AWC Honors Lorraine Howell for Outstanding Service
Four Students Receive Communication Scholarships

Seattle, July 7, 2008 – The Association for Women in Communications Seattle Professional Chapter honored member Lorraine Howell with its annual prestigious Georgina MacDougall Davis Founders Award, named after a student at the University of Washington who helped found the nationwide organization in 1909.

Howell, owner of Seattle-based Media Skills Training, coaches top executives and professionals on how to be more effective when speaking to the media or making public presentations. She also wrote a book, Give Your Elevator Speech a Lift! (Book Publishers Network, June 2006), which is now in its second printing. In October 2007, she coached the five finalists in the Forbes.com national Boost Your Business Contest in New York City.

The award is given to a member who has consistently exhibited the highest ethics, professional excellence and personal commitment in everything they do.  The Seattle chapter created the award in 1976 to honor Davis, who founded women’s journalism society Theta Sigma Phi at the University of Washington in 1909, which later became the Association for Women in Communications.

“Lorraine is a supreme connector of talent among women in our profession,” said AWC member Teresa Wippel, last year’s Georgina Award winner. “Her desire to help other women succeed – and to support their efforts – is a shining example of what our founder had in mind in establishing Theta Sigma Phi 99 years ago.”

Howell started Media Skills Training in 1998 after 12 years as a television news and talk show producer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Howell’s clients include Starbucks Coffee Company, Microsoft, REI, Group Health Cooperative, Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center, The Mountaineers Books, Vulcan, Inc., ZymoGenetics, Arcadia Biosciences, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The AWC Seattle chapter also honored four communication students. Two were awarded $1,500 scholarships:

• Judy Vue at the University of Washington is pursuing a career in journalism. She plans to become an international reporter after graduation, seeking a station in Thailand, and is studying the Thai language to help realize her goal.
• Nina Huang, a senior at UW, is pursuing a communications degree with a focus on journalism. Huang wants to pursue a master’s in communications and eventually work for a public relations firm, doing freelance writing on the side.

AWC also recognized two other UW students: Sarah Cox and Sarah Greenleaf, winners of the Marty Wilson and Cassie Bryant scholarships, respectively. These awards are named for former Seattle AWC members and are endowed through the University of Washington.

All the women were honored at a June 18 dinner at the Seattle Yacht Club.

AWC is a nationwide group dedicated to leading progressive change in communication professions through information exchange, leadership, professional development and technology. For more information on AWC, visit our Seattle chapter website at www.seattleawc.org.