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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – 4 March 2010 – The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has selected William Briggs and Annette Martell as this year’s IABC Fellows. The IABC Fellow Award is the highest honor the association can bestow on a member, and acknowledges outstanding leadership, professional accomplishment and service to IABC and the profession. The awards will be presented on 6 June 2010 at the opening general session of the association’s World Conference in Toronto.
Fellow selection criteria include contribution to the organizational communication field and profession; career achievement; authorship, speaking and lecturing; contributions to IABC; and other professional recognition for community activities and other business-related activities.
“The addition of Bill Briggs and Annette Martell to the roster of IABC’s Fellows continues the tradition of recognizing both individual career achievement and contributions to the communication profession,” says Shel Holtz, ABC, chair of the 2010 Fellow Awards committee. “Bill’s record as an academic is surpassed only by the influence he has had on his students as a mentor and example. Annette’s accomplishments as a business communication professional are as impressive as her dedicated service to IABC. Together, they serve as examples of the highest standards to emulate.”
Dr. William Briggs, Ed.D., is director and full-time tenured professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at San Jose State University (SJSU) in California. He has more than three decades of experience as a professional communicator; journalist; advertising, marketing and PR consultant; corporate PR representative; and college public information officer. He has contributed to the advancement of the concept of international communication through teaching, research, training, speaking engagements, leading and hosting delegations globally, and founding the Pacific Rim Institute and the Global Studies Institute at SJSU. He has also contributed chapters in several books and written articles in publications including IABC’s Communication World magazine.
A longtime IABC member, Briggs has served two terms as director on the international executive board, trustee of the IABC Research Foundation, chair of IABC’s ethics committee, chair of IABC’s educator’s academy, and judge for the Gold Quill Awards Blue Ribbon Panel. He is the association’s representative to the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (for curriculum). He has also been actively involved at the local level with IABC/Silicon Valley with positions on the chapter board and initiation of chapter/university programs and scholarships. He has presented keynote addresses and sessions at many IABC events, including the World Conference, regional conferences in Mexico City, Brussels, Johannesburg, Manila and Paris, and chapter events in London, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Wellington and Sydney.
On hearing the news of his selection for the award, Briggs commented, “This honor is the ultimate connection to IABC, which has proved to have been the greatest influence on my professional career. The resources and opportunities afforded me by IABC friends and colleagues all over the world have enabled me to influence a generation of communication students to excel. My personal and professional debt and gratitude to IABC are enormous.”
Annette Martell, ABC, MC, is an independent management consultant and a founding associate of PowerIn, an international alliance of senior consultants. Her client work is informed by more than 20 years of communication experience from a variety of international and domestic communication management positions. Her key roles have included: being part of RBC Financial Group’s global corporate communications team; consulting associate with Mercer’s communications practice; director of public affairs with Acadia University; divisional vice president of communications for Canada’s largest association of financial planners; and national director of communications for the accounting and consulting firm now known as Grant Thornton.
Martell is an active IABC member and has held several leadership positions in the association. She was the IABC chair in 2002–2003 and led the organization through major change, including international restructuring of key areas: governance, dues pricing and financial recovery. She has been IABC’s representative for the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management since 2005 and has worked on several key issues affecting the global communication profession. Martell has also served on the Gold Quill Awards Blue Ribbon Panel multiple times, and served as chair of IABC international executive board nominations committee in 2004–2005, selections committee chair for IABC Canada’s 2010 Master Communicator, chair of IABC/Canada District 2 region, president of the IABC/Atlantic Canada chapter, and in many other positions. She is the recipient of several national and international communication honors and awards and a frequent speaker at IABC and other industry events.
“For years, I’ve studied, cited and designed communication programs based on insights from IABC Fellows—astute and accomplished communication leaders. In accepting this honor, I humbly and heartily join them in furthering the field of communications,” said Martell.
For a list of past recipients of the award, visit http://www.iabc.com/awards/fellow.htm.
About IABC
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. Established in 1970, IABC serves more than 15,000 members in 70 countries. For more information, visit www.iabc.com.ABC - Accredited Business Communicator
MC – Master Communicator
