted frequently for her definition and guidelines of PR, and she is memorialized through The Plank Center, Betsy Plank Public Relations Student Society of America scholarships and personal stories.

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