AWC is giving all members a chance to recognize outstanding women in the area.

Nominations are now open for the annual AWC Crystal Awards. The awards are an opportunity to highlight the work of McLean County women whose professional and personal efforts embody the ideal of communication—a way of bringing people, goals, and communities together.

AWC members can nominate women in three categories—AWC Outstanding Woman in Communications, AWC Innovation Award, and the AWC Crystal Member Award. See the descriptions of each award below. Nominations for the all three awards are available online at awcbn.org. The deadline for nominations is December 9, 2016. Nominees will be honored, and a winner announced at the AWC Crystal Awards on February 23, 2017, at the DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington, Illinois.

Members can nominate any woman living or working in McLean County for all three awards. And for the first time in its 35-year history, AWC is opening up the nominating process of one award to the general public. This year, members of the public can create nominations for the AWC Innovator Award. “As the field—and the very spirit of communications—evolves, we know there are women out there who do so much to bring our community together, and we want to celebrate them,” said President-Elect Kara Snyder, who is overseeing the awards this year.

Help bring together room full of vibrant and outstanding women for the 2017 Crystal Awards. Nominate outstanding women today.

AWC Outstanding Woman in CommunicationsNominees MUST be females working in the field of communication. The nominee does NOT need to be a member of AWC-BN. Only AWC members can nominate

CommuniquéMonthly newsletter for chapter members November 2016

candidates for this category. This is the highest award the women of AWC-BN can bestow. The Outstanding Woman in Communications exemplifies excellence in the field of communications. Her work is not only an example for other communicators to emulate, it has led to real change. The AWC Outstanding Woman in Communications uses her talents and expertise to elevate the communications profession, inspire other women, and determine the course of her field. She must have at least five years of experience in communications to be eligible for nomination. Forms are due December 9, 2017. Download a nomination form.

AWC Innovation AwardThe AWC Innovation Award is designed for women who are NOT professional communicators. The general public is open to nominate candidates for this category. This award honors a woman who has achieved excellence in communicating a project, mission, or event. Innovators use communications to capture audiences and create connections. Their work furthers a goal that benefits the overall community. Working actively in areas such as civic engagement, not-for-profit, education, public health, leadership, and volunteerism, the AWC Innovator is a woman who is not paid to perform communications duties, yet goes above and beyond to find innovative ways to generate interest and inspire others. Forms are due December 9, 2017. Download a nomination form.

AWC Crystal Member AwardThe AWC Crystal Award is the top honor given to a member of the AWC-BN chapter. Only AWC members can nominate candidates for this category. The member must be an active member of AWC-BN for at least two years. She has served on the chapter board, represented the chapter at an AWC event, and served on a chapter committee. She possess an understanding of the dedication and commitment needed to serve AWC and its members. Forms are due December 9, 2017. Download a nomination form.

Bloomington-Normal Chapter

Nominations Open for Crystal Awards

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by Rachel Hatch

Google, the knower of all things and the place with all of the answers, defines networking as “interacting with other people to exchange information and develop contacts,

especially to further one’s career.”

As a student at Illinois State University, professors started stressing the importance of networking early on, and I have to say the mention of the word always struck a little fear in my heart. Not because I hate talking to people—quite the opposite. I enjoy talking to people, getting to know them, and building a connection. However, the word “networking” seemed to place pressure on these connections: Was the relationship going to be mutually beneficial? Would we exchange business cards without it being awkward or transactional? And, how do you follow up and continue to build that meaningful connection?

The first step to getting over my dread of networking was to continue to put myself in networking situations. This isn’t shocking, as exposure usually increases comfort level with a situation while decreasing fear or dread.

The second component? At the risk of sounding like a commercial, my membership in AWC has been pivotal in how I view networking opportunities. In AWC, networking comes naturally. Our Bloomington-Normal membership is an extraordinary group of women, and getting to know each individual member is fun and exciting, without feeling transactional or pressure-filled.

My membership in AWC affords me opportunities to connect with these wonderful women frequently at events, so we are able to build relationships over time. This also takes some of the pressure off, especially when compared to those

one-and-done networking events you might experience at a conference or other professional development opportunity.

