The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has nominated nine PRSA members for officer and board of directors positions that will become open in January, 2013.
Candidates for the officer positions are:
Chair-Elect: Joseph E. Cohen, APR, senior vice president, MWW Group, New York;
Treasurer: Blake D. Lewis, III, APR, Fellow PRSA, principal and senior consultant, Lewis Public Relations, Dallas; and
Secretary: Kathy Barbour, APR, public affairs manager, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.
Nominees for the board of directors positions are:
East Central District Representative: Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR, communications manager, Lilly Bio-Medicines, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis;
Mid-Atlantic District Representative: Felicia Walker Blow, APR, vice president for institutional advancement, Paul D. Camp Community College, Franklin, Va.;
Tri-State District Representative: Anita Ford Saunders, APR, manager, communications, Yankee Gas, Berlin, Conn.;
Western District Representative: Marisa Vallbona, APR, Fellow PRSA, president, CIM Incorporated, San Diego;
Director At-Large: Kelly J. Davis, APR, president and CEO, Davis Public Relations and Marketing, LLC, Columbia, S.C.; and
Director At-Large: Susan Walton, APR, vice president for university and public affairs, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, N.C..
The PRSA Nominating Committee was led by 2010 PRSA Chair Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA.
Each candidate now must be confirmed by a majority vote of the PRSA Leadership Assembly at its annual meeting on Oct. 13, 2012, which coincides with the opening of the PRSA International Conference in San Francisco.
“The Nominating Committee has done a yeoman job at identifying and selecting candidates from across the Society who have the talent and drive to help PRSA advance the public relations profession and professional,” said PRSA 2012 Chair and CEO, Gerard F. Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA. “I congratulate this passionate group of public relations professionals and salute their enthusiasm and willingness to serve our members and the industry.”
Candidates for PRSA officer and board of directors positions also may be made by petition. Article VII, Section 5 of PRSA’s Bylaws states that (a) nominations may also be made by petition by at least 10 Leadership Assembly delegates and filed with the secretary of the Society at the PRSA headquarters at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting of the Leadership Assembly and (b) immediately upon receipt of any such nominations, the secretary shall send a notice of such nominations to all members. For more information on petitioning for a ballot position, send a request to the Nominating Committee.
Petitioning candidates, like nominees, must be confirmed by a majority vote of the PRSA Leadership Assembly, at its annual meeting in October.