Cast Your Nominations for 2018 FloridaACE Awards

2017 FloridaACE President’s Award Recipients

At the 2017 Annual Conference in June, 2016-17 FloridaACE President Alicia Smyth presented the President’s Award to not one, but two recipients: Stacy Lanigan (Senior Career Coach, Lynn University) and Bill Blank (Director, Career Development, University of Central Florida). The President’s Award is awarded at the discretion of the current President and may not be given every year. It is intended to recognize the member or group’s contribution to FloridaACE and serves as an example of their impact to those in our profession.

Congratulations to the 2017 John T. Brownlee Leadership Award Recipient, John Sheehy

Alicia Smyth, 2017-18 Past President, Florida Association of Colleges & Employers

Brownlee Award Recipient, John Sheehy, with two of his three nominators, Erin Minta and Sandi Ohman

The Florida Association of Colleges & Employers is proud to announce that this year’s John T. Brownlee Leadership Award recipient is John Sheehy. John has been a Career Development Coordinator and Student Success Coach at Stetson University, working with business students, for over 11 years. John has been a member of FloridaACE since 2010 and immediately began serving as co-chair of the Conference Registration Committee. Additionally, he has served in leadership roles over the years for the On-site Logistics Committee and President’s Council. John’s enthusiasm for service also earned him the New Member Award in 2012.

It was John’s efforts in his role as Chair of the Colleges of Central Florida Career Consortium (CCFCC) that helped him to stand out as a leader within FloridaACE. For instance, John came up with the idea to develop a registration reimbursement program to incentivize CCFCC members to submit program proposals to present at the FloridaACE Annual Conference. Members who were accepted were entered into a drawing. In the past two years, six FloridaACE conference registrations have been paid for by CCFCC. Additionally, each member school was able to receive reimbursement for up to two members to attend the 2016 FloridaACE Drive-In Conference. During John’s time as Chair, he also established the annual CCFCC reception at the FloridaACE conference, created a chair position for social media and marketing, established committees, and promoted the idea of creating awards for high achieving members and students of member institutions. FloridaACE was also able to partner with CCFCC to co-sponsor SoACE’s President’s Reception last year when their annual conference was in Florida.

The John T. Brownlee Leadership Award was established in 1987 by the Florida Association of Colleges & Employers (FloridaACE) in recognition of John T. Brownlee’s contribution and tireless efforts on behalf of the organization. It is the highest honor that a member of FloridaACE can receive and the list of recipients is a “who’s-who” of outstanding career services and human resources professionals who have led the way to make FloridaACE the exemplary organization that it is today.

In order to be considered for the Brownlee Leadership Award, a member must receive two letters of nomination. John received three. Excerpts from the nominations John received:

“John has been dedicated to his profession through his work on the leadership team of the CCFCC.  His enthusiasm and passion are evident in his commitment to the members of this group as well as the students served.  John regularly schedules meetings, connects its members to professional development opportunities and just plain gets things done.” – Mark Colvenbach, Director, Office of Career Services, The University of Tampa

 

“John’s leadership style includes modelling collaboration, professionalism, service to the industry, persistence, and vision.  As the Treasurer for CCFCC, I grew under his leadership because the single-minded pursuit of his vision pushed us to expand as a consortium and to develop individually as professionals.  Additionally, John is quick to make newcomers feel welcome and to encourage service and engagement, thereby assisting new career services professionals to develop swiftly and to become successful practitioners, while simultaneously ensuring the progress and ongoing success of organizations such as CCFCC and FloridaACE.  I consider it a privilege to have worked so closely with him these last 3 years, and to have witnessed his exemplary leadership.“

– Erin Minta, Program Manager, Career Services, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

 

“John’s passion and enthusiasm has spilled over into the FloridaACE organization.  He has suggested and led sponsorship opportunities by CCFCC at the FloridaACE conference, encouraged volunteer and presenter opportunities by CCFCC members, and led by example by volunteering himself at previous conferences and events.”

– Sandi Ohman, Assistant Director, Career Services, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

On behalf of FloridaACE, congratulations to John receiving this award! Having worked with John for many years through both FloridaACE and CCFCC, it was a sincere honor to announce John as the recipient and to hand him the award on stage at the Annual Conference this year. It is truly inspiring to see someone’s leadership, hard work, enthusiasm, passion, and service rewarded when you know first-hand how well-deserved it is.

