Accreditation Preparation Program
Accreditation Completion Program

Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) is the professional designation offered by the International Association of Business Communicators. It offers professional communicators a way to demonstrate their ability to think and plan strategically and to successfully manage the skills essential for effective organizational communication.

The ABC designation can contribute significantly to workplace credibility and earning power, and is recognized worldwide by all IABC chapters and many employers.
Becoming an Accredited Business Communicator is both professionally and personally rewarding. The ABC designation is increasingly valuable to organizations and clients as part of the job search and career enhancement process, and is recognized worldwide by all chapters of IABC.

IABC/BC offers two programs to both educate and support members who wish to become accredited: the Accreditation Preparation Program (APP) – a series of skill development workshops – and the Accreditation Completion Program (ACP) – a coaching program that guides you step-by-step through the entire accreditation process.

Accreditation Preparation Program

Why Accreditation Preparation Program
Course Description
Instructors
Cost
Who Should Participate
Dates
Application

Why Accreditation Preparation Program

The chapter’s Accreditation Completion Program (ACP) is a six-month course designed to take qualified candidates step-by-step through the accreditation process. It is not a course to teach communication skills, but a process-driven coaching program.

Experience has shown over the past five years of the ACP that knowledge gaps can exist with accreditation candidates that make completion of the process difficult and, at times, unrealistic. Gaps often exist in the areas of:

Crisis communications/Issues management
Managing the strategic communications function
Technical areas such as media relations and investor relations
Portfolio preparation/writing strategic communication plans
Integrating research into portfolios and practice

Course Description

The new Accreditation Preparation Program (APP) is designed to help fill those knowledge gaps and assist in readying “almost-qualified” candidates for the accreditation process. Completion of the APP does not assume automatic success into the ACP or guarantee full readiness for the accreditation process.

Instructors

The preparation program is instructed by senior accredited members with expertise in key areas. It incorporates instruction, candidate buddies and independent reading/learning.

Laurie Dawkins, ABC
Regional Director of Public Affairs
Coastal Health

Laurie is the Director, Stakeholder Relations, for Vancouver Coastal Health. Previously she served as the Regional Director of Public Affairs for Vancouver Coastal Health for the past three years. In this role, she managed a small team responsible for media relations, crisis communication, issues management, and government and stakeholder relations. She has over 14 years experience in the communications industry, gained in the health care, education, engineering and natural resource sectors. She has been involved in the planning and execution of several high profile media campaigns and projects, including the launch of North America’s first Supervised Injection site in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, which earned her and a fellow team member an IABC Gold Quill Award of Excellence.
When she’s not chasing down health care issues or volunteering for IABC, Laurie relies on copious amounts of chocolate and high-test espresso to keep up with her nine-month old daughter and three-year old son - both of whom move surprisingly fast and have a perilous fascination with computer keyboards, remote controls and extension cords

Karen J. Lee, ABC, MC
Principal
The KJ Lee Group

Karen specializes in strategic communication planning and team capacity building. She has been recognized with more than 50 international, national and provincial awards for excellence in communication management. In addition to her consulting practice, Karen teaches for the University of Victoria and Kwantlen Polytechnic University and is a past co-instructor of the IABC/BC accreditation completion program.

Gail Pickard, ABC
Manager, Strategic Communications
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia

Gail is manager, strategic communications at the Insurance Corporation of BC in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and has more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of corporate communication, including surviving two mergers in two years at one organization. She is a past director of accreditation completion programs for the IABC Accreditation Council. She also manages the BC portfolio grading centre and was co-coordinator of the BC Accreditation Completion Program (ACP). Gail regularly mentors accreditation candidates and has also proctored ABC exams.

Ron Shewchuk, ABC, MC
Associate
Longview Communications Inc.

Ron Shewchuk is one of Canada’s leading communications professionals, with a 20-year track record of delivering positive results. Ron has served in senior positions in corporate public relations, employee communications, marketing, and PR consulting. He is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) and in 2002 was named Master Communicator by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), becoming one of only 35 Canadians to be honoured with this designation since it was established in 1980.

