Announcing the 2020 Board Slate; Welcoming a New Class of Fellows

Announcing the 2020 Board Slate

PRSA recently announced the officer and director nominees for its 2020 Board of Directors.

The nominees are: chair-elect, Michelle Olson, APR, head of PR Group, Fingerpaint; treasurer, Michelle Egan, APR, Fellow PRSA, chief communications officer, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company; secretary, Amy Coward, APR, Fellow PRSA, vice president, public relations, Prisma Health Midlands Foundation.

Current chair-elect, T. Garland Stansell, APR, chief communications officer, Children’s of Alabama, was confirmed as the 2020 PRSA chair at the PRSA Leadership Assembly in 2018. PRSA Chair Debra Peterson, APR, president of Comm365, will be the immediate past chair in 2020.

Nominees will stand for election at the Leadership Assembly prior to the start of the PRSA 2019 International Conference in San Diego this October.

The individuals who were nominated for the open director positions on the Board are:

• Midwest District: The Nominating Committee has not put forth a nominee from the Midwest District. Qualified candidates may enter their names on the ballot by filing a petition.
• North Pacific District: Scott Trotter, APR, senior director of communications, Utah Valley University
• Southeast District: Denise Hill, Ph.D., APR, assistant professor of strategic communications, School of Communications, Elon University
• Southwest District: Heide Harrell, APR, director of marketing and business development, Rose Law Firm
• Sunshine District: Angela Walters Eveillard, APR, strategic communications officer, Hillsborough Community College
• Director At-Large: Jorge Francisco D’Garay, president & CEO, MXUS Public Relations

Article VII, Section 5 of the PRSA Bylaws provides that nominations may also be made by petition by at least 10 Leadership Assembly delegates and filed with the secretary at PRSA by Sept. 19. The secretary will send a notice of any nominations to members. For more information on how to petition for a Board position, please email nomcomm@prsa.org.

Welcoming a New Class of Fellows

The College of Fellows have elected 11 new members, who will be inducted at a ceremony on Oct. 19 prior to the International Conference:

• Stephen Michael Brown, APR, Fellow PRSA, president, Cookerly PR
• Gail Dundas, APR, Fellow PRSA, principal, CommSeas Strategic Communications
• Jennifer Young Dzwonar, APR, Fellow PRSA, partner, Borshoff
• Jessica M. Graham, APR, Fellow PRSA, president, Fionix Consulting LLC
• Kenneth Hagihara, APR, Fellow PRSA, President, Integrity Public Relations, Inc.
• Rebecca Huckaby, APR, Fellow PRSA, vice president of public relations, Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority
• Thomas J. Jollie, APR, Fellow PRSA, senior vice president, Padilla
• Paul G. Omodt, APR, Fellow PRSA, owner & principal, Omodt & Associates Critical Communications LLC
• Echelle Jobe Rutschman, APR, Fellow PRSA, senior director of communications, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• William Swanger, APR, Fellow PRSA, senior vice president, corporate communications & public relations, Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries
• Janet E. Swiecichowski, APR, Fellow PRSA, vice president, CEL Marketing|PR|Design

Honoring a Past PRSA Leader at the U.S. Department of Defense

The U.S. Department of Defense honored Brig. Gen. Jerry Dalton, APR, Fellow PRSA, who was the first career public affairs officer to serve as Air Force Director of Public Affairs.

In a ceremony on July 11, the Pentagon officially unveiled the “Brigadier General H.J. Dalton Jr. Conference Room.”
Dalton was PRSA’s president in 1990. He received the Gold Anvil — PRSA’s highest individual honor — in 2007.

Coming Soon: Ethics Month

Throughout September, PRSA will provide a variety of programming dedicated to the ethical practice of public relations.