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Calabrese, Schulz & Jacobs receive top PRSA honors
2/9/2009
CLEVELAND, February 9, 2009 – Joseph A. Calabrese, chief executive officer and general manager/secretary-treasurer of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), will receive the 2009 John Hill Award for outstanding communications leadership and support by a Cleveland-area chief executive at the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) annual awards luncheon. The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 26, at The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland.
Additionally, Cynthia V. Schulz, director of public affairs, Cleveland Foundation, will receive the 2009 PRSA Lighthouse Award for career accomplishments and community service. Nora C. Jacobs, APR, executive vice president, Edward Howard & Co., will receive the 2009 PRSA Davis Young Award for Exceptional Mentors.
Tickets are $35 for members and $45 for non-members. Tables of eight are available for $280. Event registration is available via www.prsacleveland.org, or by contacting Lynn Bracic: 440.899.1112 or prsacleveland@oh.rr.com.
Joseph A. Calabrese was named chief executive officer and general manager/secretary-treasurer of the RTA in February 2000. Calabrese, following the motto of “back to the basics,” led a number of initiatives to improve the RTA system, including bus replacements, a rail system renovation program and increased emphasis on image, financial management and enhanced customer service. This focus on customer service resulted in the creation of a quarterly report card, an employee incentive program and an unconditional customer guarantee called “Ride Happy or Ride Free.” Due to his efforts there has been a turnaround in the RTA’s ridership and for the first time in RTA history, the agency has now experienced six consecutive years of ridership growth.
Joseph Calabrese, RTA
In 2007, under Calabrese’s leadership, the RTA was awarded the Smart Business/Lexus “World Class Customer Service Award,” and was named “The Best Public Transit System in North America” by the American Public Transportation Association. In 2008, Calabrese was named the “Best Public Transit Manager in North America” and that same year the RTA celebrated the opening of a $200+ million innovative bus-rapid project called the HealthLine.
Calabrese is no stranger to the field of public transit, with 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors of the industry. Past president of both the New York State and Ohio Public Transit Associations, and currently serving on the board of directors of the American Public Transit Association, Calabrese is also very involved in many industry, civic and charitable boards.
Cynthia Schulz is director of public affairs for the Cleveland Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the country. She serves on the management committee and is responsible for leading internal and external communications that help the foundation further its mission of improving the lives of Greater Clevelanders. A former senior managing director of Dix & Eaton, a public and investor relations firm, she has more than 25 years of communications experience.
Cindy Schulz, Cleveland Foundation
Schulz has been recognized for her achievements with a number of awards, including being named by the YWCA as a 2005 Woman of Achievement, by Northern Ohio Live as a 2001 Rainmaker and by Crain’s Cleveland Business as a 2001 Woman of Note. The Kent State University School of Journalism honored her with the 2002 William Taylor Distinguished Alumna Award, and Brooklyn High School inducted her into its Hall of Fame.
Actively involved in community service, she has been recognized as the founder of Adapted Sports for Kids (ASK), a community recreation program for children with special needs, and as a 35-year volunteer with the American Red Cross. She holds leadership positions on a number of nonprofit boards and is also a past chair of the Board of Zoning Appeals and of the Recreation Board for the city of Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
Nora C. Jacobs, APR, is executive vice president at Edward Howard & Company, where she serves on the firm’s executive committee and board of directors.
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Nora Jacobs, Edward Howard
In addition to firm-wide responsibilities at Edward Howard that include staff recruitment, training and development and oversight of practice areas, Jacobs provides counseling, strategic planning and project execution to a range of clients. Jacobs has received numerous awards including three Silver Anvils, the highest award in public relations, for helping to change public opinion on critical health care issues, building attendance at an international conference and creating an outreach and education program for architects.
Chartered in 1947, the Public Relations Society of America is the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals. Its nearly 20,000 members, organized into 117 chapters, represent business and industry, technology, counseling firms, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and non-profit organizations. PRSA’s primary objectives are to advance the standards of the public relations profession and to provide members with professional development opportunities.
The Greater Cleveland Chapter of PRSA serves the needs of public relations professionals in Northeast Ohio. Affiliated with the East Central District of PRSA, the chapter consists of approximately 300 members.
Greater Cleveland Chapter PRSA
28022 Osborn Road
Bay Village, Ohio 44140
Web site: www.prsacleveland.org,
Phone #: 440-899-1112
E-mail: prsacleveland@oh.rr.com
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