Master Communicator

The Master Communicator award is Canada’s Award of Distinction and is sponsored by IABC Canada (Regions 1 and 2). Each year, it recognizes up to two outstanding Canadian communicators whose work has brought credit to IABC, the profession, the organizations they worked for and whose contributions have raised the standards of organizational communication in Canada.

To learn more, click on the following link: http://canada.iabc.com/awards/master-communicator/

The following IABC/Toronto members are Master Communicators

• Priya Bates (2010), ABC, MC
• Edward K (Ted) Belt (1980), MC (deceased)
• Eric Bergman (2002), ABC, APR, MC
• Christopher Bunting (1997), ABC, MC
• Ken Cherney (2005), ABC, APR, CSC, MC
• Wallace L. (Wally) Court (1980), ABC, APR, MC
• Jacqui d’Eon (2008), ABC, MC, P. Eng
• Roger Feather (1982), ABC, MC (deceased)
• Ray Lister (1982), MC
• Annette Martell (1998), ABC, MC, Fellow
• Sharon Paul (1983), ABC, MC
• Bill Rattray (1982), MC (deceased)
• Roberta Resnick (1992), ABC, APR, MC, Fellow
• Kay Staib (1980), ABC, MC (deceased)
• George Watson (1980), MC
• Janet Wile (2007), ABC, APR, MC

Priya Bates, ABC, MC

Master Communicator 2010

IABC/Toronto Past President (2001/2002)

Priya Bates is a senior, award-winning communications executive whose career is marked by excellence in internal communications and strategic communications counsel. Priya is currently the Senior Director, Internal Communications, with Loblaw Companies Ltd. located in Brampton, Ontario. In this position she is responsible for the internal communications strategic plan and for leading internal communications initiatives aimed at supporting the Loblaw mission. While in this position, she successfully helped launch a Colleague Discount Program which was recognized with a Silver Leaf Award of Excellence. Her work and counsel have also been part of Loblaw’s efforts which led to being recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers in 2010 and the Financial Post’s Top 10 Companies to Work For in 2010.

Prior to joining Loblaw Priya was the Manager, Corporate Communications with HP Canada and Manager Internal Communications with Compaq. One letter of nomination noted that Priya is “an outspoken proponent of sound communication practice and ethics. She shares her knowledge…and many of us look to Priya for leadership ideas and concepts to help our own organizations solve branding and internal communications challenges.”

She is an accredited member of IABC and has served at the chapter, district and international levels. She is a frequent speaker on communications issues related to branding and internal communications and change management. Praise for Priya’s work with IABC and the profession was strong: “All her contributions to the field and to IABC enable Priya to serve as an unequalled role model for IABC members and others in the communication profession…to achieve the highest possible goals and objectives for themselves, their employers, their audiences and the public in general.”

Priya has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Ontario, and is a graduate of the Humber College Public Relations Program.

Eric Bergman, ABC, APR, MC

Master Communicator 2002

IABC/Toronto Past President (1994/1995)

Eric has been a self-employed communicator since 1985 and has managed many communications programs including advertising campaigns, media relations, and issues management.

Today he owns Bergman and Associates and focuses on communications training and issues management for senior leadership. He has been accredited since 1991 and has been a key influencer locally and globally in the areas of entrepreneurship, ethics and accreditation.

Eric joined IABC in Edmonton in 1982. He later moved to Toronto and started volunteering at the local level as a writer with Communicator, the IABC/Toronto newsletter. He eventually moved onto the board when IABC/Toronto had fewer than 600 full-time members. He overhauled the financial practices of the chapter and hired a professional accountant. Eric then took the role as VP Membership and led the first-ever membership survey in Toronto.

Eric was President of IABC/Toronto in 1994 when the chapter received Awards of Merit in the Chapter Management Awards for Professional Development and Financial Management and for the first time had a membership that hit 1,000, making it the largest chapter in IABC.

He participated on the district board and then moved to international level positions – on the international accreditation council and the program advisory committee for IABC’s 2000, 2001 and 2002 international conferences. Eric has marked many accreditation exams in the past several years. He has personally mentored many IABC/Toronto members pursuing accreditation to help demystify the process. He has accepted speaking opportunities on Entrepreneurship in Canada and at the International Conference and recently created the ethics quiz, which is now part of the portfolio portion of the accreditation process. He is passionate about the value of accreditation and the importance of ethics.

Christopher H. Bunting, ABC, MC

Master Communicator 1997

As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shandwick Canada, Chris is responsible for the management
and implementation of the complete range of communications services the firm offers to public and
private sector clients from its offices across Canada.

