Brook DeWalt as PR Pro of the Year

Brook DeWalt, APR+M, Fellow PRSA refined his public relations skills under Dr. Glen Broom.

And so it came as no surprise (but resulted in a boisterous cheer up here on the mesa) when we heard that the Public Relations Society of America named Brook as the 2019 Public Relations Professional of the Year. That is right, out of more than 30,000 PR professionals in PRSA - our very own Brook is the top pro.

Looking at the description of the award, we find it fitting that the award criteria so closely aligns with that famous definition of PR penned by our center’s namesake:

The Public Relations Professional of the Year Award honors the individual who, in the previous year, represented the best in public relations as an outstanding example of the management function that establishes a mutually beneficial relationship between an organization and the public upon who it’s success or failure depends.

Brook, a Navy captain currently working as the director of public affairs operations for the U.S. Secretary of Defense, earned his master’s degree at San Diego State University. He was a part of the Navy’s push to professionalize their fleet of public affairs officers. Brook was a student in cohort No. 1 for the Military Public Affairs Graduate Program. The PAO program at SDSU began in 2005, and continues today where it is in its 15th cohort.

We caught up with Brook as he reflected on how his time learning from the professor of the profession played into his career.

I was so fortunate to be taught by Dr. Glen Broom while attending SDSU as part of the military program cohort No. 1. He had such an ability to connect with us and help associate our professional work with what we were learning in class, tying things together in a way for us to more clearly see how to operate more effectively and serve as even more useful strategic advisors for our leadership. We stayed connected long after our time together at grad school. It’s fantastic seeing his passion for professional development of public relations practitioners continue on through the Broom Center. Dr. Broom was simply an inspiration for me, and countless others. I will forever be in his debt, and will always strive to pay it forward!

Since graduating from SDSU’s master’s program in 2006, Brook has been racking up awards. Over his career he has:

• 2 Silver Anvils
• 4 Silver Anvil Awards of Excellence
• 5 Bronze Anvils
• 3 Bronze Anvil Awards of Commendation

We aren’t done.

In 2016 he earned PRSA’s Lloyd B. Dennis Distinguished Service Award. His career awards include two Hollywood Reporter Marketing Concept Awards and the Eastman Kodak Community Relations Award. This year alone his PR teams won a Silver Anvil, a Silver Anvil Award of Excellence, a Bronze Anvil, a Bronze Anvil Award of Excellence, PRSA Nebraska chapter awards and multiple military public affairs campaign awards under his leadership. Add all of this to the 60+ major awards for strategic programs, tactics, publishing, corporate communication and marketing ... and we see that he’s been busy.

As they say in the Navy, Bravo Zulu to you Brook! Your work on pushing the profession forward makes our industry better ... and this year you literally put on a PR super hero cape to save the world. This quote from our Broom Center director Dr. Kaye Sweetser, APR+M, Fellow PRSA sums it up:

“How many other PR professionals can link their work to making positive strides in nuclear de-escalation?” asked Sweetser.

To see some of Brook’s work, look at this earned media coverage he secured during his previous job at U.S. Strategic Command:

• 60 Minutes’ segment “The Battle Above”
• CNN’s “War in Space”

Please help us by investing in the next generations of boundry-pushing PR pros. Your gift to the the Broom Center will help future generations of practitioners push the status quo.