Senior Wins PRSSA National Committee Award
New graduate Jason Sears has been recognized as the most outstanding member of the National Committee of the Public Relations Student Society of America for the 2009-10 academic year.
Sears received the Elaine Averick Outstanding National Committee Member Award at this spring's national assembly. Sears was honored for demonstrating "excellence above and beyond" his duties as the National Committee's vice president of public relations.
"Jason is one of those treasured students whose professional ethics are equal to his drive and intelligence," says Dave Junker, faculty advisor Adviser of the Alan Scott Chapter of PRSSA at The University of Texas at Austin. "Though I didn't know the other members of the National Committee, I would have been surprised if anyone other than Jason would have won."
In his position with the National Committee, Sears was responsible for establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships among PRSSA, PRSA, the society's membership and external publics.
The following are some of Sears' accomplishments:
- Published 57 Chapter News releases, surpassing the previous record of 23
- Helped divided PRSSA's membership into 10 definite regions to simplify communication
- Organized and hosted a well-received high-school outreach session at San Diego High School during the PRSSA 2009 National Conference
- Revised the PRSSA Graphic Standards Manual and Style Guide
- Developed and made available all versions of the PRSSA logo and tagline as well as chapter templates for letterhead stationery, recruitment posters and other material
"The PRSSA 2009-2010 National Committee members have all enhanced the Society in impressive and lasting ways," said Sears. "I am proud to have served with these public relations leaders and know that my efforts to strengthen the Society were possible as a culmination of all our work."
Sears previously served as the vice president of public relations for the Alan Scott PRSSA Chapter at The University of Texas at Austin. During his term, Sears built Wweb sites for the Alan Scott Chapter and Texas Tower PR, a student-run public relations firm affiliated with PRSSA.
The award is named for the society's past director of education, Elaine Averick, who served PRSSA for 20 years.
A duplicate of the award is currently on display on the seventh floor of the CMA.