Before his appointment as Chairman and CEO in 1989, Chris was Executive Vice President of the company and was based in Ottawa. Chris is a graduate of Carleton (BA) and Ottawa (BComm) Universities.

He was the first Canadian Chairman of the Board of IABC. Chris serves as a Director of Golin/Harris Communications Inc., based in Chicago. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Trent University, and the Board of Advisors of the Clarke Institute Foundation. He is past President of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research and Chairman of the Global Strategy Task Force for IABC.

An accredited business communicator (ABC) and member of IABC, Chris is also a member of the International Public Relations Association, the Canadian Public Relations Society, the National Press Club of Canada, and the Public Affairs Institute of Canada.

Chris was named 1987 ‘Communicator of the Year’ by IABC Capitale in Ottawa, and in 1988 was named an Associate of Carleton University. In 1992, he was named a Fellow, the highest honour awarded by the International Association of Business Communicators.

In 1995 on IABCs 25th anniversary Chris was named as one of the top 25 people who shaped IABC. Nominated by several including L.C. Williams, who said: “… he headed IABC at a critical time in its existence. He helped save the IABC Research Foundation/IABC relationship.”

Ken Cherney, ABC, APR, CSC, MC

Master Communicator 2005

In Ken Cherney’s nomination to Master Communicator, a colleague wrote: “As a mentor, Ken always took time out of his busy day to talk through issues, provide sound counsel, and share insights based on his wealth of corporate communications experience.“

Ken Cherney began his career as a reporter-photographer in Southern Ontario in the early 1970s, then entered the public sector in Manitoba before moving on to spend more than 20 years with Inco Limited (now Vale Inco), the international mining and metals company. Today Ken owns and operates his own communications consultancy, Ken Cherney and Associates Inc. in Grimsby, Ontario. He has more than 30 years domestic and international experience in communication strategy and project management.

Ken has been a tireless contributor to IABC. His history of volunteerism in communications predates IABC in Canada. In 1972 while attending his first meeting with the Winnipeg Chapter of Corporate Communicators Canada, he found himself recruited for a chapter executive position.

Since then he has held chapter executive positions in Winnipeg,  Toronto and Hamilton and on the Canadian District Boards. Accredited since 1975, he was an active member for two terms on IABC’s International Accreditation Board and Council and has proctored countless accreditation exams in North America and Europe.

Ken has received more than 30 awards for annual report project management, internal/external communications, and video production. He frequently judges industry awards competitions.

Wallace L. (Wally) Court, ABC, APR, MC

Master Communicator 1980
IABC/Toronto Past President 1967/1968

One of the pioneers of IABC International, Wally started his communications career with British American Oil Company (now Gulf Canada) in 1957 in the firm’s Public Relations Department, and was appointed editor of the company’s employee magazine Commentator in 1961. Over the next 20-year period, the magazine earned more than 145 local and international awards for editorial and communication excellence including three Silver Anvil Awards from the Public Relations Society of America.

Wally was active in association work at the local, national and international levels including terms as program, membership and nominating chairman, and in 1967 as president of the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Industrial Editors Association (CIEA). A member of CIEA’s national executive for nine years, he served eight years as CIEA’s representative to The International Council of Industrial Editors (ICIE), and one as treasurer. He was elected president of the CIEA national body in 1968, and later served five terms as the association’s executive secretary.

As ICIE’s vice-president of international affairs, he played a major role in developing the concept of a world-wide association of industrial communicators. As CIEA’s international representative, Wally participated in the negotiations leading to the amalgamation of the CIEA, ICIE and The American Association of Industrial Editors, and the formation, in 1970, of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Wally received an IABC Canada life membership in 1973 and was made an IABC Fellow in 1977.

Jacqui d’Eon, ABC, MC

Master Communicator 2008

Jacqui d’Eon is currently the Chief Communications Officer for Deloitte Canada, Canada’s largest professional services firm, based in Toronto. She serves on the International Accreditation Council of IABC, which oversees the organization’s professional credential program recognizing communicators who have reached a globally accepted standard of knowledge and proficiency in their chosen field. Candidates meeting the requirements of the program earn the designation Accredited Business Communicator (ABC). Jacqui earned her ABC in 1998 and has been a tireless champion of professional accreditation ever since, mentoring many other  communicators.

A native of Halifax, Jacqui is a graduate of Saint Mary’s University and Dalhousie University. She is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario and has more than 30 years of business experience.

