-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-
CASLPA Recognized for Association Excellence
Associationrecognized with multiple high-profile awards at national conference
Ottawa, ON (September 26, 2013) —The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA) is thrilled to announce that for a second consecutive year, its commitment to informative and compelling external communications was recognized by the Canadian Society of Association Executives’ (CSAE) Honours and Awards Program.CSAE’s awards program honours Canada’s top associations, recognizing individuals and groups who haveexceeded expectations and who are leaders in the association world.CASLPA’s honours this year include awards for best electronic publication and best public information and education campaign.
The prestigious Associations Make a Better Canada: Public Information and Education Awardrecognizes the most ambitious campaign undertaken bya Canadian association. The award acknowledges the many challenges facing communication and public affairs professionals today, for example juggling the needs of diverse memberships, managing critical public issuesand projecting a positive image of an industry. CSAE recognized CASLPA for its response to a damaging CBC Marketplace television episode that contained several inaccuracies about the cost of hearing aids and shed a negative light on audiologists.
“It was important that CASLPA take immediate action to assure our members that thishighly inaccurateepisode would not be ignored and that the producers would be held accountable. We immediately embarked on a targeted public information campaign,” said Joanne Charlebois, CEO for CASLPA. “After surveying our members, writing a letter of complaint to the CBC ombudsman and developing an infographic to highlight the value of hearing aids over the cost of untreated hearing loss, we were able reframe the conversation for our members and the public.”
CASLPA’s internal publication, Communiqué, also stood out among not-for-profit associations’ electronic publications. Communiqué keeps members informed and connected with their association, while also helping them stay on the leading edge of their professions. This is the second consecutive year that theCSAE has recognized Communiquéand CASLPA is pleased that Canadians outside the health-care community are taking notice of communication heath issues.
“We are extremely proud of the recognition Communiqué received at this year’s award presentation,”continued Charlebois. “Communiqué is distributed quarterly to CASLPA’s members and is produced entirely in-house, which makes this award that much more appreciated. It is encouraging to know that our growing focus on strong and effective communication is recognized not only by our members but also our peers in the association world and the general public.
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CASLPA, with over 6,000 members, is the only national body that supports and represents the professional needs of speech-language pathologists, audiologists and supportive personnel inclusively within one organization. Through this support, CASLPA champions the needs of people with communication disorders. Visit CASLPA at or learn more at .
For more information, please contact:
Cynthia Waldmeier, CASLPA Public Affairs Telephone: 613-233-8906/613-894-2128 (cell) Email:
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