University Communication Representative Steve Carr was honored by the New Mexico Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, which awarded him the inaugural Greg Johnston Board Member of the Year Award. The award was given at the 2013 Cumbre Awards Banquet and 55th Anniversary Celebration of the NMPRSA recently.

Carr, a University Communication and Marketing (UCAM) employee for 13 years, worked with Greg Johnston. "To receive the inaugural Greg Johnston award is very humbling to me. It is a very special award and an honor to me because it is named for a former colleague who was widely respected in the public relations field and at the university." 

Johnston, who died in 2007, was a senior communication representative in UCAM. He was a long time media relations expert, professional photographer and regular story and photo contributor to UNM publications.

Amanda Kane, NMPRSA president, said, "Greg was a former board member and actively involved in our chapter until his death, and he was loved and truly respected for his work by many. All of our awards are named in honor of individuals who have had a lasting impact on NMPRSA, so when we decided to create this award, we all felt strongly that it should be created in memory of Greg. It's the perfect opportunity to celebrate his legacy, while recognizing passion for our organization and profession."

Carr has served on the NMPRSA board for three years, most recently as vice president of programming.  "I enjoy working with young public relations professionals to help them be successful in the field," he said. 

The NMPRSA board voted on giving Carr the award. Kane said, "Steve has served on our board for several years, and has been dependable and committed the whole way through. He worked really hard this year to set-up all of our educational programs, and was responsible for most of the promotion for our events. Through Steve's efforts, we've increased attendance at meetings, and awareness of NMPRSA in the community. He's someone we can all count on, and he's the first to volunteer when something needs to get done." 

"We have been working to build up the organization. We have made some strides in attendance by proving relevant content, especially important in a rapidly changing profession," he said. He will serve as membership chair in the coming year. "My goal for the next year is to build the membership on what we've established this year and to assist the other members on the board as we continue to provide important and relevant professional development in the field of public relations that will benefit us all," Carr said.

"I have certainly appreciated all of Steve's work this year, and I'm glad to see him get the recognition we deserved. And what's really special, is the fact that the first time this award was given, it was given to one of Greg's former co-workers and friends," Kane said.