Awards

SMPS CT Hosts Professional Achievement Awards

SMPS CT will honor three individuals for their contributions to the chapter and/or AEC industry with SMPS CT Professional Development Awards, celebrating marketing communications excellence and outstanding AEC professionals. The virtual event will be held on May 12.

Cathy DeFrances-Vittorio, director of business development for Fuss & O’Neill, and Keith Claytor, owner and photographer of TimeFrozen Photography, will serve as emcees.

This year’s Grace Waldvogel Member of the Year award honors Carly Olson, marketing specialist at Lane Construction Company and small business marketing and development consultant for her own firm, Green Path Marketing.

The Trail Blazer Award goes to Julia DeFrances, a member of SMPS since 2013, who currently serves as treasurer for SMPS CT and marketing coordinator at BL Companies.

Bernice Rios Bako, FSMPS, SMPS president-elect and director of marketing, global development for Turner Construction Company, is recognized with the James Bancroft Lifetime Achievement Award that honors a seasoned marketing/business development professional who has made endless contributions to the profession and AEC industry and has also served as an advisor for the chapter. Bako has held several positions within the organization, most notably as president of SMPS CT when the chapter was awarded the 2002 National Striving for Excellence Grand Prize.