The call for nominations for the 2018 John T. Brownlee Leadership Award will be announced in the November. Please consider nominating a dedicated FloridaACE member who has made a significant contribution to the association and/or the career services or university relations/college recruiting professions. Board members are not eligible. A list of past award recipients and selection criteria can be found on the Brownlee Leadership Award page of the FloridaACE website.

 

FloridaACE Honors CCFCC with President’s Award

Alicia Smyth, 2016-17 President, Florida Association of Colleges & Employers

At the 2016 Annual Conference in June, 2015-16, FloridaACE President Adam DeRosa presented the Colleges of Central Florida Career Consortium (CCFCC) with the Florida Association of Colleges & Employers President’s Award. The President’s Award is awarded at the discretion of the current President and may not be given every year. It is intended to recognize the member or group’s contribution to FloridaACE and serves as an example of their impact to those in our profession.

“For years, CCFCC has been a major supporter of FloridaACE.  This support has been both monetarily through the President’s Council and administratively through consistent volunteering at the board and conference committee level.  CCFCC members are the spirited heartbeat of FloridaACE, always the life of the party.  The support from CCFCC has helped FloridaACE grow and thrive,” stated 2015-16 President DeRosa.

The CCFCC consists of career centers from the following SACS-accredited ICUF institutions in Central Florida: Bethune-Cookman University, Eckerd College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Flagler College, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida Southern College, Rollins College, Saint Leo University, Southeastern University, Stetson University, The University of Tampa and Webber International University. The organization began in the late 90s and has continued to grow and thrive over time thanks to strong leadership and an annual Career Expo, an event that brings in revenue used to support members with professional development opportunities and to sponsor conferences such as FloridaACE and SoACE.

This year, CCFCC not only sponsored FloridaACE at the President’s Level ($3,000 and above), but also incentivized CCFCC members to submit proposals to present at the conference by providing four conference registration scholarships. Additionally, CCFCC hosted a reception for members and employers during the conference and will be partnering with FloridaACE to serve as a co-sponsor of the SoACE Conference in December.

CCFCC Chair John Sheehy accepted the award on behalf of the organization. When asked about the partnership, he shared the following:

Although separate organizations, the CCFCC and FloridaACE are very much connected and possess similar goals in regards to the professional development of our members and the overall career development of our students within each of our respective schools.

I have witnessed and participated in the growth of both organizations over the past eight years, and am proud to have assisted in their advancements.

The ongoing sharing of information and collaboration between the two organizations and their member institutions is without a doubt a strong, driving force within our profession; not only in Florida, but also nationally, as we interact with those outside our region during conferences and symposiums.

As Chair of the CCFCC, FloridaACE has been a critical component of the development process for members. Cross-organizational participation is heavily encouraged and supported by programs, such as providing conference registration fees for members whom are selected to present during the annual conference. I am a strong believer of creating new initiatives, but when a catalyst is already in place, which will reach the same goal, let’s not “re-create the wheel.” – John Sheehy

2012 marked the inaugural year of the FloridaACE President’s Award.  This award was established to recognize FloridaACE members who go above and beyond throughout a given year to meet the needs of membership and provide an opportunity for the association to reach the next level. A list of past recipients is available on the FloridaACE website.

2016 New Member Award – Kelvin Rutledge

Megan Hollis, Senior Assistant Director, Experiential Learning – FSU

Kelvin has been an active member of FloridaACE since he joined in 2014. After graduating with his Master’s degree in Higher Education and starting as a professional staff member at Florida State University, he jumped in ready to contribute by presenting at the annual conference in 2015 and 2016. He also stepped up to chair the Evaluations Committee for two years in a row, using his extensive skill and passion for research and evaluation.

In his role at Florida State University, Kelvin coordinates our Mock Interview Program, offering 500+ face-to-face, phone, skype, and panel interviews to undergraduate and graduate students each semester, and trains and supervises 10+ Mock Interview Mentors to make this happen. He is also pursuing his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration.

Kelvin is passionate about career services and creating dialogue among peers to further advance the field and bring people together. These characteristics and actions are what we hope for in new members, and give us confidence for the future of our profession!

Kelvin joins the ranks of our past New Members of the Year, including Stacy Lanigan (2015), Tara Stevenson (2014), Valerie Kielmovitch (2013), and John Sheehy (2012).