“This is a tremendous honour for me personally. I have always looked up to the Master Communicators and I am humbled to be recognized by them as a peer,” says Jacqui, who plans to celebrate her achievement by visiting IABC chapters across Canada to talk about the importance of communications in  organizations.

Annette Martell, ABC, MC, Fellow

Master Communicator 1998
IABC World Chair 2002/2003

Management consultant, Annette Martell, ABC, MC, is internationally recognized for her senior leadership, employee engagement, change communication strategies, executive counsel and strategic communication planning. She has more than 20 years of communication experience from a variety of international and national communication management positions.

Her career features more than 15 years in the financial services sector where she was charged with establishing and/or revitalizing the corporate communication function. As an Associate with the communication consulting practice of the international consulting firm of Mercer she worked with clients in banking, real estate and manufacturing.

Annette is the recipient of several national and international communication honors and awards. She is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) and in 1998 was named a Master Communicator by IABC.

In June 2002, Annette was elected as IABC’s chair of its international executive board. This is the highest office of IABC which today serves 16,000 communicators in 80 countries. She successfully led the 26-member international board of senior communicators through one of IABC’s most challenging financial periods. At the same time, she championed IABC’s bold international governance review and price restructuring.

Annette frequently speaks at international and national conferences.

Roberta Resnick, ABC, APR, MC, IABC Fellow, CPRS Honorary Fellow

Master Communicator 1992

Roberta (Bobbie) Resnick has more than 50 years of experience in public relations, employee and marketing communication, and consumer services with multi-national companies both in the U.S. and in Canada. She currently heads her own communication firm, Roberta Resnick & Associates, specializing in employee and marketing communication. The firm has celebrated its 25th anniversary.

In 1987, she helped design the original one-year graduate Corporate Communications program at Seneca College, Toronto, and taught advanced writing and several communications management subjects there for more than 10 years. She also taught employee communication management and marketing communications in similar public relations programs at Centennial College and Ryerson University (Toronto). She remains in touch with many of the more than 300 graduates of these programs…just a little payback, she maintains, to the field that has been so good to her over the years. Her former students continue to demonstrate enviable skill levels in ever more responsible positions with corporations and agencies or run their own successful consultancies across Canada, earning local and national awards for their work.

Accredited by both IABC and CPRS, Bobbie has been active in IABC – and its predecessor organization, ICIE – since 1959, first in Chicago, then in Philadelphia, and in Toronto, where she has lived since 1972. She is a former IABC International Vice President (1974-76), a contributing author of IABC’s A Communicator’s Guide to Marketing, past chairman of the IABC Marketing Communication Council (1984-88) and a recipient of the IABC Chairman’s Award (1987). She was named a Master Communicator in 1992, one of 10 Toronto Chapter members at that time to receive the designation since the Canadian organization was founded in the 1940s. In addition to receiving an Honorary Fellow designation from the Canadian Public Relations Society, IABC award its Fellow distinction to Bobbie in 2005.

Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC

Master Communicator 2007

Janet Wile has been a champion for effective and integrated communications for 25 years, working in corporate, agency and government organizations.

She is currently Director, Internal Communications, with Barrick Gold Corporation in Toronto, where she is responsible for developing and implementing communications programs for this global company. Previous experience includes management roles with major engineering and electronics firms (Siemens and Honeywell), agency experience with Burson-Marsteller, and public sector experience with the Calgary Regional Health Authority and the governments of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Janet has been an active member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) throughout her career, participating and volunteering in many ways through the years. She is accredited by both IABC and the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), and has always been an active supporter of professional accreditation. She has served as Vice President of Professional Standards for IABC Toronto (1996-98), as Director of Exams for the IABC international Accreditation Council (2001-4), and is currently an Examiner for the Accreditation program. She is a mentor for students and accreditation candidates and, in 2006, was named Mentor of the Year by CPRS Toronto.

Always committed to achieving a high standard of communications practice, she has won 17 awards from professional societies since 2001.

For many years, she has been a frequent judge for local, national and international communications award programs, and served on the Blue Ribbon Panel for IABC Gold Quill Awards in 2006.

Originally from Windsor, Nova Scotia, she is an Arts graduate from Acadia University and holds Master’s degrees in Arts and Public Administration from Queen’s University. Believing that communications is a profession that requires continuous learning, she is committed to on-going professional development through attending communications conferences as well as corporate business training programs.

“IABC has been a key element in my career as a source of information, best practices, fun and   great friendships with others in the profession,” she said. “I believe it’s important to keep learning and to share that learning with others who are starting out in the field. Whatever you   invest as a volunteer or mentor, you receive back many times over.”