Awards

PRSA Chapter Recognition Awards Guidelines

The PRSA Chapter Awards were established in 2021 to recognize the chapter’s most dedicated and service-oriented members. It was determined that recipients should be members in good standing of PRSA Orlando and live and contribute to the profession in the Central Florida area. Award recipients are nominated during the fall and recognized at the annual Chapter Recognition Awards Gala and Annual Meeting.  

• President’s Award for Distinguished Service
• Communicator to Watch
• PR/Communications Advocate
• Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award
• Geri Evans, APR, Lifetime Achievement Award

About the Awards: 

The President’s Award for Distinguished Service – The President’s Award recognizes up to (3) members who have gone above and beyond in service to PRSA Orlando’s membership in the past year. The PRSA Orlando President’s Award for Distinguished Service is given to a practitioner who:

• Lives and works in Central Florida 
• Is a member in good standing of PRSA Orlando
• Has provided outstanding leadership, extraordinary involvement or loyal support to the local chapter

Nominations will be selected by the current chapter president.

Communicator to Watch – The Communicator to Watch award recognizes a PRSA Orlando member with no more than 10 years of experience who has demonstrated leadership qualities and has made significant contributions to their organization, the chapter and/or community, while advancing the public relations and communications profession. The PRSA Orlando Communicator to Watch Award is given to a communications practitioner who:

• Lives and works in Central Florida
• Has no more than 10 years of experience in a communications-related profession
• Is a member in good standing of PRSA Orlando
• Has demonstrated strong professional capabilities, leadership qualities, service to the public relations community and respected character

Nominations will be reviewed by a set of three judges from a sister chapter. Final selections are determined by the current PRSA Executive Board. 

PR/Communications Advocate Award – The PR/Communications Advocate Award recognizes a public relations practitioner who represents the exceptional standards of practice in the Central Florida community and whose work and activities serve to advocate for and elevate the public relations or communications profession. The PRSA Orlando PR Advocate Award is given to a practitioner who:

• Lives and works in Central Florida
• Is a member in good standing of PRSA Orlando
• Demonstrates exceptional professional capabilities
• Serves as an advocate for the profession through service to PRSA, their clients or organization or community involvement

Nominations will be reviewed by a set of three judges from a sister chapter. Final selections are determined by the current PRSA Executive Board. 

Geri Evans Lifetime Achievement Award 

The Geri Evans Lifetime Achievement Award is named in honor of Geri Evans, APR, Fellow PRSA, an award-winning public relations professional, public speaker, writer, consultant, and educator. With more than 40 years of public relations practice, Evans has served in varying roles within PRSA for more than 16 years including eight years on the PRSA Orlando Regional Chapter board of directors and chapter president in 2003. She also served on the board of the Sunshine District as well as on three national committees before being elected to the PRSA national board for a three-year term in 2011. She was elected into the College of Fellows in 2014 and served as Chair of the College of Fellows in 2019.

The PRSA Orlando Geri Evans Lifetime Achievement Award honors a practitioner who:

• Lives and works in Central Florida
• Has 20 years or more of experience in a communications-related profession
• Is a member in good standing of PRSA Orlando
• Played a vital role in the advancement of the PR profession
• Has been recognized for public relations excellence through numerous accolades
• Demonstrated service and exceptional leadership to PRSA throughout their career
• Overall nomination rating

Nominations will be reviewed by a set of three judges  from a sister chapter. Final selections are determined by the current PRSA Executive Board.

Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award

The Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award was created in 2005 and named after local public relations professional, teacher and mentor, Frank Stansberry, APR, Fellow PRSA. With a career spanning 30 years of public relations practice and 10 years of print media experience, Stansberry served as president of the PRSA Orlando Regional Chapter, chair of its Sunshine District, and as a member of its national board of directors. Stansberry’s career is highlighted by his outspoken advocacy for the highest ethical standards in business practice, and his dedication to public relations ethics has had a profound impact on thousands of young professionals while he served as a professor at the University of Central Florida and Rollins College.

The PRSA Orlando Frank R Stansberry Ethics Award is given to a practitioner who:

• Lives and works in Central Florida
• Is a member in good standing of PRSA Orlando
• Embodies PRSA’s member code of ethics
• Works to educate, promote and guide others in the ethical practice of public relations

Nominations will be reviewed by a set of three judges from a sister chapter. Final selections are determined by the current PRSA Executive Board.