Jennifer Wah named IABC Fellow

Former chapter president Jennifer Wah is named an IABC Fellow, the association’s highest honour internationally – a lifetime achievement award. She is recognized at the chapter awards event, and formally inducted at the IABC World Conference in Toronto in June.

Ryan Williams, ABC receives Master Communicator Award

Ryan Williams, ABC, MC, is passionate about communication measurement. His leadership has expanded technical knowledge of communication-related research for practitioners, and influenced the understanding of its importance by management and leaders. Ryan has been an IABC volunteer at local, national and international levels, and received his MC in 2014.

IABC Wave Awards re-launched in 2015

“For those who remember the chapter’s Blue Wave Awards, naming the new program the IABC/BC Wave Awards evokes some chapter history and nostalgia,” said former president Jennifer Wah, ABC, MC, IABC Fellow. Jennifer and Gail Pickard, ABC, were the co-chairs of the committee that re-named and re-launched the chapter awards program to focus on highlighting individuals and their achievements. The national and international awards programs focus on work excellence.

IABC/BC celebrates 30 years

Against the backdrop of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the chapter marked its 30th anniversary with a party in downtown Vancouver. Chapter president Angela Wilson reflected a commonly heard theme in an anniversary video that year: “A lot of my IABC/BC volunteer relationships have turned into longtime friendships."

With glowing hearts...

The slogan of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics was a sentiment extended across the country to that year’s World Conference in Toronto, where the Games’ signature red mitts and relay torch made an appearance. Here, BC chapter members Peter Roaf and Tudor William flank IABC International Chair Mark Schumann.

An emphasis on fun

John Almond, owner of IABC/BC 40th anniversary timeline sponsor Graphically Speaking, said: "The highlight of my time with IABC was my year as president and Gary (Carr was VP). It was a packed year of activities and fun. We had a good team, we had a lot of fun."

Gold Quill Blue Ribbon Panel - 2017

First Gold Quill Blue Ribbon regional panel held in Vancouver in 2017, co-chaired by Jennifer Wah, ABC, MC, IABC Fellow, and Gary Carr.

Fun firsts

• Creation of the chapter's first Toastmaster's club, the Headliners • First “IABC/BC Beyond the Book Club” (Both created and managed by Paul Hendren and Christina Low.) • International Executive Accreditation Seminar held for the first time at Royal Roads University in Victoria with BC chapter members participating as both candidates, mentors and instructors

IABC/BC Media Crawl

This event was launched to give IABC/BC chapter members a glimpse into the daily life of some of the province's best known media outlets.

Gift of Communication

Gary Carr said he was proud of helping to make the Gift of Communication a reality. "I really thought it held a lot of potential value. Not only in terms of highlighting the skills of our members to an organization (or 2 - 3 ) but also for showing us giving back to the larger community. And the other benefit which also played out was that we were able to keep some of our more seasoned members involved in the association by offering them a chance to give back without having the big commitment of a board position or something at that level."

BC chapter wins big at management awards

The 2012-2013 board won four IABC Chapter Management Awards: an award of Merit in Financial Management, and awards of Excellence in Sponsorship, Professional Development, and Leadership Development!

Wendy Kubota, chapter president

IABC Canada West in Victoria

The 2012-2013 board won four IABC Chapter Management Awards: an award of Merit in Financial Management, and awards of Excellence in Sponsorship, Professional Development, and Leadership Development.

CMP planning begins

IABC accreditation program sunsets and work begins on developing content for the new Communication Management Professional (CMP) and Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP) exams, under the new Global Communication Certification Council.

Jennifer Wah, ABC, MC named IABC Fellow

Former chapter president Jennifer Wah is named an IABC Fellow, the association’s highest honour internationally – a lifetime achievement award. She is recognized at the chapter awards event, and formally inducted at the IABC World Conference in Toronto in June. Gail Pickard, ABC, Jennifer's long-time friend, client and IABC colleague, said at the event: "In all of the letters of support submitted for Jennifer’s nomination, there are words that keep coming up over and over again. Storyteller. Passionate. Innovative. Dedicated. Generous. Positive. Creative. Spirit. Leader. Mentor. Friend. Wouldn’t we all like to be known by that description?"

Ryan Williams, ABC receives Master Communicator Award

Ryan Williams, ABC, MC, is passionate about communication measurement. His leadership has expanded technical knowledge of communication-related research for practitioners, and influenced the understanding of its importance by management and leaders. Ryan has been an IABC volunteer at local, national and international levels,

New IABC/BC website

Working with chapter sponsor Graphically Speaking, chapter volunteers Brice Dare and Sharon Habib led the launch of a new website. Said Dare: "They shared their considerable expertise in helping us develop strategies to best serve our members through this website, created this attractive and user-friendly design, and stickhandled their way through all of the programming and technical issues that cropped up."

