By Cindi Guthrie
Westbury, New York - The Long Island Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2011 ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS. This year’s winners will be honored on Wednesday, June 15th at a special awards luncheon at the Viana Hotel and Spa in Westbury, New York.
Presented annually, the Achievement Awards recognize the region’s most talented communications professionals and students. Entrants undergo rigorous judging by seasoned communicators from the Long Island business community.
"This year’s winners have all added value to their businesses and communities by developing innovative communications strategies and contributing their talents,” says Ann Middleman, Long Island Chapter President. "Moreover, their passion and commitment to the communications field comes through in all of their work, covering new and traditional media. They set the bar high for all who work in this industry and all who aspire to succeed as professional communicators.”
This year’s award recipients include:
Kali Chan (Achievement in Communications): The Achievement in Communications Award recognizes professionals who enhance the communications profession and its public perception and who serve as role models for the profession.
As Director of Media Relations for Adelphi University, Kali has advanced Adelphi’s reputation through media placements and strong relationships with reporters. Under Kali’s leadership, Adelphi University joined with just 13 other colleges and universities nationwide in a partnership with Patch, an online community news resource. Patch provides communications students at Adelphi University and other colleges with the opportunity to gain multimedia journalism skills through hands-on reporting projects (such as news videos, blog posts, and digital photos) – all under deadline conditions for Patch.com’s seasoned editors.
In her spare time, Kali mentors communications students, helping to place them in highly competitive graduate programs and secure full time employment.
Jerry Alloca (Achievement in Digital Communications): - The Achievement in Digital Communications Award honors communications professionals who have enhanced the burgeoning field of digital communications.
Jerry is the Founder of CORE Interactive, an organization whose goal is to help local businesses and non-profits get the most out of their websites and online visibility. Jerry’s ability to develop strategic, interactive online marketing programs has helped countless businesses maximize the effectiveness of their websites using social media technology.
Jerry also teaches popular workshops on search engines and social media to business owners on Long Island and blogs about new developments in the field. His book, Connected Culture, The Art of Communicating With The Digital Generation, shows marketers how to embrace social media, text messaging, and Internet marketing.
Sharon Weston (Student Achievement in Communications): The Student Achievement in Communications Award acknowledges academic achievement in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Advertising, or Graphics (Commercial) and professional accomplishment.
An outstanding student at the SUNY College at Old Westbury (studying Media & Communications), Sharon has worked as a Reporter’s Assistant at News 12 Long Island and is currently a business Reporter and Editor for Ping Media.
Sharon also freelances for Newsday and The Catalyst, a SUNY College at Old Westbury publication, and has lent her voice to Old Westbury Web Radio to record audio versions of books for those in need.
Sharon does all of this while maintaining a 3.97 average.
Tracy Lobdell (Community Service): The Community Service Award recognizes distinguished community service by writers, graphic designers, photographers/videographers, public relations or advertising professionals.
Since 2007, Tracy has assumed or assisted with virtually every role involved in the production of Canstruction® Long Island, an annual event where teams of architects, engineers, construction professionals compete to build colossal self-supporting structures made entirely of canned food (later donated to Long Island Cares, Inc.). As Committee Chair, she has increased the number of participating firms by 50%, resulting in a donation of over 143,000 cans of food to hungry Long Islanders.
This year, Tracy, whose "day job” is Marketing Coordinator for Lockwood, Kessler & Bartlett, Inc., a Syosset-based engineering firm, established an all-volunteer 501(c)3 non-profit organization to produce Canstruction® and expanded participation to include teams from local colleges and universities offering programs in Architecture, Engineering, and/or Contracting, and teams from K-12 schools who are mentored by local architects and engineers.
Laura Hauser (Communicator of the Year):
Communicator of the Year is an award given to a Long Island Chapter member who has worked tirelessly to make IABC/LI a vibrant presence on the Long Island business scene.
Laura has been an active member of IABC/Long Island for over seven years. For the past two years she has served on its Board of Directors and has chaired its Communications Committee. This was Laura’s second stint on the Board, having served as its Treasurer previously. Laura has also actively served on IABC’s Awards Committee.
As Director of Marketing at Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP, Laura, an experienced integrator of law firm marketing, oversees the firm’s day-to-day marketing, public relations, and business development activities. Through her leadership, Laura has successfully initiated a firm wide re-branding campaign for her firm which included the creation of a new logo, tagline, website, brochures and advertising collateral, all of which has been instrumental in increasing the firm’s overall name recognition in both the Long Island and New York City business communities.
In addition to her professional endeavors, Laura is also a published author and speaker on various topics related to law firm marketing and public relations.