The 2008 IABC/Toronto MAVERICK PR Student of the Year Entry Deadline has Now Passed.

IABC/Toronto recognizes student members each year who exhibit leadership and excellence in communication. The student award recipients possess creativity, strong writing skills and passion in both their academic and volunteer projects.

Established in 2004, the IABC/Toronto MAVERICK Student of the Year Award winner will receive $500 cash prize and will be recognized at the IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards Gala.

“MAVERICK is about trailblazing with imaginative and revolutionary programs and campaigns. We want aspiring communicators to become mavericks in their own right. These practitioners are our future and we're committed to encouraging the next generation to give their best,”
Julie Rusciolelli, President, MAVERICK Public Relations. The award has been generously established by MAVERICK Public Relations. MAVERICK Public Relations, founded in May 1999, is considered one of Canada’s leading independent PR agencies.

It is FREE to enter the MAVERICK PR Student of the Year Award. Only IABC/Toronto Student Members can enter the Student of the Year Award. You can join IABC by downloading and submitting an IABC student application. Please submit your IABC student application PRIOR to entering the Student of the Year Award. IABC Student memberships are only $48.40 for a one year membership.

The following required items must be submitted to enter the MAVERICK PR Student of the Year Award:

1. Completed entry form
2. A news release of no more than two pages on how you plan to make an impact on the practice of public relations/communications in the future (to be submitted on 8.5" x 11" letterhead, no smaller than 10 point font and 1/2" margins)
3. One writing sample (can be from school work and can include a news release, speech, communications plan, etc.)
4. An up-to-date resume

IABC members can view the 2007 MAVERICK Student of the Year winning entry by downloading the 2007 OVATION Winning Entries Booklet.

Winner Recognition

The MAVERICK PR Student of the Year will be honoured at th OVATION Awards Gala and will receive the following:

• Cash prize of $500
• MAVERICK PR Student of the Year Award certificate
• Work featured in the OVATION Award Winning Entries Booklet
• Winning announcement in IABC/Toronto's newsletter Communicator,website and news releases
  

Judging

All entries will be judged by a panel consisting of two members of the IABC/Toronto Board of Directors and up to two individuals from MAVERICK Public Relations. Entries will be judged on creativity, clarity, conciseness, total impact, and most importantly, how well they meet the stated objectives.

The award has been generously established by MAVERICK Public Relations. MAVERICK Public Relations, founded in May 1999, is considered one of Canada’s leading independent PR agencies.

Entry Information

• Entry Deadline was 5 p.m. on April 30, 2008

Kay Staib Memorial Scholarship

Remembering KAY STAIB (1926-1992) Kay Staib ABC, MC, IABC Fellow, was a force of nature behind IABC/Toronto; a founding member and one of the cornerstones for our achievement in becoming the great, strong and still-growing organization we are today. Throughout her career, she mentored newcomers and chapter presidents' alike and set standards of excellence for herself, the profession, and later in her life, her students.

Kay's commitment to communications was from the heart. She served in a countless number of positions in IABC -- locally, in Canada and for the International organization -- as well as on the advisory boards of at least two community colleges; as an officer of the Toronto Press Club and the Canadian Association for the Mentally Retarded, and as sponsor and advisor for such other not-for-profit groups as Caravan, Toronto's annual multicultural celebration in the '70s and '80s.

Her contributions to the field and to IABC - in Canada and internationally - earned her more than 80 local, national and international awards, including a Gold Quill. An early proponent of professional accreditation, she was one of the first Canadians to earn the designation.

In return, her efforts were recognized by the highest individual honours: She was twice named Chapter Communicator of the Year, then District Master Communicator, and in 1984, IABC Fellow.

Kay was never too busy to help when she was asked (and sometimes, as she often admitted, even when she was not asked). The word "no" simply was not in her vocabulary.

During her professional career, she initiated innovative and impactful employee communication programs at Eaton's (where she also broke the gender barrier at the management level) and American Express Canada. Later, after forming her own consultancy, she joined the Humber College Public Relations program; sharing her experience and extending her dedication to excellence to the classroom. Her students were the fortunate recipients of her generous investment in the future of communications and of IABC: she devoted two to three days each week to them, hardly a "part-time" teaching commitment.

A legacy to us all, the standard for excellence that she embraced in every venture is now inherent in the award that IABC/Toronto has established in her memory shortly after her death in 1992; a bursary presented annually to leading students from the diploma corporate communications programs in the Toronto area.

Nominations
Students submit their own nominations to their faculty advisors. The advisors will then submit the nominations to the IABC/Toronto board or to an awards panel of IABC member instructors and board members.

Nominees must be in their final semester and in good standing in a public relations or corporate communications diploma or certificate program at any of the participating schools:

• Centennial College
• Durham College
• Humber College
• Ryerson University
• Seneca College
• University of Guelph - Humber

There is one $500 cash award per school.

Selection guidelines
Nominations will be judged based on the following qualities and attributes:
• Academic excellence;
• Spirit of scholarly inquiry and professional curiosity;
• Leadership and initiative;
• Active participation in extracurricular activities demonstrated through involvement in campus, faculty or community activities; and
• Professional contributions, demonstrated through involvement with the IABC.

A committee of the college faculty advisors and two full-time instructors will select the winner from each school.

Entry Guidelines:
Entry Deadline: Applications are posted with each participating schools.No submission fee is required for the entries for the IABC/Toronto’s Student Awards