Jean Valin, APR, FCPRS LM and Martin Waxman, MCM, APR receive 2020 CPRS Outstanding Achievement Award

TORONTO, Sept. 22, 2020 /CNW/ - The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) honoured Jean Valin, APR, FCPRS LM and Martin Waxman, MCM, APR with the 2020 CPRS Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of their work on the Chartered Institute of Public Relations' AI in PR Panel. Both men accepted the award virtually during the Society's 2020 Annual General Meeting.

"Thank you for this award. I started researching Artificial Intelligence six years ago and joined the CIPR AI in PR Panel in 2018. This work is so important because we are sleepwalking into an AI world and we must upskill to understand it better and give proper advice. When Martin joined last year and brought his studies on AI to the team, it put a strong CPRS stamp on the Panel and served as a great opportunity to formalize a partnership between the Panel and CPRS, which will benefit our members and prepare us for the future of our profession. I'm grateful to have been a part of it and am grateful to the Committee for giving us this prestigious honour."

"Artificial intelligence isn't coming, it's here and it's incumbent on all of us in PR to educate ourselves on what it is, what the opportunities and risks might be, and how it will affect our profession," said Martin Waxman, MCM, APR. "I'd like to thank Jean Valin for inviting me on the #AIinPR Committee, the CPRS Board, and CPRS Awards Committee, and the McMaster MCM program, and especially Professors  Alex Sévigny and Terry Flynn for supporting my journey into researching the intersection of human and artificially intelligent agent relationships."

The Outstanding Achievement Award celebrates a single, major contribution made by a CPRS member, which has resulted in the betterment of the Society through the enhancement of its image in the eyes of practitioners and the world-at-large. Together, Valin and Waxman represented CPRS on the Panel, which recently released its Ethics Guide to Artificial Intelligence in PR to help practitioners around the world better understand and contend with ethical issues relating to the use of artificial intelligence in public relations.

When presenting the Award, Victor Vrsnik, MCM, APR, FCPRS, congratulated the two senior practitioners; "Thank you Jean and Martin for your leading edge research and work on AIinPR, and for the global recognition you've attracted to CPRS. We are all in awe of your achievements."

The Outstanding Achievement Award was one of nine Major and Special Awards presented during the Society's virtual Annual General Meeting in recognition of exceptional involvement in the public relations profession, with each winning candidate being nominated by his or her peers.

About CPRS
Founded in 1948, the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) is a not-for-profit association of professionals dedicated to the practice, management and teaching of public relations and communications. Comprising 14 local societies, CPRS' mission is to build a national public relations and communications management community through professional development and accreditation, collaboration with thought leaders, a commitment to ethics and a code of professional standards, advocacy for the profession, and support to members at every stage of their careers.

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SOURCE Canadian Public Relations Society