Nominees standing for election to the National Board of Directors

Four (4) CPRS National Members have been nominated to fill three (3) Director positions on the National Board effective June 13, 2010. An election to choose the three Directors will be conducted at the CPRS Annual General Meeting (AGM) being held in Regina, Saskatchewan. The newly elected Directors will join the 12-member Board to serve three-year terms. Three Directors will serve their remaining one-year term and four will serve their remaining two-year term.

A ballot, for those who do not plan to attend the AGM, will be mailed to all voting Members at least thirty (30) days prior to the AGM.

Robert W. Ellis APR, FCPRS was nominated to stand for election and as he is the only candidate from the Prairies, he is acclaimed to serve a three-year term beginning June 13, 2010.

Robert W. Ellis, APR, FCPRS

Bob Ellis has been a public relations practitioner for 36 years, during which time the profession’s communications vehicles have moved from telexes to blogs and Twitter. He has spent his career in the public sector, first with the University of Regina and then with the Government of Saskatchewan, where he has worked for one Crown corporation and nine government departments. He is currently Director of Public Affairs for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources. Bob credits CPRS for shaping his development as a public relations professional, and has repaid the organization with years of dedicated service. He is currently on the CPRS National Board of Directors and was a CPRS National Director in the mid-Nineties. He has served as President of CPRS Regina and as Chairman of the 1990 CPRS National Conference. Bob received his accreditation in 1993 and became a member of the College of Fellows in 2002. His community service includes positions on the advisory committee of the University of Regina’s Certificate in Public Relations program and on the public relations advisory committee for Regina’s Wascana Centre, one of North America’s largest urban parks. For many years he also handled communications for the SaskPower Regina Dragon Boat Festival. A graduate of the University of Regina, he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from that institution and is an elusive final project away from completing a Master of Science degree in communications management from Syracuse University.

Terry Flynn, PhD, APR, FCPRS

Dr. Flynn, APR, FCPRS is Professor and Director of the MCM Degree Program, DeGroote School of Business - McMaster University and has been a member of CPRS since 1986 and received his accreditation in 1993. A 22-year member of the CPRS Toronto Society, Terry also became a member of the Hamilton Society in 2004. In early 2005, Terry was appointed as the Chair of the Task Force on Public Relations Education and at the 2007 national conference in Edmonton he was re-elected to the board for a three-year term. Since his first election to the Board in 2005, Terry has helped guide the development of the new National Council on Public Relations Education, has been active in helping to design a national market study on the scope and value of the practice of public relations in Canada, and helped to secure sponsorship for the national membership satisfaction survey. Terry has also been a strong supporter of educational awards programs at the national level.

Mark Giles, APR

Mark Giles, APR, is a senior communications advisor with the Privy Council Office – the bureaucratic arm of the Prime Minister’s Office – where he has held the defence, foreign affairs, transport, fisheries and oceans, and agriculture portfolios. Previously, he served for more than four years as communications director for the Canadian Forces Military Police and National Investigation Service, as Interpol’s chief of communications in Lyon, France, and as a police officer with the Calgary Police Service.

Recently completing a 15-month secondment from the PCO to Public Safety Canada, as director for Vancouver 2010, he led a team focused on strategic planning, partnerships and priorities. He believes these three areas, especially “priorities” and a clear understanding of what matters most, must be at the top of our CPRS national agenda.

A member of the Ottawa chapter’s board of directors for more than three years, he held the sponsorship, treasurer, student and web communications portfolios. He received his APR at the 2006 national conference in Niagara Falls, where he also gave a presentation on non-traditional branding.

Raised in the Vancouver area, and having lived and worked in Edmonton and Calgary for 20 years before moving to Ottawa in 2002, he has practised public relations and feels at home in both Eastern and Western Canada. Now a reserve major in the Canadian Forces – after previous full-time service – he teaches part time at the Defence Public Affairs Learning Centre in Ottawa, and also writes a regular column for Blue Line, Canada’s national law enforcement magazine.

Pierrette Leonard, APR, FSCRP

Involved in the health-care field for over 25 years, Ms. Leonard is currently senior advisor for national partners with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute. Ms. Leonard's background also includes social work and teaching. She joined CPRS in the early 1990s as a member of CPRS Ottawa, and became a member of the Board of Directors shortly afterwards. As a Board member, she served as French Editor of the chapter newsletter, member of the Professional Development Committee, as secretary, and treasurer for the 1994 national conference. Nationally, Ms. Leonard has served CPRS as a grader, exam development lead and as chief examiner for the National Council on Accreditation from 2000 to 2007. Being involved from the ground up in the setting of standards for CPRS has enabled her to understand the sacred trust that comes with holding any position involving the accreditation of peers, especially concerning ethics, teamwork, and relationship building with colleagues. Ms. Leonard, who received her FCPRS in 2007, is seeking a second three-year term on the national Board. Her main area of focus in contributing to CPRS concerns Governance and the relationship between the National office and member societies.

Reneé McCloskey, APR

Reneé McCloskey, APR is the Manager of External Relations with the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George in Prince George, BC. Prior to joining the Regional District in 2007, Renee worked in a variety of sectors including local government, healthcare, tourism and economic development. Reneé joined CPRS in 1995 and was one of the original charter members of CPRS-Northern Lights, when it was formed in 1999. She has served in a number of capacities on the Northern Lights executive over the past ten years, including two terms as president. She has been a member of the National Membership and Recruitment Committee since 2007, and has twice served as a judge for the BC PR Leadership Awards. She received her APR in 2006.