Each year at the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) Conference, the Past Presidents fund the Roger Summit Lecture Award to bring an inspiring and stimulating speaker to the AIIP Annual Conference. 

In 2019 the Lecture was delivered by Sue Feldman, founder and former president of the Association of Independent Information Professionals.  Sue is now President of Synthexis.  Kathaleen Porter reports on the insights gleaned from our esteemed colleague and founder of AIIP.

The Awards Committee is proud to announce that we honored the following AIIP members at the April 2019 AIIP Annual Conference in Philadelphia. Congratulations to Andrea Carrero, Carol Compton, Kelly Berry, and Birgit Bauer. 

Marilyn Levine AIIP President’s Award

Andrea Carrero, Word Technologies Inc.

The AIIP President has the honor each year of selecting the recipient of the Marilyn M. Levine President’s Award.  Marilyn was AIIP’s first president, and the award is given in recognition of any person or institution that has demonstrated extraordinary support of the objectives of the association.

Andrea has been a long-time supporter of AIIP through her contributions to the public relations, conference planning, and, most recently, AIIP-L committees. When asked about her service to AIIP Andrea said, “AIIP gave me the skills I needed to run a successful business and always serves as a resource.”

This exemplifies the mission of the association, and it is a pleasure to recognize Andrea for her support of AIIP.

Sue Rugge Memorial Award

Carol Compton, INDIECLEAR

The Sue Rugge Memorial Award is given to a member who has significantly helped another member through formal or informal mentoring.

Carol received this award in recognition of the training in script clearance work she provided to three AIIP members, including 15 hours of video training, group video conference calls, and one-on-one feedback on script projects. Her nominee wrote “To me, that shows an incredible dedication to the craft of script clearance and is a measure of the investment she made to the training process.”

Carol’s training is also noteworthy because she has helped three AIIP members gain the necessary skills in this highly-specialized area and expand their businesses.

AIIP Connections Writer’s Award

Kelly Berry, ResourceAbility, LLC

“Strategic Planning for Small Business,” AIIP Connections 32(4), Dec 2018

In April 2019, we presented the AIIP Connections Writer’s Award for the last time. AIIP Connections, our quarterly publication, has been enjoyed by members since it first appeared in 1991. The award was designed to encourage original contributions by members of AIIP and has been presented each year to the author of the best original article published in AIIP Connections.

This year produced a strong field of contenders for the award. Because of her engaging writing on a topic of value to members, Kelly Berry received the 2018 AIIP Connections Writer’s Award for “Strategic Planning for Small Business,” which appeared in the December 2018 issue.

The award includes a cash prize sponsored by a group of former AIIP Connections editors: Crystal Sharp, Sharp Information Services (2001–2002); Heather Carine, Carine Research (2009–2011); Joann Wleklinski, Wleklinski Information Services (2005–2007; 2011–2015); and Phyllis Smith, ITK Vector Inc. (2015–2019).

Roger Summit Conference Sponsorship

Birgit Bauer, Bauer Business Research e.U.

The purpose of the Roger Summit Conference Sponsorship is to facilitate awareness of the benefits of attending AIIP annual conferences and to support a member who has not previously attended. It provides a cash stipend and free conference registration.

This year the sponsorship went to Birgit Bauer of Bauer Business Research, based in Vienna, Austria. Birgit has been an active European member of AIIP and a regular at the annual Internet Librarian International Conference in London, where she helps out on the AIIP stand.

Birgit had never attended an AIIP annual conference, since the cost of travel from Austria to the USA is a significant expense, and winning the Conference Sponsorship made it possible for her to take advantage of this valuable experience.