November is when the B-N chapter of AWC offers a members-only networking event, and this year, we are trying something new! On Wednesday, November 16th, we will be hosting two opportunities for networking. Mark your calendar to join us at 7:30-8:30am at Starbucks inside the Marriott (201 Broadway Avenue, Normal) and/or at 5:30-6:30pm at Satio (306 N. Center Street, Bloomington). Please RSVP by email to Sarah Julian, including which event (or both!) you plan to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.

How do you feel about networking? Do you love it, hate it, or are you somewhere in the middle? Hope to see you on the 16th, building your skills and connecting with our wonderful members!

The AWC student chapter has been busy in the past month. We had our first social event and hosted two different speakers during the month of September. For the social event, one of our members hosted a potluck dinner where we had the opportunity for personal interactions and to develop friendships. We bonded as a group on a personal and a professional level, which has been one of our main goals from the beginning of the year. We will continue to develop a culture with more social events and group discussions in the future for our chapter.

Our first speaker, Mark Fauble, addressed the importance of setting

up Linkedin accounts to build our professional status, as a handful of our members did not have Linkedin accounts before this discussion. Mark was helpful in guiding everyone who was new to the site. He also explained the site more in depth for the members that were already familiar with the Linkedin. Everyone learned new ways to build their personal profile and expand their professional network, which will give our members an advantage when job searching in the future!

Our second speaker, Tom Lamonica, gave us advice and guidance on how to secure an internship for credit through the University. Members who have already been through this process shared a student perspective on the subject as well. As an organization, we encourage all of our members to go through the internship process. Gaining interview experience, making phone calls to professionals before and after an interview, and securing an internship in a related field of study is a great way to gain confidence when looking into a career.

With that in mind, we would love to invite our local Board members to contact us with any open internship positions that they know of, because many of our members showed an interest in gaining experience and a passion for developing their career paths, and we believe our members can add value to any organization.

At our next chapter meeting, we will have a group discussion on what everyone would like to accomplish for the upcoming weeks. We are encouraging the girls to consider ideas for social events, additional speakers, and campus involvements we could attend to make our planning process a group effort.

A Note from the President-Elect:

Kara Pool Snyder

chapter president-elect

CommuniquéBloomington-Normal Chapter

November 2016

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Networking: Love It or Hate It?

Student Chapter Update:Julia Gramont

When it comes to working in ever-growing diverse workplaces and communities, a State Farm performance learning manager advises, “Don’t make assumptions. Ask and educate yourself about current issues.”

Irma Bantista’s parents are from Mexico and she grew up in a household with 12 brothers and two sisters. She said non-profits played a big role in helping support her family and she appreciates the work they do and the challenges they face. The speaker for the American Women in Communications October Lunch and Learn knew she was talking to public relations professionals, many of whom are from various non-profits.

Bantista said education was also important to her family. She holds a master’s degree in Trans-Atlantic Cultural Studies and earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation for her role at State Farm where she has also worked in HR, PR and Community Relations.

For larger organizations, Bantista suggests consulting with Diversity and Inclusion offices. She said they can be a great resource for making sure you are communicating in a way that is going to be appreciated and ultimately successful with a particular audience or individual.

The latest emerging issue comes with how to treat transgender employees and customers. Bantista says it’s important to know what pronoun is preferred and with employees, she said it is especially important to be discreet. She cited a recent survey of 6,500 transgendered individuals across the country in which 90% revealed they experienced discrimination. “The suicide rate for those who are transgender is nine times the national average,” Bantista added.

Choose Words CarefullyLanguage is important. How do you know the best terminology? For example, the word tolerate is not especially positive or inclusive. In some cases, she suggests using internal groups or smaller test groups. “Do your research. You don’t want to have a negative impact.”

Acceptable language is also evolving. For example, she says the trend now is to use the term Hispanic because it is more inclusive than Latino or Latina. Both are acceptable but she says be aware of how your particular audience will receive the terminology. Even on a resume, she said to

choose words carefully. For example, the broader term

experience working with “diverse populations” is seen as more positive than “under represented” populations. As she put it, “There is a lot of sensitivity.”

Finally, Bantista recommends companies and organizations work on the Five Cs when considering how to communicate and be more successful.

