Jill Allread Receives Paul M. Lund Public Service Award
PRSA Chicago member, PR Executive and Volunteer Community Leader Is 2007 Honoree
The Public Relations Society of America named Chicago public relations executive Jill Allread, APR, the recipient of the 2007 Paul M. Lund Public Service Award for her work with children and the environment.
The award, which will be presented at the PRSA International Conference in Philadelphia, Oct. 20–23, is given yearly to a PRSA member whose volunteer public service has benefited the community and reflected well on the organization. It is named in honor of the late Paul M. Lund, vice president of public relations and employee communications at AT&T in the early 1970s, who was an accomplished leader in public relations, as well as a leader in every community of which he was a part.
“The Individual Awards Committee was thoroughly impressed with the depth and breadth of Jill Allread’s service,” said PRSA Individual Awards Subcommittee Chair Gail F. Baker, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA. “She is a tireless and unselfish contributor to important causes in her community. In addition to giving time, Jill lends her considerable expertise to the organizations she serves, helping them gain better acceptance, understanding and success.”
Allread is an owner of Chicago’s fifth largest public relations firm — Public Communications Inc. (PCI). Clients include the Association for Zoos and Aquariums, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, The National Elephant Center, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo and Zimmer, Inc., the world’s largest medical device manufacturer. She is equally known for volunteer leadership roles she has held in numerous nonprofit organizations, sometimes during times of crisis for those organizations.
“I am honored and humbled by this meaningful award from PRSA,” Allread said. “My volunteer service gives me tremendous personal satisfaction knowing that when people come together in a common cause and use effective communications, it is possible to improve the life of a child, protect green space or make a community more livable.
“The need for public relations counsel and more effective communication in most not-for-profit organizations is enormous,” she added. “I feel that it is important to share the skills that I have developed beyond my client/agency work. I believe it is important to give one’s time and talents to help organizations that are making the world a better place.”
While studying at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism, and Purdue University, where she studied business management, Allread started her career as a daily newspaper reporter and editor. This included stints as metropolitan editor in the 1980s for the Ft. Wayne (Ind.) Journal-Gazette and police reporter for the Kendallville (Ind.) News-Sun. She later became indoctrinated in local and global conservation programs as the first public affairs director for the Chicago Zoological Society, also known as the Brookfield Zoo.
In 1995, she helped create Girls in the Game, a program for girls 7 to 17 designed to nurture leadership and self-esteem through sports. Since its inception, more than 13,000 girls, many of them at-risk children, have benefited from the program. Since 1999 Allread has worked with Tutor/Mentor Connection, which provides after-school tutoring and mentoring programs for students in underserved neighborhoods in Chicago.
“Through her volunteer service to several social service organizations, she sets an example for all PR professionals to invest time and apply their communication skills to help improve the quality of life for others, particularly children,” said Michael McGrath, president-elect of PRSA Chicago.
Allread also serves as a citizen member of the Illinois Natural Preserves Commission, which works to protect the state’s most important natural areas and oversees more than 330 nature preserves, protecting more than 45,000 acres of rare and threatened natural areas. Near the end of her term as chair from 2002–04, Illinois’ governor slashed $34 million for protected land and parks acquisition from his proposed state budget.
“Jill helped lead an initiative that literally saved the commission,” said Randy Heidorn, assistant director, Illinois Natural Preserves Commission. She helped organized a state coalition called Partners for Parks and Wildlife that includes a wide range of conservationists, from hunters to birdwatchers; she donated time and expertise to a campaign that mobilized more than 140 organizations; generated thousands of letters to elected officials and dozens of newspaper editorials; and induced a bipartisan coalition of state legislators to restore the funding.
Later she joined the board of one of the state’s most influential conservation organizations, Openlands, and more recently combined her commitment to conservation and children by joining the advisory board of Chicago Wilderness, a collaboration of 214 organizations dedicated to protecting natural areas. She helped develop an initiative, launched in June 2007, called “Leave No Child Inside,” to educate adults on the importance of helping children connect with nature. Her firm pledged $15,000 in pro bono service to help with the launch.