Ron’s career is marked by innovation and excellence. In the 1980s he was the world’s first public relations consultant to offer his services online, even before the existence of the World Wide Web. His writing talent and progressive approach to employee communications has earned him two prestigious Gold Quill awards, and he is a popular commentator and a sought-after speaker on communications issues. Ron is the host of For Your Approval, a blog about employee communications, and the author of Writing and Editing the Internal Publication: Delivering Employee Communications with Impact, Integrity and Style, published by the IABC Knowledge Bank. He currently works as an associate with Vancouver-based consulting firm Longview Communications Inc.

Kate Stebbings, ABC
Senior Consultant
Communication Solutions

Kate is a Senior Consultant at Communication Solutions, a BC-based boutique agency specializing in providing strategic communications services to health care, environment, government, tourism and industry clients. Kate’s strategic communication projects have earned her a prestigious IABC Gold Quill Award of Excellence and three Gold Quill Awards of Merit as well as numerous other accolades recognizing excellence in health and environment communication. In addition to her Accreditation, Kate holds a Master’s Degree in Communications from Royal Roads University and is a Certified Facilitator. She serves as a judge for Silver Leaf and Bronze Quill Award programs and has recently joined the team of volunteers evaluating Accreditation portfolios.

Cost

Cost of the program is $350 CDN. This includes the Manager's Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management textbook, meals at all meetings and instruction. Class size is limited to twelve students per term.

Who Should Participate?

The program is designed for intermediate- to senior-level practitioners with most, but not all, qualifications for accreditation. They have gaps in the areas noted above, have never entered or judged awards and have limited experience in creating strategic communications work plans, but have managed and/or worked on multi-faceted communication programs.

Dates

The Fall 2009 dates are currently being planned. The program will likely run from early October through early November.

Note: the program will not run in Spring 2010.

Application

To request an application form please email lisa.thibault@fraserhealth.ca. Deadline for applications is September 1, 2009.

Accreditation Completion Program (ACP)

Advantages of ACP
Fees
Interested in accreditation?
Timing is everything
IABC/BC ABC Listing

The Accreditation Completion Program (ACP) has been running for more than six years and is credited for increasing the number of ABCs in the BC chapter from 13-72 – currently the second highest number of ABCs of any chapter in the world. The ACP is now the International standard for accreditation support programs offered by chapters around the world.

The program includes, but is not limited to, monthly group meetings, assignment of a personal accredited mentor, individual and personalized review of your ABC portfolio, exam tips and samples, mock exams and, finally, a local group sitting of the exam followed by recognition at a chapter event.

Cost of the program is $350, which includes "The Manager's Guide to Excellence in Communication," meals at monthly meetings, portfolio shipping fees and other administrative costs. The program is limited to eight students. It runs September to March.

Advantages of ACP

While any qualified IABC member can work through the accreditation process on his or her own, the ACP helps you navigate the accreditation journey, learning from your fellow aspiring ABCs and accredited members along the way. The ACP is particularly suited to ABC candidates who feel they need the added incentive of a program or mentor to complete their accreditation. It is process-driven coaching program versus a skill-development program (see the Accreditation Preparation Program above). Read the comments of some ABCs who've been there.

Fees

Fee to paid to IABC International to apply for accreditation: USD$320
IABC/BC Accreditation Preparation Program: CAD$350 (six week course)
IABC/BC Accreditation Completion Program: CAD$350 (six-month program)

Interested in accreditation?

To find out if you are ready to embark on the ABC journey, take the Accreditation Readiness Quiz. For more information about the benefits of accreditation, visit the IABC international website.

Then, if you know one of the ABCs listed below, contact them to find out more about their accreditation experience and if they think you might be ready. Or, contact Maureen Healey, ABC, at 604-685-7811 or maureen@downtownvancouver.net.

Now, consider becoming involved with IABC awards judging – it offers great insight into what is expected of an accreditation portfolio and is a rich learning experience. A couple times a year, the chapter offers a free three-hour Awards Judging Training Workshop followed by an awards judging experience. Accreditation Completion Program candidates will be required to have completed the workshop and judging prior to applying for the program. Basically, you learn how to judge IABC awards programs, then you’re paired up with an experienced ABC to put that learning into practice.

