Stephanie (Bennis) Shirley is the founder and owner of Bennis Public Relations, a Harrisburg-based Public Relations and Event Planing Firm. At just 23 years old, Stephanie took the entrepreneurial leap to start her own business and has since worked with hundreds of clients across the nation, ranging from small nonprofits to large corporate firms, where she serves as their strategic communications partner. Stephanie works intimately with each client, delivering customized solutions that are efficient and effective. Stephanie is grateful for the opportunity to assist in the event planning and promotion of the Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast, New Jersey Prayer Breakfast and Lehigh Valley Prayer Breakfast. Since 2012, she has helped plan a total of nine different prayer breakfasts, each uniquely enjoyable!
John and Sandy Stait work directly with State Legislators around the country. The National Prayer Breakfast has grown over the years. Representatives of foreign countries now participate also, and attendance numbers in the thousands. United States Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, as chairman of the 1992 National Prayer Breakfast, invited members from every state legislature in the United States to attend. Many state legislators attended, and several of them returned to their home states with a vision for replicating the prayer breakfast practice within their own legislative bodies.
The National Prayer Breakfast is held in February when most state legislators attend their legislative sessions in their home state capitols. Many legislators, unable to come to Washington in February, asked for the messages of prayer breakfasts and times of fellowship to come to them to fit their schedules. Consistent with the support concept of the National Prayer Breakfast movement, a small group of volunteers formed to serve the needs of these events and their legislator organizers. This group, together with their actions, is known informally as the State and Local Leaders Prayer Fellowship movement.