As a volunteer-run organization, IABC/BC’s programs and activities are supported by an incredible team of over 60 volunteers whose work contributes to elevating communications and marketing professionals across the province. Our board of directors took a moment to recognize the unsung and personal acts of stewardship and selflessness that our volunteers put in during a difficult year.
Awards
Scott: Thank you to the small but mighty Awards team! Taliesen Herb and Asna Shaikh, we’re just getting into Awards season and I’m so excited to be planning the first virtual Wave Awards with you.
Career Development
Karen: To the Career Development team (Maycko Macapugas, Jessie Scheele, Ilham Benttahar, and Niru Singh) – major kudos to you all for all your amazing work this year! For most of us, we are new volunteers to IABC/BC on a portfolio where we’ve been learning as we go. It’s been crazy busy with new cities, new jobs, remote work and this COVID life but I am so grateful for your commitment and support. What we do DOES make a difference to our members. Thank you for all that you do, IABC/BC is what it is today because of people like you 🙂
Events
Nicole and Jinny: In a year like no other, Nana Akuffo, Alliancé Babunga and Erika Gomos jumped right in and helped us move our networking and professional development events online. While we were initially apprehensive about this new format, our events have thrived and served as a wonderful example to our fellow communicators on how to move events online well. Thank you to our team for this wonderful year, and welcome to our newest team member Methuseli Dube. With a few more events planned to before the summer, we look forward to working with you!
Finance
Carmen: A big thank you Kasra Dehghan, for joining the Finance team and jumping in to work on a few special projects. Even though it’s only been a few weeks, I really appreciate how easy it is to work with you.
MarComm
Dana and Courtney: Thank you to the outstanding marketing and communications team who have helped to spread the word about IABC/BC, the learning opportunities, and the perks of being a member. Jenna Ross, Sheldon McRae, Salina Siu, Sage Testini, Sukriti Sobti, Rosabel Bong, Peter Onate and Megan Beitel – Your creativity, sunny smiles and hard work have been integral to the success of our chapter and we couldn’t be more grateful for you!
Membership
Jasmine: As the first point of contact for IABC/BC members across the province, I am so proud and honoured to have such a fantastic team of volunteers on the Membership team to represent our chapter. Thank you to Kelly Furey, Lindsay L’Heureux and Megan Clavelle for all of your efforts in supporting our membership activities and events – you are all wonderful ambassadors for the chapter. You ROCK!
SIG
Jess: The growth of the SIGs portfolio this year wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing volunteers Sarah Saghah and Shania Bakhtiani. With their dedication, enthusiasm and innovative contributions, we have been able to consistently provide engaging virtual opportunities for our IABC/BC members to share knowledge and discuss hot topics — even in the midst of a pandemic. Thank you so much Sarah and Shania for all your hard work. Not only have you both been amazing collaborators, but you have provided much-appreciated insight, humour and kindness to our small team.
Sponsorship
Ram: Thank you to my Sponsorship and Partnerships team (Carly Marek, Nas Ahmadi, Candy Tang, Rebecca Kessler, Kathryn Baxter). I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to work with such strong, smart and reliable team members. They are incredibly supportive and eager to take on any work sent their way, and consistently deliver excellent results. I have learned so much from each of them and each team member has brought their individual experience to elevate the portfolio. I look forward to continuing working with this fantastic team.
Student and New Communicators
Nancy: Many portfolios were affected this year, and none more so than our student and new communicators portfolio. Students and youth were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and we felt it too. Despite the challenges, Jazmin Sood and Shania Bakhtiani weathered the year with me and continued to quietly plan for the return to campus. Thank you team!
Volunteer Services
Rachel: From first year post-secondary students, to new grads to senior communicators making the move to B.C., our team is one of the first to really sit down and chat with potential volunteers and learn how IABC/BC can help. We follow this up with support for our directors, and check-ins to ensure we’re meeting our volunteers where they’re at. None of this would have been possible without the volunteer services dream team: Aditi Ghosh and Rumnique Nannar. A highly effective team begins with great listeners – and I’m honoured to work with two of the best, most compassionate communicators who bring their best selves to their careers and to IABC/BC. Thank you for empowering and building up our chapter.
40th Committee
Dana and José: To our 40th Anniversary Committee: Gail Pickard, Nancy Painter, Gary Carr, Jennifer Wah and John Almond – thank you for helping our chapter recognize this important milestone event! And to our amazing 40th anniversary content team: Rebecca Connop Price, Tatiane Procopio, Martina Buehler and Jazmin Sood – thank you for organizing and bringing our memories to life!
