Detroit Trifecta! Jennifer Day is Perfect Choice for 2019 ECD Platinum Award

,
Congratulations to Jennifer Day!

By Jennifer Flowers-Kolf, APR, East Central District Chair

One of the highlights for the East Central District each year is to present the PRSA ECD Platinum/Don Durocher award to a deserving professional within the 17 chapters in six states that our district represents. This year as ECD District Chair, I had the honor of presenting a fellow Detroit PRSA member and former ECD District Chair Jennifer Day, APR, Great Lakes regional coordinator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with this year’s East Central District Platinum/Don Durocher award for her tireless service given within various aspects of PRSA.

It was a Detroit trifecta this year with Jennifer and I both being from the PRSA Detroit chapter – but also the award being named after former national PRSA board member, ECD chair and Detroit chapter president Donald P. Durocher, APR, Fellow PRSA. In Durocher’s memory, the district board accepts nominations from around the district and then votes on a selected recipient who has achieved a distinguished service record to PRSA at the local, district and national levels.

Many know Jennifer as a past PRSA Detroit chapter president, past East Central District chair or even the chair of the national district council – but her contributions to our organization and profession don’t stop there. Jennifer has been part of and led a number of committees on the local and national level; chaired the effort to bring the international conference to Detroit in 2008; and developed and successfully brought to life a five-year strategic plan to help develop and strengthen the districts within PRSA.

She is a tireless advocate for ethical and strategic government communications and its important role in society. As a board member of the Public Affairs and Government Section, Jennifer chaired this section’s national professional development summit for the past two years – with the summit occurring in Detroit last year – and was recognized last year as the section’s Lloyd. B. Dennis Distinguished Service Award recipient.

This is just small snapshot of how Jennifer has tirelessly contributed to advancing our profession over the years. Her service to PRSA has been non-stop since joining in 1997 and she has served the Society at the chapter, district, section and national level in some active capacity without a break.

A special thank you to our 2019 Platinum Awards Chair Andrea Clark, APR, ECD immediate past chair, for coordinating this year’s awards nomination and selection process. And, congratulations to Jennifer for this highly deserved award and for representing our district so well within PRSA!

The nomination process for the PRSA ECD Platinum/Durocher Award typically begins in the spring of each year. District and chapter leaders, watch your emails in the months ahead for nomination information for the 2020 award.