Annual Jaffe Technical Communication Excellence Award Presented to PBS&J Standout

PBS&J becomes the second company to win a Jaffe Award for Excellence

Kelli Pharo, a technical communicator at PBS&J in Orlando, has received the 2004 Gloria Jaffe Outstanding Technical Communicator Award. The award, presented by the Orlando Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), recognizes Pharo's achievement as a technical communicator and recognizes PBS&J as the Central Florida business that most significantly benefited through the professional involvement of its technical communication professionals.

The Gloria Jaffe Outstanding Technical Communicator Award is named for Orlando Chapter founder and retired University of Central Florida 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 PBS&J, Pharo was responsible for the complete revision of an Aviation Services Department Standard Operating Procedures Manual that gained national recognition within the corporation. She established the company's style guide, which is published on the corporate website. She is also responsible for quality control and assurance, and the style guide has measurably contributed to the quality of their technical communications. As a member of an employee mentoring group, Pharo presented research to company management that identified areas through which technical communicators benefit the corporation. The Board of Directors is considering her recommendations, including creation of a technical documentation department.

Pharo is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and the UCF Technical Writing program founded by Professor Jaffe. Pharo also mentors many students through community outreach projects and the STC-UCF mentoring program.

The Orlando Chapter also recognized Al LeBoeuf as runner-up for the Jaffe Award. At Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control, he devises image capture strategies that support key communication objectives. His specialized expertise adds value to information and provides marketing and engineering leadership with critical video that supports business needs. His ingenuity includes the ability to find off-the-shelf solutions to visually demonstrate proprietary advanced technology products. He captures imagery that also communicates product quality.

He is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and completed advanced electronics and motion picture schools in the U.S. Navy.

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.

Jaffe Competition Manager Alicia Fellure said, "We are excited about our profession’s contributions to the technologically focused companies of Central Florida. This was a night to celebrate all of the technical and marketing writers, web designers, indexers, and trainers who tangibly contribute to the success of these businesses."

PBS&J (www.pbsj.com) is a leading provider of infrastructure planning, engineering, construction management, and program management services. Founded in Miami in 1960, its Orlando office has been serving the Central Florida community since 1974. With more than 400 employees, this office is the largest among the firm's 60 offices nationwide. Employee-owned, PBS&J is ranked by Engineering News-Record as 25th among the nation's top engineering consulting firms and 10th in airports.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin (www.lockheedmartin.com) employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2003 sales of $31.8 billion.

The Society for Technical Communication is the world's largest professional organization in its field with over 21,000 members in 147 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.