“Research has shown that mentors are incredibly important to professional development and advancement and to the development of leaders and leadership,” Bruce Berger, founding director of the Plank Center, said. “The awards are a way of recognizing that importance and celebrating on a ?national stage.”
Berger said past winners and professional associations are involved in the nomination and selection process. Honorees for the award are selected for one of the six categories: Legacy, Agency, Young Professional, Educator, Corporate and Executive.
“The recipients this year are an incredible group of individuals who have contributed a great deal to our profession,” Berger said. “They have touched the lives and careers of literally hundreds of people in rich and ?meaningful ways.”
The Milestone in Mentoring Awards are presented each fall at a dinner held in Chicago, and the six honorees this year included Patrick Ford (Legacy), of PR firm Burson-Marsteller; Aylwin Lewis (Executive), CEO of Potbelly Sandwich Works; Wendi Strong (Corporate), executive vice president of enterprise affairs at the United States Automobile Association; and Andy Polansky (Agency), CEO of PR agency Weber Shandwick
Lynne Sallot, University of Georgia professor and recipient of the award in the Educator field, said both being considered and selected for the award came as a surprise to her.
“Since I have been at the University of Georgia, I have had the opportunity to work with several doctoral students who have gone on to become educators themselves, and I feel particularly good about the work I was able to do with them,” she said. ”“I am so grateful to have won this Educator award, which is named after Dr. Berger, who is a talented and ?hardworking individual.”
Jose Rivera, lecturer at California State University, San Bernardino, received the award in the Young Professional field.
“I would like to think [I received this award because of] all of my help with the students, furthering their knowledge in Public Relations, and in general giving them an idea of all of the things they need to do in order to prosper in the field,” ?he said.
Rivera said it meant a lot to be recognized by another university.
“It means that they see that I care and that I have a lot of passion for what I am doing,” ?he said.
