2012 APEX Scholarship Winner Announced

TORONTO, Oct. 31, 2012 /CNW/ - Toronto resident Cole Douglas is the 2012 winner of the APEX Scholarship, established by APEX Public Relations in 2010/11 for launch in 2012.  The scholarship assists a student in need of financial aid who has demonstrated high academic achievement following completion of the first year of a four-year public relations degree program at the Toronto-based Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.  The scholarship offers $3,000 per year over a three-year period to the same student contingent upon academic achievement. It is offered on a three year cycle.

In his first year at Humber, Cole was a lead ambassador in the Recruitment Office at the College and served on the Student Board of Directors for the Humber Students' Federation.

He has consulted on social media work with Hearth Place, a support centre for cancer patients and their families to assist the organization to better understand how to use social media tools and the use of monitoring analytics, which resulted in a Canadian Public Relations Society 2012 Silver ACE Student Award for campaign of the year.

This past summer, Cole was a communications intern for Humber's Student Recruitment and Advising Office where he researched and developed a plan to engage students to share their first year experience with their high school, revised the College recruitment brochure and tour scripts, among other activities.

"The jury felt that Cole's early involvement and interest in the public relations industry was inspiring and his community involvement and grade point average demonstrated the qualities we look for in a young practitioner," said jury Chair Scott Bonikowsky, Vice President, Corporate, Public and Government Affairs, Tim Hortons Inc.  "Cole is an outstanding scholarship candidate who will make a difference in public relations in Canada." 

"There are a number of talented students who have the potential to be leaders in our industry", emphasized Pat McNamara, CEO, APEX Public Relations, "but might not have the financial resources to obtain the education they need.  We hope this scholarship will help Cole in his pursuit of a public relations career, and look forward to supporting his progress."

The Communications + Public Relations Foundation, manager of the scholarship, promotes the advancement of communications and public relations as vital functions in society, is dedicated to the public interest, and is committed to increasing public knowledge and awareness of the role of public relations in daily life.  The Foundation accepts individual and corporate contributions towards research and educational initiatives nationwide.

"We are delighted to be working with both APEX and Humber College in establishing and managing this Scholarship," said Dr.Gordon McIvor, chair of the Foundation, especially, when we can support leadership development in our industry"

APEX Public Relations is a high-performance, high energy, public relations firm with an unmatched track record of award-wining campaigns.  Its clients include consumer brands, and corporations with a focus on financial and technology communications.

For more information about the Foundation and its public relations educational initiatives, contact Barbara Sheffield, Executive Director, Communications + Public Relations Foundation, Suite 1515, 73 Widdicombe Hill Blvd., Toronto, Ontario, M9R 4B3, or phone [phone], or e-mail: [email protected].

SOURCE: Communications + Public Relations Foundation

Barbara Sheffield, APR, FCPRS
Executive Director
Communications + Public Relations Foundation
[phone]
[email protected]

Pat McNamara, APR, FCPRS
Chief Executive Officer
APEX
416 934-2120
[email protected]