Jean Valence Selected as Recipient of 2001 Marketing Achievement Award

Jean Valence has inspired and guided thousands of individuals and hundreds of firms as a leader, researcher, teacher, mentor, and innovator in professional services marketing. President of Blackridge Ltd., a national marketing and management firm serving A/E/C firms, corporate facilities groups, and Fortune 500 companies, Jean's achievements and contributions to the building industry are many:

• One of the first non-technical marketing professionals to become a partner in an architectural firm, Jean's strategies and research doubled revenues in four years, moving the firm from public work into New England's corporate and commercial building markets.
• A Past SMPS National Treasurer and Regional Director, Jean is one of seven founders of the SMPS Boston Chapter and the first recipient of the SMPS Boston Professional Contribution Award.
• As an educator, Jean has provided nearly 100 seminars and workshops for SMPS, the American Institute of Architects, the American Consulting Engineers Council, and the Associated General Contractors. She initiated the SMPS Boston Chapter's successfully marketing Fundamentals Program and continues to teach and mentor her colleagues.
• Jean was a contributing author to the SMPS Handbook for the Design and Construction Professional, writing the chapter on "Balancing Marketing and Operations."
• She has contributed to the development of innovative association programs including AIA's Leadership, Learning, and Competitive Edge Program; the SMPS Fellows Recognition Program; and the AIA's National CES Quality Awards.
• Jean was elected the first marketing professional to the Board of Directors of the Boston Architectural Center, one of the nation's oldest architectural schools.

Jean's colleagues describe her this way:

"A powerful, sage voice in the practice of professional services marketing for over 20 years…A savior, strategist, mentor, friend, and muse to scores of grateful colleagues."
Sylvia J. Wheeler, Sr. VP and Principal, Haley & Aldrich, Inc.

"Jean has made this industry her life, and we are all better for it. No one has a better understanding of the requirements of professional firms from leadership qualities, education, and reputation maintenance needed to run a successful practice."
J. Timothy Grobleski, Executive Vice President, Symmes Maini & McKee Associates

At the National Marketing Conference in Orlando in August, Jean was formally honored by the Society and her peers during the Awards Gala.

The annual Marketing Achievement Award salutes an individual whose achievements and lasting contributions to the field of business development and marketing are exemplary. To be eligible for consideration, a nominee must be an SMPS member and have demonstrated significant and measurable accomplishments in research, education, leadership, marketing, and innovation.

Nominations are solicited in the spring, and the award winner is decided by a panel of previous Marketing Achievement Award winners. The 2001 panel included Chair Randy Tucker, P.E., The RJA Group; Liz Quebe, FSMPS, RTKL Associates Inc.; Nancy Cameron-Egan, Nancy Cameron Egan Consulting; Laurin McCracken, FSMPS; and Kay Lentz, FSMPS, The Lentz Group.