2010 IABC/Houston Communication Leadership Award
Congratulations to our winners!
Bob Hale, president & CEO, Houston Association of REALTORS®
Greg Garland, president & CEO, Chevron Phillips Chemical
IABC/Houston usually presents one Communication Leadership Award each year, but this year we had our most nominations ever and couldn't help but recognize two standouts.
Bob Hale joined HAR in 1973 as legal counsel and has held the reins since 1988. As the digital age dawned, Mr. Hale didn't pull the covers over his head, he embraced the new technology. That's why HAR has the best Web site in the nation for consumers and REALTORS® alike, hosting one million visitors a month. HAR also has a social media presence with an association Facebook page. Mr. Hale also has a Facebook page and Twitter account and posts his presentations on slideshare.com. The HAR YouTube Channel features 300 videos, 61 of which are devoted to a Consumer Knowledge Series.
HAR uses e-newsletters and a print magazine to communicate with its 24,000 members, the largest local REALTOR® association in the U.S. We salute you Mr. Hale for leading such a successful integrated communications program!
Greg Garland has had various job duties with Chevron Phillips Chemical and its predecessors since 1980 and was named president and CEO in 2008. One of his first acts as leader was to declare that he and his leadership team would communicate plainly and often in a bid to move the company from good to great.
Mr. Garland's CEO Journal videos delivered via email to employees on five continents became the centerpiece of his internal communications strategy. Results for 2009 were outstanding. At the bottom of the industry cycle and in the face of a global recession, the company had a stellar year.
It was the top performing asset in the Chevron and ConocoPhillips portfolio. Safety performance was best-in-class. Expenses were down and earnings up. Greenhouse gas intensity and air emissions were down. Worldwide manufacturing rates were better than target. All which led to employees earning the highest salary bonuses in the company's history. That's probably why a survey revealed that 80 percent of employees think Chevron Phillips Chemical is a good or great place to work.
Way to go Mr. Garland for showing how a strong communications program can positively affect the company's bottom line!
Past winners
2009 – John C. Sheptor, President & CEO, Imperial Sugar Company
2008 – Dr. Giuseppe Colasurdo, dean of The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
2007 – John D. Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company
2006 – J. William "Bill" Boyar, chairman of Boyar & Miller
2005 – Clark Baker, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Houston
2004 – John D. Stobo, M.D., president of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
2003 – Jacqueline S. Martin, President, United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast
2002 – Steve Miller, CEO, Shell Oil Company
2001 – Kirbyjon Caldwell, senior pastor, Windsor Village United Methodist Church
