@FIRST_LIGHT

As a long time Drupal user and member of the association I have to say that I don't think that a "professional PR agency" is where the members money should be spent. There are a couple of points to be made on this front.

Who defines what is truly a professional PR agency? I'm willing to bet that every PR agency will tell you that they are professional. Is Edelman professional? I'm sure they are pros. They've also done a horrible job of handling some of Wal-Mart's blogging efforts. So it seems that in PR you don't always get what you pay for.

Word of mouth wins over press releases in 2008. And I'm very sure that the Drupal community could put together a better viral campaign about the platform than any professional PR outfit whose expertise revolves around honing stories for media coverage and getting you a spot at the podium.

Having attended some local NYC Drupal events my perception is that Drupal has gotten this far by taking the message directly to the people and companies who need a flexible, powerful publishing and community platform. So when you pin your hopes on what a PR firm can do for you then you're left praying that some other news story (like a merger, or a disaster or a new Google product) doesn't blow the carefully honed message or your time at the podium out of the water.

The community is out there willing to support the promotion of Drupal through Drupal 7 and beyond. So the association can save their money by coming up with creative ways to activate the community so that the buzz continues long after the next version of Drupal hits the street.