Were you on Facebook in November? If so, your news feed was probably muddled every day with your friends’ public displays of gratitude for all of the good things in their lives. 

You might have even participated in this social media phenomenon.

I did not. But, let me be clear, that my reluctance to dedicating the 25 days leading up to Thanksgiving to Facebook proclamations of thankfulness doesn’t mean I’m not grateful. In fact, my Facebook friends made me think. You see, I have a long list of blessings – and, as it turns out, many of them are tied to this wonderful chapter. Here are just a few of my favorite moments:

1. Receiving a note from now Past President Steve Higgins with the news that IABC/Tulsa had won the 2011 Small Chapter of the Year Award. And, after some back-and-forth email prodding, finally getting him to share he had also won the International Chapter Leader of the Year Award.
2. Convincing IABC President Julie Freeman to visit Green Country to talk about the future of the profession. Little did we know that Tulsa would be one of the last chapters Julie would visit during her tenure as the head of the international organization. The announcement of her retirement, effective Dec. 31, came just a few days after she returned home to San Francisco, following her visit to our monthly meeting.
3. Along with Amethyst Cavallaro, having the honor of representing IABC/Tulsa at the October Southern Region Conference board meeting. After we shared a long list of all of the great things happening with our chapter, hearing Elena Martinez, chair of the region, exclaim “That’s why Tulsa is the Small Chapter of the Year, folks!”
4. Watching Angela Byers, Lucia O’Connor and a slew of willing volunteers pull off one of the most successful Bronze Quill ceremonies in our chapter’s history. Angela later shared that 97 percent of those who entered their work into the competition received an award. Though we didn’t need any proof that there is an extremely high caliber of talent in Tulsa, we got it anyways!
5. Presenting the pin and certificate of IABC accreditation to Tracy Harlow, a dear colleague, mentor and friend to many of us, and who has always been an accredited business communicator in my book.

Of course, I would be remiss to exclude the bit about leading an amazing executive board that is dedicated to the development and growth of every single one of our members and potential members. This board includes: Dena Wind, Tom Droege, Amethyst Cavallaro, Stephanie Cole, Megan Lewis, Lucia O’Connor, Summer Austin, Rachel Payne, Phillip Harris, Jennifer Pigeon, Angela Byers – and also Ginger Homan and Nathan Harmon because we won’t let them not be part of the group.

Finally, in the spirit of the season, thanks to all of you who have supported our chapter in 2011 by attending a meeting, entering a Bronze Quill, coming to OkieSMart, raising a glass at Happy Hour, etc. We wouldn’t keep doing this if it weren’t for you.

Happy New Year. See you in 2012!

“Life Balance: How to wear many hats and keep your head on straight” with Karen Susman
Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 11:30 a.m.
OSU-Tulsa, Room 140
700 N. Greenwood

Life Balance is a big concern for men as well as women. Want to find perfect balance? Forget about it. Learn to make important life choices. Learn to base your actions on these choices. Use this time to step back, prioritize your life and take steps to feeling more in control.

This totally original program will help you:

• Pinpoint personal priorities based on your values
• Uncover nine ways to match actions to priorities
• Negotiate your obligations
• Realign your life using an exciting, new six-step ladder
• Learn the one sentence secret to more perfect balance
• Manage your activities to manage your time
• Use 21 proven ways to manage the stress of our hectic times

 RSVP today!

All about Karen
Karen Susman, with Karen Susman and Associates, is an IABC all-star speaker. She has spoken at eight IABC conferences in addition to several state chapters and regions. Wellness and Communication are her areas of expertise with clients ranging from Marriott Hotels, NBC and Burger King. She’s published four guidebooks on Time Management, Humor, Networking and Community Involvement. Karen is known for her practical content, interaction and humor.

One of the greatest benefits of IABC membership is the development opportunities. Complimentary webinars are included in those opportunities and right now you can listen to any of the past year’s webinars in the convenient archives available on the IABC website. http://www.iabc.com/education/od/members.htm

Have you ever come in contact with a natural leader? Effective leaders instill confidence among their team, facilitate excellent communication and lead through their actions and examples. Maybe you are lucky enough to work with such a person every day. If you know of a leader who “gets it” when it comes to communication, consider nominating them for IABC International’s EXCEL Award.

IABC’s annual Excellence in Communication Leadership (EXCEL) Award recognizes a world-class executive who is not an IABC member but who exhibits leadership in practicing outstanding communication. EXCEL winners consistently demonstrate vision and leadership in their commitment to effective business communication. Through their actions and examples, these senior leaders (typically CEOs, presidents, managing and executive directors, and chairmen) support the communication profession and follow sound communication principles themselves.

The recipient of this prestigious award will give a keynote address at IABC’s World Conference in Chicago on June 25, 2012. They will also join a select group of EXCEL winners that includes executives from Xerox, Best Buy, Marriott International and Motorola. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 10, 2012.

Learn more or download a nomination form.

Pursue the gold! The 2012 Gold Quill Awards are now underway. Enter this global competition to receive the highest level of professional acknowledgment within business communication.

Early-bird deadline: Jan. 27, 2012
Final deadline: Feb. 10, 2012

Additional information and entry forms are available on the IABC website.

Registration is now open for the 2012 IABC World Conference, which will be held in Chicago from June 24-27, 2012. The conference theme is Avant-garde: innovative; experimental; pushing the boundaries for a 20/15 vision of communication.

Register by Feb. 4 to take advantage of the best rate.

As our “gift” to the community, IABC members want to help nonprofit agencies achieve excellence in corporate communications, public relations, employee communications, marketing communications, public affairs and other forms of communication.

Three agencies will be offered a free, private three-hour session plus some networking time with IABC communications professionals. Participants (one staff member and one board member preferably) from the agency will be expected to provide the organization’s mission along with their top two communication challenges prior to the session.