Timing is everything

If accreditation is in your career plans, consider the following timing:

Applications accepted for Accreditation Preparation Program: July 1 through September 1, 2010
Awards Judging Training Workshop (free) & Silver Leaf Awards judging: late July/early August (watch for info and registration online in mid-July)
Accreditation Preparation Program: October-November 2010 (six consecutive weeks)
Accreditation Completion Program: January - June 2011

IABC/BC ABC Listing

The IABC/BC chapter is staunchly proud of its growing number of ABCs, thanks in large part to its supportive Accreditation Preparation and Completion Programs. Today we're ranked second in the world in terms of number of ABCs (80) and percentage of ABCs (13%). We're equally proud of the Master Communicators among our accredited ranks. Master Communicator is the highest honour bestowed on a Canadian member and recognizes a member's contribution to both the profession and association. MCs are denoted below with an asteriks.

First Name	Last Name	Company
Kristin	Abraham	North Shore Credit Union
Clay	Adams	Vancouver Coastal Health
Nicole	Adams	Streetohome Foundation
Gordon	Allan	St. George's School
Valerie	Arlette	Arlette Communication Inc.
Kim	Barbero	Consultant
Warren	Bickford	Vancouver Coastal Health
Sandra	Blue	District of Maple Ridge
Sharon	Boglari	ICBC
Kathleen	Bourchier	Optimum
Cathy	Brisebois	Independent Consultant
Amanda	Brittain	Association of BC Forest Professionals
Brenda Lea	Brown	BC Securities Commission
Lyn	Brown	Catalyst Paper Corporation
Kathleen	Butler	Fraser Health Authority
Rosetta	Cannata	Vancity Credit Union
Debbie	Chow	Debbie P. Chow Consulting
Robyn	Crisanti	QLT Inc.
Gillian	Crowley	Clarion Communications
Laurie	Dawkins	Vancouver Coastal Health
Fred	Dawkins	Frontline Communication Ltd.
Susan	de Stein	DDSM Partners
Shelby	Diakow	Keyword Communications
Laima	Dingwall	Raymond James Ltd.
Chris	Dotson	Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd.
Christen	Downie	Methanex Corporation
Erin	Driscoll	Consultant
Zaneta	Ewashko	Methanex Corporation
Chris	Freek	Vancouver Coastal Health
Chris	Freimond	Chris Freimond Public Relations Inc.
Kirk	Grayson	ICBC
Kristjana	Hawthorne
Therese	Hayes	QLT Inc.
Maureen	Healey	Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Assoc.
Wendy	Heshka	Communication Solutions
Eduarda	Hodgins	ICBC
Shannon	Holms	BC Public Service Agency
Robert	Hulyk	BC Medical Association
Victoria	Klassen	Government of BC
Trudy	Lancelyn	Insurance Brokers Association of BC
* Karen	Lee	The KJ Lee Group
Ann	Macdonald	BC Cancer Agency
Daniel	Maceluch	The David Suzuki Foundation
Norene	MacLeod	HSBC
Frances	Maika	VOX Communications
Paula	Martin	Vancity Credit Union
Clare	Marwick	ICBC
Anne	McLaughlin	Consultant
Therese	Mickelson	Mickelson Consulting Inc.
Brian	Mitchell	BC Treaty Commission
Nancy	Painter	ICBC
Kate	Pasieka	ICBC
Gail	Pickard	ICBC
Heather	Prime	BCAA
Deborah	Ramsay	Consultant
Roberta	Randall	BC Housing
* Irene	Rau
Ruth	Raymond	Ruthless Editorial Services Ltd.
Diane	Read	Blueridge Communications Inc.
* Peter	Roaf	Delta Chamber of Commerce
Randall	Schmidt	University of BC
Chris	Shauf	VANOC
* Ron	Shewchuk	Consultant
Jay	Shukin	EPCOR Utilities
Harold	Simons	Rogers Retail
Paul	Skelhorne	Valley First Credit Union
Kate	Stebbings	Communication Solutions Inc.
Marie	Szklarz	Fraser Health Authority
Lisa	Thibault	Fraser Health Authority
Susan	Thom	BC Housing
* Jennifer	Wah	Forwords Communication, Inc.
Kathleen	Walsh	Government of BC
Kim	Walters	Government of BC
Connie	Wilks	Vancouver Coastal Health
Anita	Wilks	College of Dental Surgeons of BC
Anne	Williams	Ovarian Cancer Canada
* Tudor	Williams	Twisurveys Inc.
Gavin	Wilson	Vancouver Coastal Health
Tracey	Wimperly	Walk the Talk Communications
Cynthia	Wrate	Percolate Consulting Group
* denotes Master Communicator