Ottawa Area ISD Director receives 2017 Communicator of the Year Award
Michelle Ready of Ottawa Area ISD (OAISD) was named the “2017 Gerri Allen Communicator of the Year” by the Michigan School Public Relations Association. MSPRA Board Member Tom Scheidel presented her with the award at the October OAISD Board of Education meeting. View Photo
Holland, MI—Michelle Ready, Director of Communications and Integrated Marketing for Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD), has been named the “2017 Gerri Allen Communicator of the Year” by the Michigan School Public Relations Association (MSPRA). She is the first recipient of the new recognition that showcases a school communicator’s abilities in planning, practice, leadership and service.
Ready received the surprise award at the October OAISD Board meeting. In nominating her for the honor, OAISD Superintendent Peter Haines said, “Michelle’s professionalism, optimism, dedication and overall public relations skills have helped shape the extraordinary reputation for educational leadership that OAISD has today.”
Noting her more than 20 years of demonstrated outstanding work, service and leadership in school communication, MSPRA Board Member Tom Scheidel said he was “pleased to present Michelle Ready with the much-deserved award on behalf of MSPRA.”
Reacting to the unexpected honor Ready said, “It is an incredible privilege to be chosen as the recipient of the 2017 Gerri Allen Outstanding Communicator Award from MSPRA. For more than two decades, I have witnessed and admired Gerri’s high level of professionalism in the areas of public relations, communications and marketing, so being selected is a tremendous honor.”
“Truthfully, the work is never accomplished alone,” Ready added. “I’m sincerely grateful for the many MSPRA colleagues, mentors and Ottawa Area ISD team members who have taken part in the work that’s been accomplished, shared wisdom and expertise, and provided endless support along the way. Thank you!”
MSPRA’s “Gerri Allen Communicator of the Year” Award—named for MSPRA’s Executive Director and former Supervisor of Communication for Washtenaw Intermediate School District— is given annually to an MSPRA member who is a practicing public relations professional employed in a public school, district, educational agency, service center, or intermediate unit and an outstanding leader in school public relations and communication.
MSPRA is a statewide organization dedicated to advancing public education through responsible communication and an award-winning chapter the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). For more information visit: www.mspra.org.