Career Focus and Employee Development. Consider whether your organization is helping diverse employees learn, grow and advance.

Commerce. Are we educating diverse groups about mission and goals? For example, some companies use employee resource groups to help with marketing.

Community Engagement. Being involved in the community is important to help recruit diverse employees.

Culture. Corporate culture needs to be evaluated and revised because of the changing demographics in the workplace and community.

Communication. Be prepared and address issues directly. Silence can speak volumes.

Collaboration in a Diverse and Evolving Environmentby Colleen Reynolds

CommuniquéBloomington-Normal Chapter

November 2016

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Send announcements about local events, promotions, career changes, birth announcements, milestones, awards and other celebrations to Angie Coughlin no later than December 15 to be included in the January Communiqué.

A Dixon, Illinois native, Rachel Kobus earned an associate degree from Sauk Valley Community College, Bachelor of Science in public relations from Illinois State University and a Master of Science in communication from Illinois State University. Rachel has had a busy career in higher education working for both schools she attended. She started her professional work as the director of marketing for Sauk Valley Community College. In this position she was a jack-of-all-trades in marketing supervising design/print, managing media relations, advertising, merchandise ordering, writing, social media, and marketing for all departments and campus wide initiatives. She landed back in Bloomington/Normal when she took the position of marketing coordinator with University Housing Services at Illinois State. In that role, she oversaw all marketing and promotion of housing on campus along with assessment needs for housing. Currently she is an associate director for Alumni Relations at Illinois State where she promotes all alumni events, develops content, maintains the website, social media, serves as alumni editor of Illinois State magazine, and manages all print pieces for the alumni area. Rachel says of her work, “I love what I do! Working in higher education makes it very easy to continue to learn and enhance skills.” Staying involved is a priority. Rachel is currently the secretary/historian for AWC and is also a part of the Leadership McLean County Class of 2017. Keeping the Redbird Romance tradition alive, she is married to Jason who she met while attending ISU. Rachel and Jason enjoy traveling and recently spent time in Maui. They are also competitive and enjoy running half marathons together. Rachel will complete her fourth half marathon later this month. When not running or traveling, they are busy with their cat, Big, and a cattle dog/border collie mix name Zoey. “Right now we are taking advanced-level agility classes with Zoey at Town and Country Kennel Club and hope to run in some trials soon.” Rachel has been showing horses since she was seven and still finds time to during the summer with her horse, Regis. Rachel enjoys the busy pace of her life and loves the Bloomington-Normal community. She says she is always exploring ways to get involved and what the community has to offer. She says “My AWC affiliation has been important to help me discover opportunities for involvement and to make connections with amazingly talented women.”

CommuniquéBloomington-Normal Chapter

November 2016

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• Chapter President Julie Navickas, Illinois State University• President-Elect Kara Pool Snyder, Illinois State University• Past President Jackie Langhoff, Myself 4 Life Coaching• Vice President of Membership Kari McMullen, State Farm• Vice President of Communications Kris Harding, Illinois State University• Vice President of Finance Helen Dobbyn Reedy, Illinois Farm Bureau • Vice President of Programming, Freedom of Information/Progress of Women Chair Sarah Julian, Country Financial• Historian/Secretary Rachel Kobus, Illinois State University• Community Involvement Chair Christy Germanis, YWCA McLean County• Professional Development/Scholarship Chair Molly Davis, Illinois State University• Fall Workshop Chair Becky Mentzer, Private Practice• Communiqué Editor Angie Coughlin, Heartland Community College• Communiqué Layout Jackie Langhoff, Myself 4 Life Coaching • Student Chapter Liaison Christine Reis, Illinois State University

Executive Board2016-2017

New Member Profile: Rachel Kobusby Angie Coughlin • Julie Calmes, Pinnacle Actuaries

• Maggie Nichols, United Way of McLean County

Welcome New Members

Annual Membership Drive• As a reminder, nationals will waive the

$50 application from 10/1-12/1.

Coordinator of Continuing Education Marketing & Communications position open at Heartland Community College. For more information visit: www.heartland.edu/jobs/details_jobs.asp?JobID=952.

Job Announcement: