Don Rennie Memorial Award

The Don Rennie Memorial Award recognizes outstanding team achievement in developing and executing a strategic approach to government communications on a specific issue.

This award celebrates the memory of Don Rennie, a CPRS member who helped change the face of government communications in Canada through his pivotal role in developing and introducing a new communications policy that would span all departments of the Federal Government.

This award is open to teams of government communicators at the federal, provincial or municipal level, which include at least one current member of CPRS as part of the team.

Entries must reflect Don Rennie’s vision of excellence in strategic communications and be relevant to the complexities of a government environment. Entries should demonstrate a good balance of the organization’s mission, defining what it is; what it wants to be; what it wants to do; and what external factors influence it.

Nominations are currently closed. Stay tuned for winter/spring 2022 for your next chance to nominate a team for this award!

Past recipients

1998 Valerie E. Barrett, Statistics Canada - Pacific Region 1999 Steve Flanagan, Hydro Québec 2000 Lois Reimer, Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2003 Dennis Guy, City of Hamilton Waste Management Division 2004 Philippe Roy, ARP, Gilles Trudeau, APR, Autorité des marchés financiers, Gilles Trudeau Communications 2005 Tara Diefenbacher and Peter Busatto, Environment & Transportation Group, City of Guelph 2006 Tara Sprigg, Environment & Transportation Group, City of Guelph 2007 Robyn Quinn, APR, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Nova Scotia 2008 Tara Sprigg, City of Guelph

2009 Shelly Burich of Cariboo Regional District and Matt Wood of City of Quesnel 2010 No winner 2011 Sean Kelly APR, FCPRS of Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board 2012 Carleen Carroll APR, FCPRS (Regional Municipality of Halton) 2013 Ontario Ministry of Training, College & Universities/Argyle Communications  2014 No winner 2015 City of Guelph - Michelle Rickard 2016 - City of Vaughan 2017 - Northern Development Initiative Trust 2018 - City of Prince George 2019 - No Award