As promised, here are the photos from Tuesday night’s Golden Image Awards gala.
Click here to see the entire photoset.
At last night’s Golden Image Awards gala, the FPRA 2008 Annual Conference Blog was honored with an Award of Distinction and a Judges’ Award.
In 2008, Chris Gent led a volunteer blog team — Suzanne Dameron, Kelly Donovan, Melissa Filipkowski, Amanda Forbes, Dr. Allen Moore, APR and Paul Ramey, APR – came together to produce the blog for the 70th FPRA Annual Conference. The blog enjoyed tremendous success, drawing 2,570 unique visitors during the 3-day conference that generated 8,810 page views. The blog also boasted 85 posted articles, 122 visitor comments, 515 photos and two hallway interview podcasts.
Thanks to FPRA Executive Committee and FPRA state office for supporting and encouraging this endeavor!
The Counselors’ Network held its annual business meeting this morning and approved the following slate of officers for the 2009-10 year:
Chair – Trish Ridgway-Kapustka, APR, CPRC
Chair-Elect – Joe Curley, APR, CPRC
Secretary/Treasurer – Jessica Rye, APR
Immediate Past Chair – Carole Savage, APR, CPRC
Directors at Large
Kathleen M. Giery, APR, CPRC
John McShaffrey, APR
Mary Briggs, APR, CPRC
Director at Large for One-Year Term
Melanie Mowry-Etters, APR, CPRC
Returning Directors at Large
Terri Behling, APR
Leah Lauderdale, APR, CPRC
Listed below is the schedule for Day 3 – Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, of FPRA’s 71st Annual Conference:
7:30 am – noon: Registration Desk Open
8 – 9:15 am: Power Networking Breakfast
8:15 – 9:15 am: Counselors’ Network Business Meeting
9:25 – 9:30 am: Announcements
9:30 – 10:35 am: General Session D, Re-branding the Tampa Bay Rays
10:35 – 11:50 am: Closing Session, Coming from a Position of Strength
11:50 am – noon: Conference Finale
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.
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 »