As part of tonight’s Golden Image Awards ceremony, three individual awards are given. The first award is the 2011 FPRA Member of the Year Award. This award recognizes one member who has made a significant contribution to the Association through outstanding leadership, demonstrated enthusiasm, extraordinary involvement and loyal support. The recipient is selected by the FPRA State President.

Drum roll, please… the 2011 FPRA Member of the Year is:

CHRIS GENT, APR, CPRC
Kissimmee Utility Authority
Orlando Area Chapter

Send Chris a congratulatory email at cgent@kua.com

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The John W. Dillin Professional Award for service to the Florida Public Relations Association has been established as the highest, most prestigious award of the Association. The award honors the spirit and dedication of FPRA’s first president and founder, Lt. Col. John W. Dillin, and his lifetime of service to and support of the Association.

The purpose of the annual award is to recognize an FPRA member for his/her outstanding contribution to the Association and the field of public relations.

Drum roll, please… the winner of the 2009 John W. Dillin Award is:

ROGER PYNN, APR
Curley & Pynn PR & Marketing Communications
Orlando Area Chapter

Send Roger a congratulatory e-mail at rpynn@thestrategicfirm.com

The next individual award given out tonight was the Doris Fleischman Award.

The Doris Fleischman Award honors unrecognized contributions an individual FPRA member has made to the public relations profession and/or to FPRA. In essence, this is an “unsung hero” award intended to reward that individual who consistently provides support and assistance to the Association.

The award was established to honor the achievements and contributions of Doris Fleischman, business partner and wife of Edward L. Bernays, the “father” of public relations. It honors those FPRA members who, like Fleischman, make contributions to the field of public relations through consistent, tireless efforts. It is meant to honor a member for his/her “behind the scenes” work and FPRA volunteer efforts that go unnoticed by chapter members and are not recognized by other awards programs.

Drum roll, please… the recipient of the 2009 Doris Fleischman Award is:

TONI JAMES, APR
Toni James & Associates Strategic PR
Ocala Chapter

Send Toni a congratulatory e-mail at toni.james@embarqmail.com

As part of tonight’s Golden Image Awards ceremony, three individual awards were given. The first award was the 2009 Member of the Year Award. This award is intended to recognize a member who has made a significant contribution to the Association through outstanding leadership, demonstrated enthusiasm, extraordinary involvement and loyal support. The recipient is selected by the FPRA President.

This year, two very deserving individuals were honored:

JEFF NALL, APR, CPRC
Council on Aging of West Florida, Inc.
Pensacola Chapter

Send Jeff a congratulatory e-mail at jnall@coawfla.org

KAREN SMITTLE, APR, CPRC
CH2M Hill, Inc.
Gainesville Chapter

Send Karen a congratulatory e-mail at ksmittle@ch2m.com

Vice President for Golden Image, Rachel Smith, APR, CPRC, served as hostess for this evening’s gala. At the beginning of the program, Rachel gave special recognition to the 2008-09 Local Image Chairs:Kate Barth, Stacie Bucher, Jennifer Bush, Devon Chestnut, Ginny Cooper, Laura D’Abbondanza, Robin Delgado, Stephanie Page Duesing, Amanda Fliger, Janice Cooper Holmes, Amanda Mousa, Rebeca Searcey, Melissa Sheets, APR, and Kathleen Taylor, APR.

Special thanks to the following individuals and organizations: Rachel Smith, APR, CPRC and her committee for putting together a wonderful evening… to the Georgia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for judging our entries … to the Southwest Florida Chapter for its financial support of the banquet… to Cheray Keyes-Shima, APR, CPRC, and Chris Carroll, APR, CPRC, of KSC, Inc. for designing all of the printed materials… and to the Kissimmee Utility Authority and CH2MHill for their support of the conference and Golden Image Awards Gala….and to FPRA State President Lanette Hart, APR, CPRC; FPRA Past-President Suzanne Sparling, APR; Ginny Cooper; Kathleen Taylor, APR; Michelle Bono, APR, CPRC; Susan Bennett, APR, CPRC; Toni James, APR; Devon Chestnut; and Vivian Myrtetus, APR, who served as this evening’s presenters.

Click here for complete list of tonight’s winners.

Deirdre Breakenridge of PFS Marketwyse led an open and frank discussion on how public relations agencies can overcome a predator stigma. Focusing on public relations principles (both traditional PR and PR 2.0) that raise the profile of a professional and the agency to the rightful status of counselor and partner, Deirdre showed why agencies need to promote and sustain practices that support the needs of the 21st century organization such as being customer-focused and user-centric. read more »

In this session, Lauri-Ellen Smith, APR, of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office discussed the essentials of communicating with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) during times of disasters and emergencies. The NIMS for public information changes everything about how government and non-government organizations communicate with the public, via the media during times of disasters or emergencies (planned or unplanned events). read more »

Focusing on Audience, Messages, Messengers, Methods and Outcomes gives any organization, public entity or business the tools to capture interest and leverage action. Led by Jack Levine, the AMMMO strategy allows the proper balance of creativity and flexibility, and promotes conversations with the target audiences for maximum relationship development. read more »

The goal for today’s presentation, titled What is Public Relations and What Are the Career Options?, was to introduce students in public relations related programs to the broad and varied aspects of the PR profession and the diverse career opportunities available within the field of public relations and how, on a broader scale, PR serves a vital element of every business. The discussion was presented by the Community Service Committee of the FPRA Treasure Coast Chapter. Panelists included Kendall Clifford, Patricia Austin Novak, APR, Linette Trabulsy, Audra Shaneman, Sam Yates and Debra Banta, APR.

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