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SAN DIEGO (Nov. 10, 2009) — Retired Lt. Col. Joseph V. Trahan III, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA, was selected as the recipient of the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) 2009 Lloyd B. Dennis Distinguished Leadership Award, which was presented at the PRSA 2009 International Conference.
Awarded by PRSA’s Public Affairs and Government (PAG) Professional Interest Section, the Lloyd B. Dennis Award recognizes an exemplary individual who has used his or her public affairs skills to promote truth, has demonstrated high standards of integrity and honesty in business dealings, and has helped affect positive change within an organization.
“Dr. Trahan has helped shape the way units in the U.S. Army communicate with the news media, and over the past decade, he has trained more than 3,500 people annually in media relations across the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Belgium, Paraguay, Mexico and The Netherlands,” said Stephanie McFarland, APR, PAG chair. “Additionally, he has shared his skills and experience in the classroom with a number of universities across the southern United States. He is remarkable in his knowledge, skills, ethics and unrelenting dedication to his profession.”
A New Orleans native, Dr. Trahan was chosen for the award because of his significant contributions to the public relations profession, as well as his strict adherence to the highest ethical standards in public affairs advocacy for U.S. diplomatic and military policies. As a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, Dr. Trahan was influential in shaping Army communications with the news media. He also taught media relations around the world as a university professor. Additionally, he served as public information manager and media relations coordinator for the basketball venue at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
“I am honored and humbled to receive this very prestigious award from the PRSA Public Affairs and Government Section,” said Dr. Trahan. “I’m excited and proud to join the award’s previous recipients. It has been an honor to represent America’s blood and treasures — our military — for the past 29 years. This award only challenges me to work even harder to continue to tell their great story.”
Military Public Affairs Expert
During his career, Dr. Trahan has distinguished himself by providing outstanding public relations counsel and implementation to the U.S. military. His contributions include managing the U.S. Army’s information bureau in Normandy, France, where he assisted more than 9.000 international media outlets with covering the accomplishments of U.S. veterans in that region’s history. Additionally, he served on the president’s task force, handling public affairs during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, as well as provided public affairs expertise on the 50th anniversary of Operation Overlord (D-Day). He also operated four public affairs joint information bureaus for the U.S. Army, and provided counsel to military in the field and high-level officers around the world.
At PRSA, Dr. Trahan has spent the past 14 years in various professional development and leadership roles. He has served on the PRSA Board of Directors and as a national faculty advisor for the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). He also was chair of the PRSA Educators Academy and a National Incident Management System crisis instructor at the PRSA 2008 International Conference and the PAG 2009 summer conference. He also has served as an Accredited in Public Relations instructor for the PRSA National Capital Chapter.
Throughout his career, Dr. Trahan has been dedicated to practicing and leading ethical public relations. He has served on special public affairs task forces, advised high-level military leaders in public affairs, and taught public affairs and public relations to young adults and graduates preparing to enter the field. Additionally, he has dedicated his retirement to establishing a business that further spreads his knowledge and expertise, empowering others with ethical and effective public relations skills.
This award was established in honor of the late Lloyd B. Dennis, whose career included work as a speechwriter and public affairs officer for three secretaries of the U.S. Treasury in the Johnson and Nixon administrations, a senior public affairs officer for a major banking institution, and a journalist for The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, and Congressional Quarterly.
About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
The Public Relations Society of America (www.prsa.org), headquartered in New York City, is the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals with nearly 32,000 professional and student members. PRSA is organized into 110 Chapters and 10 Districts nationwide, and 20 Professional Interest Sections and Affinity Groups, which represent business and industry, counseling firms, independent practitioners, military, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations. The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has more than 300 Chapters at colleges and universities throughout the United States, including one Chapter in Argentina.
