Awards Gala & Annual Meeting - PRSA Orlando Chapter

PRSA Chapter Awards Gala & Annual Meeting

Join PRSA Orlando for an evening gala of celebration and entertainment, as we recognize the talented professionals within our organization and confirm the 2027 chapter board.

2026 PRSA Orlando Chapter Awards Gala & Annual Meeting

Thursday, November 5, 2026
6 – 9 p.m.
Rollins College, Rice Family Pavilion

More information, including registration details and the award submission timeline, will be available soon.

About the PRSA Orlando Chapter Awards

The PRSA Orlando 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 Awards Gala & Annual Meeting.

With the exception of the President’s Award for Distinguished Service, nominations are reviewed by judges from another Sunshine District chapter.

President’s Award for Distinguished Service

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

Recipients are selected by the current chapter president.

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 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

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

Geri Evans Lifetime Achievement Award

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

Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award

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

Past Award Winners

2025

Communicator to Watch: Sade N. Teel, MA
PR/Communications Advocate: Jen Atwell, MA
Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award: Dan Ward, APR, CPRC
Geri Evans, APR, Lifetime Achievement Award: Ann Marie Varga, MHR, ARP, Fellow PRSA
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Dr. Doragnes Rivera Bradshaw, SHRM-SCP
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Nadia Vanderhoof, MA
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Melissa Zayas Moreno, MA, APR

2024

PR/Communications Advocate: Stefanie Macfarlane, APR
Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award: Ann Marie Varga, APR, Fellow PRSA
Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award: Doreen Overstreet, APR
Geri Evans, APR, Lifetime Achievement Award: Andrea Finger
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Rich Donley, APR
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Chelsea Eagle
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Maria Wyatt-Uhl
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Alyssa List

2023

Communicator to Watch: Tyrone Law
Communicator to Watch: Liz Kamper
Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award: Christina Morton, APR
Geri Evans, APR, Lifetime Achievement Award: Kena Lewis, APR, Fellow PRSA
PR/Communications Advocate: Rich Donley, APR
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Hailey Fitch
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Mike Piacentino, APR
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Heather Wilson

2022

Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award: Carolyn Reis, APR
Geri Evans Lifetime Achievement Award: Roger Pynn, APR, CPRC
Communicator to Watch: Melissa Zayas Moreno, MA, APR
PR/Communications Advocate: Laura Lord Blackwell, APR
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Stefanie Macfarlane, APR
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Jazmyn Reed
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Mimi Flatley, APR

2021

Communicator to Watch: Katarina Dos Santos
Frank R. Stansberry Ethics Award: Heather Morgan, APR
Geri Evans Lifetime Achievement Award: Geri Evans, APR, Fellow PRSA
PR/Communications Advocate: Jamie Floer, APR, CPRC
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Kimberly Devitt, APR
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Lauren Leetun, APR
President’s Award for Distinguished Service: Veronica Figueroa, APR