The AIIP Oscars – Lights, Camera, Action!
By Michele Bate
The awards dinner is always a highlight of the AIIP Annual Conference, since it gives attendees an opportunity to honour and celebrate peers who exemplify the AIIP ethos. Although this year’s conference was virtual, we did not miss out, as the awards ceremony was brought to our screens instead, with the award winners called “on stage” to make an acceptance speech.
Because the conference did not go ahead in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Master of Ceremonies Arthur Weiss, chair of the Awards Committee, announced the winners of both last year’s and this year’s awards. Three awards were presented for each year: the Sue Rugge Memorial Award, the Pam Wegmann International Award, and the Marilyn M. Levine AIIP President’s Award.
The 2020 winner of the Sue Rugge Memorial Award, given to a member who has significantly helped another member or members through formal or informal mentoring, was Jennifer Burke, who was nominated by Deb Hunt. Deb described Jenn as an influence for good, who is smart, patient and passionate about her work and helping others to do it better. Arthur said there had been a good slate of nominees for the 2021 Sue Rugge Memorial Award, but the “standout” winner was Marge King. She was nominated by Liz McLean, who said she continues to learn from Marge long after their formal mentoring relationship has ended, as does everyone who comes into contact with her. Accepting her award, Marge said she has learned as much from the members she has mentored as they have learned from her.
The Pam Wegmann International Award is given to a member who has demonstrated extraordinary support of the Association’s global presence. The 2020 award was presented to Marydee Ojala, who was nominated by Amelia Kassel. Marydee is a long-time international ambassador for AIIP – I first met her when she was staffing the AIIP booth at a conference in London almost 20 years ago. The 2021 winner was Udo Hohlfeld, who was nominated by Marydee. Based in Germany, he has done a great deal to promote AIIP, especially in Europe. Although he has not been able to attend an AIIP conference so far, Udo has generously sponsored the distinctive conference bags in the past – mine are still giving excellent service, housing my recycling! Udo was not able to be with us live as he was with a client offsite, but in true Oscars fashion, had recorded a video in which he expressed his delight at accepting the award.
The winners of the 2020 Marilyn M. Levine award were the Virtual Events Committee comprising Mary Ellen Bates, Liz McLean, Betty Nordeng, and Kelly Berry. Outgoing president Jennifer Pflaumer praised their sterling work salvaging sessions from the cancelled 2020 conference and presenting them as webinars. The 2021 winner was Jan Sykes, who has been a constant supporter of AIIP and volunteer in various capacities, including as the 2021 conference chair. Outgoing president Jennifer told us how Jan and her team had prepared for two versions of the conference – onsite and virtual – and described her as a consummate professional.
Arthur concluded this year’s Awards Ceremony by saying that it’s not too early to start thinking about who we could nominate for the 2022 awards. It was a great way to start the conference.
Michele Bate is the proprietor of Archer Van Den Broeck Limited, which is based in the UK and specialises in due diligence research and background checks. She was delighted to discover she could get paid for being nosy, especially when she left corporate employment and became an independent information professional. She has been an AIIP member for almost 20 years, and 2021 marked her 13th AIIP conference.
