ChaNaè Bradley and Latasha Ford, staff members for Fort Valley State University’s Agricultural Communications Department, recently received honors and leadership appointments within an international organization.
Bradley, senior communications specialist, and Ford, research communications specialist, will serve on the board of directors for the Association for Communications Excellence (ACE). Bradley will serve as vice president, and Ford will serve as director of member services.
ACE is an international association whose membership consists of faculty and staff representing land- and sea-grant institutions in the U.S. and other nations. These include media professionals such as writers, editors, webmasters, photographers, graphic designers, information technologists and others in the communications field.
“I was nominated by a committee, and I think it was based upon my involvement in the organization. I accepted the nomination because I thought it was a great opportunity,” Bradley said.
Furthermore, the FVSU Extension employee said that coming from a smaller school, especially an 1890 Land-Grant Institution, she felt that it would be a good chance for ACE to see the value she could add as a board member. “I wanted to represent our concerns and share our perspectives,” she said.
As vice president, Bradley will move up the chain of command to serve as president and past president. Ford will serve a three-year term in her role.
Both FVSU Extension employees consider themselves to be torchbearers when it comes to representing 1890 Land-Grant schools because in the organization’s history, few board members represent 1890s. They hope that by participating in leadership roles in ACE, they will inspire more members of 1890s, as well as 1994 Land-Grant Institutions, to get involved.
For members in ACE who may be hesitant about seeking a leadership role, Ford suggests that they start by joining a learning community. “That will help them to develop more leadership skills. Find out what learning community you would like to contribute ideas and valuable resources. Start out as a member, then step up to a leadership role and then eventually chairmanship.”
In addition to leadership roles, Ford received two awards for her writing during the 2022 ACE Conference recently held in Kansas City, Missouri. She received a gold award in the diversity category Writing for Targeted Audiences for the story Daring to Discover, Destined to Dominate.
The research communications specialist also won a silver award in the writing category Writing within a Specialized Publication for the story Embracing Opportunities.
“I am honored to receive these awards not only personally, but because I am representing Fort Valley State University. The award-winning stories highlight two alumni who received degrees in agriculture and advanced to have great careers. These two individuals are also giving back to their communities,” Ford said.
For more information about ACE, visit aceweb.org.