Membership Awards

From the script of Olivia Orth, Chapter President

Congratulations to all of our award-winners! In addition to recognizing these outstanding public relations projects, we have the pleasure tonight of honoring several individuals who stand out for their leadership, professionalism and hard work.

I stand before you to present our conference scholarship winners and member awards. I’ll begin with the conference scholarships.

Each year, the Southwest Florida chapter provides scholarships to attend FPRA’s Annual Conference, which this year will be held August 5-8 in Sarasota, Florida. Our conference scholarship winners are chosen based on financial need, chapter activities and involvement and dedication to professional development. As I announce the scholarship winners, I ask that the please come forward to accept their certificate. This year’s conference scholarship winners are:

·Helena Finnegan of the Southwest Florida Museum of History

·Roger Sockman of the Florida Department of Health

·Julia Babair, APR of Priority Marketing

Congratulations to our conference scholarship winners. I hope you will join them and me at the conference. For more information and to register, visit www.fpra.org.

We had MANY, many deserving nominations for the member awards this year, and it was not easy for the award committee to choose just one winner in each category. Which means, the individuals chosen outshined the best of the very best. It is with great pride that I present three awards – Rising Star, Member of the Year and PR Professional of the Year.

This year’s Rising Star fits the award description perfectly. This person is involved energetically and enthusiastically in numerous chapter projects, seizes opportunities to develop her professional career, pursues leadership opportunities in FPRA, is supportive of fellow pr professionals and displays a professional attitude and professional conduct. As one person put it, “She just shines in all she does.” Another said, “Her energy and enthusiasm serves as a great inspiration for all FPRA members, especially me.” This award winner currently serves on the FPRA board of directors in a position that makes her critical to this evening’s program, and in truth she has contributed in some way to nearly every program provided by the chapter this year. She is a second year board member who also contributed from the behind the scenes for a long time. The 2007 Rising Star Award goes to Laura Zocki!!!

The next award to be presented is the Member of the Year Award, which is given to an individual who goes above and beyond to ensure the success of the Southwest Florida Chapter. This award goes to a person who gives their time and energy with creative thinking and actual participation, helps to raise the level of professionalism in our community, exemplifies a professional attitude and standard of conduct and is supportive of fellow pr professionals. Fellow members who nominated this year’s award winner called her “one of the chapter’s strongest leaders,” “simply the hardest working FPRA member with the most positive attitude,” and “a member who talks the talk and walks the walk, leading by example as well as being a cheerleader for the organization.” This member has served on the Southwest Florida chapter board of directors in more than one position at a time for two years, and continued to contribute in other capacities throughout this tenure. This is because she cares so much and is always the first to volunteer when she sees a need, often without being asked. She adds a special touch of creativity to every project, invests herself fully in each endeavor and provides valuable wisdom and insight. The 2007 Member of the Year is Kara Winton, APR.

FPRA’s highest member honor is the PR Professional of the Year Award. This award is given to a professional who exemplifies the highest standards of the public relations profession in Southwest Florida. Requirements include displaying a professional attitude and exercising professional conduct, being cooperative and supportive of fellow public relations professionals, and raising the professional standing of FPRA. This year’s award winner received one of the longest nominations I have ever seen! It was over a page and a half in 10 point type! Unfortunately I don’t have time to read her entire story, but I like how another nominator summed it up. She said, “She’s ethical, forthright, and dedicated to improving the standards of excellence of our profession.” This is true, and it’s why we trust her with the chapter’s money! In essence, this person’s professional credentials are numerous and impressive, and her contributions to the chapter have been significant over many years. The 2007 PR Professional of the Year is Karen Sloan, APR.