We are looking for communication professionals who are skilled in helping people and organizations:

• Make business sense of communications
• Think strategically about communications
• Measure and clarify the value of communication
• Build better relationships with stakeholders

Please consider giving back to your local community by sharing your Gift of Communication! RSVP now!

IABC Tulsa’s Gift of Communication
Thursday, Dec. 15, from 1 to 5 p.m.
OSU-Tulsa, B.S. Roberts Room
700 N. Greenwood, Tulsa

IABC Tulsa honored several communications professionals for their exceptional work at a party held at Harwelden Mansion on October 13. 2011.

Pierce H. Norton, chief operating officer of ONEOK, was named the 2011 Communicator of the Year for his recognition of the importance of and personal devotion to effective employee communications.

Ginger D. Homan, ABC, of Zia Communications, received the John Hartman Professional of the Year award, in addition to having the “Best in Show” entry for Chair & Art Pairings.

Lucia O’Connor, O’Connor Ink, was awarded the Leon Bolen Service Award, which honors an IABC member for volunteerism and support of the chapter’s goals.

The chapter awarded 32 Bronze Quill awards for work completed in 2010 and 2011. Winners included the following:

 Awards of Excellence

• Jarrod Kopp, Juliane Spinuzzi, Jessica Carthen and Ramon Cardiel, FW Murphy, for Configurator Cafe’ Direct Mail Invitation for 2010 IBEX Tradeshow
• Jessica Carthen, Ramon Cardiel and Jinger McPeak, FW Murphy, for Full Integration Marine
• Jessica Carthen, Ramon Cardiel and Jim Saunders, FW Murphy, for We Stick with Murphy
• Jarrod Kopp, Juliane Spinuzzi, Jessica Carthen and Ramon Cardiel of FW Murphy for Configurator Cafe’ 2010 IBEX Tradeshow
• Tom Droege, Nicole Morgan and Greg Rex, Rex PR, for Terminal Happiness: Tulsa International Airport Concourse Renovation
• Charlene Bassett, ONEOK, for ONEOK Quarterly
• Brad Borror, ONEOK, for Bakken Pipeline Media Outreach
• Rick Ayre and Jennifer Pigeon, ONEOK, for ONEOK Online
• Jennifer Pigeon, ONEOK, for Never Sees Obstacles Audio Piece
• Michael McCulloh, ONEOK, for Systems Analyst Never Sees Obstacles
• Hayley Westwood, ONEOK, for Email Retention Policy Implementation
• Chris Owen, Jason Hudson and Roux Carroll, RL Hudson, for Marketing Communications App
• Amethyst Cavallaro, Williams, for Williams Preventative Care
• Shannon Frederick, ABC, and Russell Shaffer, Walmart, for Home Office My Sustainability Plan Launch
• Amethyst Cavallaro, Williams, for Williams Wellness Challenge
• Lucinda Ross, Schnake Turnbo Frank PR, for Lafarge Tulsa Cement Plant In the Mix Newsletter
• Allison Starke, Schnake Turnbo Frank PR, for Trust Company of Oklahoma
• Rachel Payne, Walmart, for Take Stock In Your Future

Awards of Merit

• Jessica Carthen, FW Murphy, for Displays Your Way
• Talia Myres, Cherokee Nation Businesses, for Ours To Build On website
• Amanda Clinton, Cherokee Nation Businesses, for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa roof damage
• Lindsey Ameen, ONEOK, for Investor Relations Monthly
• Lindsey Ameen, ONEOK, for NAPTP Investor Conference presentation
• Megan Washbourne, ONEOK, for ONEOK and ONEOK Partners 2010 Annual Reports
• Rick Ayre and Jennifer Pigeon, ONEOK, for ONEOK Launches Social Media
• Megan Lewis, ONEOK, for ONE Responsibility – 2009/2010 ONEOK Corporate Responsibility Report
• Nicole Nascenzi and Keith Isbell, Williams, for Alan Armstrong Company Update
• Lizaimee Mata, Nicole Nascenzi and Amethyst Cavallaro, Williams, for Williams Route 66 Fashion Show 2010
• Lucinda Ross and RossCo Films, Schnake Turnbo Frank PR and Rossco Films, for Polypipe More Than Just Words video
• Sara Delgado, Williams, for Williams in Canada
• Peggy Striegel and John Corn, Striegel Advertising and ENERGON, for ENERCON Employee Motivation

Do you remember your first professional awards ceremony? I do.

I was an intern at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, and the team was kind enough to purchase a seat for me to attend the awards ceremony. We had been working all summer on improving the writing quality of the articles in the organization’s “Blue Link” employee newsletter, and the hard work paid off with an award of excellence. I remember being dazzled – not just by the quality of work recognized that night, but more importantly by the caliber of communications professionals who surrounded me.  I was awestruck. I couldn’t wait to graduate and hoped to become a part of this amazing group. And, admittedly, for a struggling college student, it was also fun to get dressed up and eat a decent meal that didn’t involve ramen noodles.

Fast-forward an undisclosed number of years later, and we’re gearing up to host yet another exciting evening. The annual IABC/Tulsa Bronze Quill awards ceremony will be held Thursday, Oct. 13, at the beautiful Harwelden Mansion. The impressive entries submitted by IABC/Tulsa members and guests, glamorous surroundings and continued top-notch community of communicators is the perfect mix for a fun event.

Plus, the Emmy-worth buzz has already started. Who will win Communicator of the Year? Will the John Hartman Professional of the Year award feature a repeat winner? Will Jarrod Kopp, once again, win the coveted Best in Show award?

You all want to know – don’t you? I do.

 So, make plans to join us. And prepare to be awestruck.