Celebrating the best in communications at the 2022 Virtuoso Awards Celebration
On Thursday, June 23 at Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre, the London chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC London) celebrated the return of the annual Virtuoso Awards Celebration. The event recognized Southwestern Ontario’s top business communications and public relations professionals for communications excellence.
Dr. Michel Haddad, Chief of Staff and ICU Physician at Bluewater Health in Sarnia, was awarded with the 2022 Communications Champion Award – one of the night’s top honours. Dr. Haddad was recognized for demonstrating outstanding communication and leadership in his community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for his support of his organization’s communications team. Dr. Haddad has established himself as a trusted voice of reason through video updates, social media communication, media interviews and letters to the community.
“As a practicing ICU physician and medical leader at my own organization, I’ve come to further appreciate the extreme importance of effective, fast, nimble and transparent communication to gain trust, relay up-to-date information, combat misinformation and enhance public safety,” says Dr. Haddad. “As a medical leader, I fully support Bluewater Health’s communication team and the great work they do. I am honoured to receive this prestigious award.”
An additional 22 Virtuoso Awards were presented, recognizing business communications and public relations projects that exceed the global standard of the profession. Awards were presented in a variety of areas including marketing, advertising, brand communication, social media, event planning, videography and more. The Communications team at Western University won both of this year’s Best of the Best Awards for their marketing campaign, “COVIDNext,” and a news storytelling piece titled “Flood-impact map a Canadian first.”
Four corporate communications, public relations and graphic design students were also recognized through programs at Fanshawe College and Western University.
“Communications professionals have been going above and beyond to support their organizations and clients over the past several years,” says Robert DeLaet, 2021/22 President, IABC London. “The Virtuoso Awards celebrate this excellent work by recognizing those who exceed the global standard. I extend my congratulations to each of our award winners.”
The Virtuoso Awards are made possible through generous sponsorship from Northern Commerce, TMD (The Marketing Department), Nothers The Award Store, Fanshawe College, Western University, McMaster University’s Master of Communication Management program, Encore Canada, Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre and Corporate Imaging Centre. The student awards are sponsored by Canada Life, TMD (The Marketing Department) and Western Continuing Studies.
For a full list of the 2022 Virtuoso Awards recipients, please visit the Virtuoso Awards website at https://www.virtuosoawards.com/2022-winners/. To view the event photos, visit our Flickr album.