Jaffe Technical Communication Excellence Award Presented to Lockheed Martin Standout

Molly Townsend, a communications supervisor at Lockheed Martin, is the first to receive the award

Molly Townsend, Supervisor of Fixed Wing Communications at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control – Orlando, is the first recipient of the Gloria Jaffe Outstanding Technical Communicator Award. These awards, presented by the Orlando Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), recognize achievement by technical communicators, and recognize the Central Florida businesses that significantly benefit through their employment. Lockheed Martin becomes the first company to be recognized by STC for the professional involvement of its technical communication professionals.

The Jaffe Award is named for Orlando Chapter founder and retired University of Central Florida Technical Communication professor Gloria Jaffe. Her leadership is reflected in the enduring communication values prized by the Orlando Chapter and in the professionalism of UCF graduates who had the opportunity to study with her.

At Lockheed Martin, Townsend was instrumental in preparation of proposals that represent several billion dollars in new business over the next decade. She implemented marketing communications plans and projects, wrote articles for employee communications, managed publicity for the company’s management club, and created a multimedia kiosk for the University of Central Florida. She also served as a middle school mentor and as guest lecturer for the UCF Technical Writing curriculum. Townsend is currently beginning a one-year career development assignment to the Vice President of Communications, Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Bethesda, Maryland. In this assignment, she will work with the Systems Integration businesses (consisting of some 31,000 employees) to develop and implement strategic communications plans and to support proactive relations with the trade press and other media.

The Orlando Chapter recognized three other communicators for their achievements. Linda Mathis, Technical Publications & Training Manager for Comtech Systems, Inc. in Orlando, and Christina Payne, a technical writer with Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems in Orlando, received runner-up trophies. Jason Nichols, Senior Product Services Specialist for InfoSource, Inc. in Winter Park, received a certificate as a finalist for the awards.

The award presentation was a highlight in a joint meeting between the Orlando Chapter and faculty members and students of the University of Central Florida (UCF) Department of English. Professor Jaffe presented the awards in person. Three of the four finalists are graduates of the UCF Technical Writing program she founded.

Mike Murray, Orlando Chapter President said, "With all the technologically focused companies in this area, recognition is long overdue for the professional contributions of Central Florida’s technical writers, web designers, indexers, and trainers who tangibly contribute to the success of these businesses."

The Society for Technical Communication is the world's largest professional organization in its field with over 20,000 members in 152 chapters worldwide. STC members work as technical writers, editors, illustrators, managers, educators, translators, and other communicators who make technical information understandable and available to those who need it. Information about STC can be found at its website at www.stc.org.