Professional Achievement Award 2022

Each year, SPRF member organizations (ECPRO, PRAL, PRAM, and PRCA) are invited to nominate one outstanding public relations professional for the SPRF Professional Achievement Award, formerly known as the Practitioner of the Year. The recipient of this award is announced at the SPRF annual conference. SPRF established this award to recognize an individual that has continually demonstrated the highest ideals of the profession as well as a commitment to advance the profession of public relations.

Qualifications for SPRF’s Professional Achievement Award (PAA)

• Be a member in good standing 
• Has taught or practiced in the field of PR for a minimum 15 years
• Have contributed to the success of the chapter, state and/or SPRF for multiple years
• Have participated in leadership roles in other professional or pre-professional organizations
• Have participated in PR community service
• Have realized recognized success in the practice of PR during the individual’s career

• Have received Accreditation by a UAB member organization

Each nominee is tasked to provide their resume, a one-page career essay, five work samples, three examples of community or public service activities, a list of offices held or activities participated in with public relations organizations, and a list of continuing education the individual has undertaken. The APR credential is required to be nominated for this award. 

The honoree was selected from these nominations by three highly experienced APRs from outside SPRF's geographic region. 

2022 SPRF PAA Recipient

Matt Martin, APR, PRAM

SPRF Honors Mississippi’s Matt Martin, APR, with the 2022 Professional Achievement Award

Baton Rouge, LA – Each year, the Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF) honors one of its members with the organization's highest individual honor, the Professional Achievement Award. SPRF established this award to recognize an individual who continually demonstrates the highest ideals of the profession and a commitment to advancing the public relations profession.

The 2022 SPRF Professional Achievement Award winner is Matt Martin, APR. Martin is the owner, creative director, and centerfielder for MightyPenguin Design, an imaginative and innovative source of creative, clever, unconventional advertising, photography, graphic design, and public relations solutions.

One of the judges said of Martin, "Matt is a true communicator. He has shared his expertise in broad and diverse ways across a full spectrum of employers, community interests, and his professional peers. You can sense the palpable joy he has taken in creative problem solving, serving the community, and the unique application of his ample professional skills. Most importantly, he gets results that "move the needle" in all the right ways."

Matt began his career earning a BA in English from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Mississippi while reporting at several newspapers. For the past 17 years, Martin has worked for a host of diverse local, regional, national, and even international clients under the name of MightyPenguin Design, garnering numerous ADDYs, PRisms, Lanterns, Maggies, and even a glorious golden cell phone, for a host of regional, national and international clients.

Now recognized as a Senior Practitioner by SPRF for his more than 25 years of experience in PR, Martin also helps empower the next generation of practitioners to develop their communication skills and rhetoric as an adjunct instructor of English Composition at Pearl River Community College.

Martin served as the President of the Board of Directors for several professional and nonprofit organizations, including two terms as the President of PRAM's Pine Belt Chapter. He currently serves as the Vice President of Programs for PRAM's state organization and the Lantern Awards Chair for SPRF.

Matt lives in Hattiesburg with his wife Jennifer, where they share duties as Hand to Khaleesi and Tormund, their rescue kitties.

The Southern Public Relations Federation is a network of public relations professionals from Alabama, North Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi who share a common interest in the public relations profession. Membership in the Federation is automatic for members of the Public Relations Council of Alabama (PRCA), the Emerald Coast Public Relations Organization (ECPRO), the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), and the Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM).

Previous Professional Achievement Award Recipients:

• 2021: Tracy Yanez, APR; PRAM
• 2020: Lesley Bruinton, APR; PRCA
• 2019: Checky Herrington, APR, Fellow PRSA; PRAM
• 2018: Lt. Col. Christian Patterson, APR+M; PRAM
• 2017: Tracie Bertaut, APR; PRAL
• 2016: Kristina L. Hendrix, APR; PRCA
• 2015: Holly Houk Cullen, APR; PRAL
• 2014: Robin Street, APR; PRAM
• 2013: Mary Cracchiolo Spain, APR; PRAM
• 2012: Lea Ivey Stone, APR; PRAM
• 2011: Jennifer Jenkins, APR; PRCA
• 2010: Susan Broussard, APR; PRAL
• 2009: Kristie Aylett, APR, Fellow PRSA; PRAM
• 2008: Glen Duncan, APR; PRAL
• 2007: Denise D’Oliveira, APR; PRCA
• 2006: Suzanne Fornaro, APR; PRCA
• 2005: Michael Tullier, APR; PRCA
• 2004: Carol Mann, APR; PRCA
• 2003: Missy LaBorde, APR; PRAL
• 2002: Delia Adams Taylor, APR; PRAL
• 2001: Deirdre McGowan, Ph.D., APR, CAE; PRAM
• 2000: Sherry Harlow, APR; ECPRO
• 1999: John Forde, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA; PRAM
• 1998: Bill Todd, APR; PRCA
• 1997: Dave Rickey, APR; PRCA
• 1996: Karla Shackleford Conway, APR; PRCA
• 1995: Jamie Palmer, APR; PRCA
• 1994: Rosemary W. Blackmon, APR; PRCA
• 1993: Bill Michelet, APR, Fellow PRSA; PRAL
• 1992: Philip Shirley, APR; PRAM
• 1991: Peri Widener, APR; PRCA