IABC/BC Wave Awards launched

“For those who remember the chapter’s Blue Wave Awards, naming the new program the IABC/BC Wave Awards evokes some chapter history and nostalgia,” said former president Jennifer Wah (pictured, with former president Gail Pickard at right). Jennifer and Gail were the co-chairs of the committee that re-named and re-launched the chapter awards program to focus on highlighting individuals and their achievements. The national and international awards programs focus on work excellence.

The annual IABC/BC Signature Storytelling Event began

Catherine Ducharme said: "I was thrilled to drive the Signature Storytelling event. The inspiration is a storytelling podcast I love called 'The Moth'. It also didn’t seem like a reach for communicators to tell stories. We weren’t looking for presentations or long speeches – we wanted short memorable stories that people could learn from, draw inspiration and also be entertained. For the first one we had an amazing line up of 10 incredible speakers – they made us laugh, cry and think. Rob Cottingham – a well known communicator and aspiring comedian closed the show – before he delivered his speech he gave us an amazing, hilarious summary of all the speeches before his. He brought the house down. I am thrilled to see that this continues to be a key event for IABC/BC."

Jean Douglas - 1953-2015

With a passion for both research and communications, Jean was a rare colleague who made us all better, both professionally, and personally. Her expertise in engagement was matched only by her gentle laugh and ready smile.

Inaugural New Communicators speed networking event with CPRS

IABC/BC and CPRS Vancouver teamed up to give new communicators the edge they need to succeed in Vancouver’s unique and competitive marketplace. Participants benefited from rare one-on-one mentoring sessions with senior professionals from companies such as Vancouver Coastal Health, BC Liquor Distribution, Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and many more.

Re-launch of Connect newsletter

IABC/BC re-launched the Connect newsletter using MailChimp.

Terri Smolar - 1948-2016

A natural teacher, Terri Smolar mentored numerous chapter members over her years in various communications leadership positions. It was inevitable that she’d end her career running the communications program at BCIT.

BC holds first certification exam in May 2017

The chapter's first CMP was Jacqueline Wood (pictured at left here with Adam Brayford and Dana Higgins).

Laurie Dawkins receives Master Communicator Award

Laurie Dawkins, ABC, MC received her Master Communicator Award at the Canada Western Region Conference in Kelowna, BC.

Tudor Williams - 1944-2017

A thought leader, mentor and pioneer, Tudor William’s imprint on not just the chapter, but the entire communications profession, was lasting. In recognition of his contributions, Tudor was named both a Master Communicator in Canada and given IABC InTernational’s highest honour, the Fellow award. Tudor’s son, Ryan Williams, carries on his work and legacy with their company, Tekara Organizational Effectiveness.

IABC/BC welcomed 80 chapter leaders from across Western Canada for the Dare to Lead Conference

IABC/BC hosted the 2017 Dare to Lead Conference chaired by Dana Higgins. It was a huge success.

Bumper year for events

There were 12 Special Interest Group meetings (across five groups), five networking events, four professional development events including the first annual Media Crawl, three Get Connected events (to learn how to get involved), two mentorship initiatives (skills-based mentorship program, and speed mentoring) and two students & new communicator events (+ ambassadors and new student members!). There were 12 Special Interest Group meetings (across five groups), five networking events, four professional development events including the first annual Media Crawl, three Get Connected events (to learn how to get involved), two mentorship initiatives (skills-based mentorship program, and speed mentoring) and two students & new communicator events (+ ambassadors and new student members!).

Scavenger hunt

Adam Brayford hosted a scavenger hunt during the Canada West Region Dare to Lead conference that had participants running all over Vancouver.

Dare to Lead

Several members of the chapter’s 2018-2019 board headed to Regina for the annual IABC Canada Western Region conference for incoming chapter leaders, Dare to Lead.

Diversity and Inclusion Policy

IABC adopts Diversity and Inclusion policy as well as a Code of Conduct, with a goal to achieve more diversity at all levels of association.

The IABC World Conference returned to BC

President Adam Brayford: "I'll never forget when the IABC World Conference returned to our chapter in 2019. Thousands of Communication pros from around the world greeted by our amazing volunteers – getting to enjoy everything Vancouver has to offer. All these word-class professionals I'd met in other cities around the globe coming to our chapter was a proud moment–and BC rose to the occasion. I remember being so proud of everyone who worked to put that event on."