DMAW/EF President Rick Powell announced three awards at The 2016 Best of Direct Awards ceremony on November 30. Recipients included Professor Paula Morris of Salisbury State University; Greg Albright, co-founder and principal of PS/PS Digital; and Scott Huch, president of The Delta Group.
Paula Morris received the DMAW Educational Foundation’s O’Hara Leadership Award. Created in 2008 by the late Dr. Michael O’Hara, long-time DMAW and DMAW/EF supporter, the Award recognizes a professor who promotes life-long learning in general, and specifically promotes direct and interactive marketing as a career choice to their students. Paula serves on the Academic Advisory Council of the DMAW/EF and is active in all DMAW/EF programs. She’ll tell you that the Professor’s Institute inspired her to create and teach a Direct and Interactive Marketing course at Salisbury University. She’s also coached at least one gold, silver or bronze Collegiate MAXI team every year since 2013. Because of her high level of student engagement, in 2015 The University of Maryland Board of Regents recognized her with the Excellence in Mentoring Award.
Greg Albright, co-founder and principal of PS/PS Digital received the DMAW/EF Kay Lautman Mentorship Award. Established in 2014, this award recognizes an individual nominated by peers who has acted as an outstanding mentor and guide in the career of a direct response fundraising professional. A direct marketing professional for over 30 years, Greg has hired and trained scores of our industry’s direct marketers. And to many, Greg has been a powerful mentor as evidenced by the words of those who know him: “It is truly Greg’s nature to give, and this giving attitude is the foundation of everything he does.” “Greg leads by example, his style is contagious and he is easy to learn from. I am inspired daily by his passion and positive attitude.” “Greg is a natural leader who helps his team succeed by setting the bar high and filling in the blanks to reach that goal.”
The Foundation awarded its DMAW/EF Board Appreciation Award to long-time EF Board member Scott Huch. For the last eight years, Scott has served as Secretary of the Educational Foundation Board. Scott notes, when he was getting started in his direct marketing career 30 years ago at The Viguerie Company, he dreamed of one day winning an award for his direct mail copywriting skills. That hasn’t happened (yet), he says, but Scott is definitely famous for writing and delivering profoundly well written and thoroughly accurate minutes at EF board meetings. As Scott is fond of saying, “It might be a lowly 10-minute telephone meeting for the board to approve next year’s budget, but by the time I get through with the minutes, you’ll think you attended a Joint Session of Congress.”
Also honored was Educational Foundation Program Committee co-chair, Katy Jordan, vice president of integrated marketing at CDR Fundraising Group. Katy received the DMAW Rising Star Award. In her work for the Foundation Katy has helped organize both the 2016 Collegiate MAXI competition and the upcoming 2017 Professors Institute. She’s a frequent speaker at industry events and a regular contributor to trade publications.
Jinny Fleischman received the DMAW-DMAW/EF’s inaugural “Key Contributor Award.” A recipient of the Hall of Leaders Award in 2008 and president of both DMAW and the Educational Foundation, Jinny was instrumental in launching the first Best of Direct in 2008.
Here is the complete list of 2016 Best of Direct Honorees