2016 can certainly not be described as shabby for me professionally.
Chartership
I started the year by passing the gruelling Chartered Institute of Public Relations‘ assessment and was made a Chartered PR Practitioner in January. I later successfully passed the (rather less gruelling) assessment the Chartered Institute of Marketing puts its members through and ended the year being made a Chartered Marketer. I am thrilled to end the year with a double Chartership.
Being made a Chartered professional is a strong indicator of the quality of my work. Both statuses are recognition that I operate to the highest professional standards, provide expert counsel at a senior level, operate ethically and with integrity, and am committed to life-long learning and development.
Elections
September saw the elections for the next CIPR Council and in November I was successfully re-elected to serve a second two-year term, commencing January 2017 (you can read my candidate statement here and for full transparency, the election results here). December was the elections for the next CIPR Board and my peers on the CIPR Council re-elected me to serve a third term as an Executive Director.
The incumbent President, Jason MacKenzie, asked me to continue as Chair of one of the three standing committees – the CIPR’s Professional Development and Membership Committee (PDMC) – a role I am honoured to continue as this year I instigated some important projects to help members get the most from their membership and I want to see these through to their conclusion. There are many more projects waiting in the wings so 2017 will be a busy one for all serving on PDMC.
PR awards
2016 has been rounded off nicely with me winning two influential PR awards – a gold and silver in the CIPR’s PRide awards for the Southern England and Channel Islands region. I was awarded Gold for Outstanding Independent Practitioner and Silver in the Arts, Culture and Sport category, the latter for the work I have done and continue to do for the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA). You can read my Gold winning case study on the CIPR website, which includes the EIGCA as case study.
The judges said of why I was awarded the Gold: “Lindsey impressed the judges with her strong business objectives that were clearly set out and achieved. She demonstrates a clear commitment to her professional development and her desire to teach others about the positive impact public relations can have on a business is commendable.”
So … all in all, 2016 has been a pretty darn great year for me professionally. Mmm, I wonder what 2017 will bring?