I have recently been informed that Martin Waxman has been nominated to be the TorontoCanadian Public Relations Society’s Mentor of the Year award. Until today, I wasn’t even aware that this was an award category
One of the first emails that I received after joining the CPRS was one asking me if I would be interested in the CPRS mentorship program. With no formal PR schooling behind me, having very few contacts in the industry, being new in the city and generally not knowing a whole lot about the field of Public Relations, I thought that this was would be a great opportunity.
I was matched up with Martin Waxman, co-owner of Palette Public Relations and he has been an amazing mentor.
Although we both have busy and varied schedules, we have managed to meet up for breakfast or coffee about once a month or so. He has always given insightful answers to my questions about the work within a PR agency, and has also provided me with valuable career advice. More than than, Martin has treated me like a colleague and a friend and I like to think of him the same way. I’ve always enjoyed our conversations, and always look forward to the next one.
I also know that Martin has donated a great deal of his time to be involved with CPRS Toronto, and for this I think of him as a sort of mentor to the greater PR community.
If you’re reading this, thanks again for your time, Martin. I look forward to meeting up with you again in a few weeks.
-Parker
One Comment
Thank you so much Parker. Your kind words are much appreciated. But I think any mentorship goes two ways and feel that I learned as much about social media and online trends from Parker as (I hope) he learned from me. And what’s even better is that we’ve been able to continue our friendship and keep sharing ideas.
Thanks also for the nomination call-out. I’m not sure that I’ve been nominated officially, but I know that my name was submitted. Whatever the outcome, I believe that it’s important for all members of our profession to go beyond their jobs and make a contribution that helps improve our industry as well as the community at large. (That sounds like a speech, but after all isn’t this blog, campaigning…)