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Hall of Fame
The Southern Public Relations Hall of Fame was established in 2010 to recognize the distinguished accomplishments, commitment and leadership of professional public relations practitioners and educators from the southeastern United States, for the benefit of promoting the public relations profession. Inductees are current and former southern public relations practitioners or educators who have brought honor to the field of public relations.
Induction into the Hall is intended to identify leaders in our industry who should be recognized and honored for their extraordinary achievements, accomplishments and contributions to their organizations, communities and the public relations profession.
The Hall is co-sponsored by SPRF and the Mississippi State University Department of Communications and is permanently installed outside the John Grisham Room inside in the Mitchell Memorial Library on the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville.
Criteria for selection includes 25 years or more of professional experience by candidates who:
- had a positive and long-lasting impact on the practice of public relations in the Southern United States (personal or professional ties);
- has brought honor to the profession of public relations. Inductees may also be recognized for some strong contribution to their company, organization, city, state or region;
- may be deceased;
- has shown leadership at the local, state and regional levels of SPRF and member organizations and member organizations and chapters;
- has demonstrated professional practice and behavior that are characteristic and consistent with the SPRF Code of Ethics.
The deadline for 2026 nominations is May 22.
To make a nomination, please submit a nomination form here.
For more information, contact Hall of Fame Chair Patrice Guilfoyle, APR, SPRF Past President.
Click here for more information about members of the Southern Public Relations Hall of Fame.
The Southern Public Relations Hall of Fame's 2025 inductees (from left): Lisa Darnell Frazier, APR; Bill Moak, APR, Fellow PRSA; Mara Hartmann, APR; Tracy Robbins Sims, MA, APR.
Members of the Southern Public Relations Hall of Fame gathered in Starkville, Mississippi, in August 2016 to welcome the new inductees. Pictured left to right are Rex Kelly (2010); Carol Mann, APR (2013); Ken Hair, APR (2012); Daniel Gardner (2016); Steve Renfroe (2016); Joseph V. Trahan III, PhD, APR, Fellow PRSA (2016); Eva Golson (2016); John Forde, PhD, APR, Fellow PRSA (2014); John S. Hightower, APR (2016); and Suzanne Fornaro, APR (2015).
Members of the Southern Public Relations Hall of Fame include (from left:): Ken Hair, John Wittig, PhD, APR; Sherry Harlow, APR; Suzanne Fornaro, APR; Karla Gower, PhD (representing the late Betsy Plank, APR, Fellow PRSA); Carol Mann, APR; John Forde, PhD, APR, Fellow PRSA; and Philip Shirley, APR. They gathered at Mississippi State University in Starkville during the 2015 induction ceremony.
Members of the Southern Public Relations Hall of Fame gathered in Starkville, Miss., in July 2014 to welcome the new inductees. Pictured left to right, Rex Kelly of Gulfport, Miss. (2011); Ken Hair of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (2012); Joe Purka, of Niceville, Fla. (2014); Sherry Harlow, APR, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (2011); Shelia White, of Gulfport, Miss. (2014); John Forde, PhD, APR, Fellow PRSA, of Starkville, Miss. (2014) and Philip Shirley, APR, of Jackson, Miss. (2014).
Inductees of the 2013 Southern Public Relations Hall of Fame were recognized in a ceremony at the John Grisham Room of Mitchell Memorial Library on the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville. Pictured left to right, Ken Hair of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (2012 inductee); Sherry Harlow, APR, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (2011 inductee); Betsie Gambel of New Orleans, La.; Renie Saucier of Alexandria, La., accepting on behalf of her late husband, Charles "Chuck" Saucier; Caron Blanton, SPRF president; Carol Mann, APR, of Mobile, Ala.; Tony Bahou of Jackson, Miss., PRAM Central president, accepting on behalf of the late Neal W. Cirlot; and John Wittig, PhD, APR, of Hoover, Ala.
