FROM STAFF REPORTS

MONTGOMERY– Cindy Warner, public relations and community education supervisor for the Shelby County School District, has successfully completed the examination for accreditation in public relations, entitling her to use the APR professional designation.

The announcement was made by the Universal Accreditation Board, a consortium of nine professional communication organizations that directs this competency certification program.

Warner is member of the National School Public Relations Association, one of the nine participating organizations of the UAB; and its affiliate chapter – the Alabama School Public Relations Association.

Warner was also honored by ALSPRA as the first recipient of the Mitch Edwards, APR Memorial Award. This award honors the memory of Mitch Edwards, APR, an accredited public relations practitioner, past member of ALSPRA, and regional leader in the field of public relations until his death in December 2014. Edwards sought and championed continued education of practitioners.

“Earning my APR was something that was very important to me as it demonstrates a commitment to the profession,” Warner said. “Being the first recipient of the Mitch Edwards, APR Memorial Award, is also a huge honor. Mitch was a dear friend and was one of the first of my professional colleagues to encourage me to seek my APR. To receive an award that honors him is very special to me.”

“We wanted to do something to honor his memory,” said Lesley Bruinton, APR, ALSPRA president. “We want to encourage and support other school PR professionals by offering a $250 monetary award to any eligible and active ALSPRA member who passes the APR computer-based examination.”

Accreditation in public relations is a voluntary certification program for public relations professionals. The purpose is to unify and advance the public relations profession by identifying those who have demonstrated broad knowledge, experience and professional judgment in the field by assessing competence in 60 areas of knowledge, skills and abilities associated with the profession.

Candidates who successfully complete the rigorous process, including presenting a portfolio to a readiness review panel of three peers and sitting for a computer-based examination, are granted the APR.

“Earning the APR reflects mastery of the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to succeed in our increasingly complex procession,” said Dr. John E. Forde, APR, Fellow PRSA, who served as the 2015 chair of the UAB. “Practitioners who achieve the designation are demonstrating their commitment not only to our profession, but also to a strong code of ethics and to the betterment of their organizations and clients.”

Warner said earning the APR designation has been a personal and professional goal she has been seeking for the past three years.