Diane Davis Beacon Award

Each year an elite Circle of Honor grows through the addition of one of PRSA Boston’s most accomplished and generous public relations practitioners or academics. The Diane Davis Beacon Award recognizes a PRSA Boston member for his or her example of exhibiting the highest qualities of leadership, generous service, unimpeachable ethics and professional achievement.

The individual stories of the Diane Davis Circle of Honor recipients encompass decades of robust contributions in the areas of career mentoring for future generations of PR practitioners; professional ambassadorship; noteworthy achievements; and exemplary service to the PRSA Boston community that cumulatively transcend years and positions.

 

  • Dan Dent, APR – 2022
  • Loring Barnes, APR, Fellow PRSA – 2021
  • Diane Pardes, APR – 2020
  • Kelley Chunn – 2019
  • Nancy Sterling, APR, Fellow PRSA- 2018
  • Darlene Hollywood – 2017
  • Mark McClennan -APR, Fellow PRSA-  2016
  • Hank Shafran – 2016
  • Julie Dennehy, APR – 2015
  • Jack Jackson – 2014
  • Vic Beck, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.) – 2013
  • Peter Morrissey, APR – 2012
  • Larry Weber – 2011
  • Professor Steve Quigley, APR – 2010
  • Barbara Wellnitz, APR, Fellow PRSA – 2009
  • Ann Getman, APR – 2008
  • Professor Kirk Hazlett, APR, Fellow PRSA – 2007
  • Pat Pollino, APR, Fellow PRSA – 2006
  • Barry Wanger, APR, Fellow PRSA – 2005
  • Professor Otto Lerbinger, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA – 2004

Nomination Instructions, Eligibility + 2023 Deadline

  • Recipient Eligibility: Nominees must be members in good standing of PRSA Boston. They can be a past nominee who has not yet received this award.
  • Nominators: Any active member of PRSA Boston can submit nominations for this award, including self-nominations. The name of the Submitter is redacted from the form prior to judging to keep the focus on the Nominee’s story.
  • Deadline: October 22, 2023
  • Liability: PRSA Boston cannot be held responsible for technical difficulties that impede or prevent the electronic submission. We encourage you to confirm receipt by email.
  • Ownership: Content of the submission becomes the property of PRSA Boston and may be used for publicity.
  • Judging: Accredited members of the PRSA Boston Chapter by closed ballot.

 

Questions to Awards Chair: Josh Gitelson, APR at joshg1068@gmail.com

 

Submit Your Nomination

If you are, or know, a standout contributor, we hope you will submit a nomination!

Apply Here

Meet the 2022 Diane Davis Beacon Award Honoree: Dan Dent, APR


Dan Dent, APR

Dan Dent, APR, is the 2022 recipient of the PRSA Boston Diane Davis Beacon Award. This honor annually recognizes a PRSA Boston member for his or her accomplishments and contributions in leadership in the field, professional ambassadorship, and exemplary service to the PRSA Boston community.

Long a respected leader and mentor within PRSA Boston, Dan’s commitment to the organization includes not one but two terms as Chapter president. He has been a member of the Chapter’s leadership for nearly 12 years, including roles as membership chair, convention delegate, director-at-large, and chair of PRSA Boston’s Independent Practitioners Network. Notably, he served as co-chair of PRSA National’s 2018 International Conference held in Boston and was a lead liaison to the Northeast regional PRSSA Conference. During his tenure with PRSA Boston, Dent has worked with hundreds of communications professionals, as fellow board members, corporate sponsors, business colleagues, event speakers, and students representing universities and colleges throughout New England.

Dent has more than 30 years of experience in marketing, PR, media relations, and corporate communications. In his current role as media relations manager at Draper, a nonprofit engineering innovation company advancing technologies at the intersection of government, academia, and industry, Dent energized a media relations program that turned the company’s news page into the top traffic driver on the website. At Draper he has introduced more than 100 executives and subject matter experts to the media, ensuring successful interviews resulting in more than 10,000 media stories.

Over his career, Dent has managed PR for dozens of organizations, from the Fortune 500 to newly funded ventures. He founded and managed his own agency, Dent Communications, and has created the public presence for major brands in technology, financial services, health care, consumer products, and e-commerce, bringing the customer’s voice to the foreground in all communications. He has worked one-on-one with the C-suite to create executive leadership platforms, and has written and published thousands of articles, press releases, blogs, and marketing content.