Two women with ties to Kansas Professional Communicators — including a former longtime member of Wichita Professional Communicators — were among the more than 30 NFPW members who were recognized for reaching milestone years of membership at the June NFPW conference.
Jane Lee of Kansas City, Missouri, was honored for reaching 55 years, while Elizabeth “Liz” Kennedy, now a member of the Oregon Press Women, was recognized for her 35-year membership.
Lee began her career as a reporter in the mid-1960s in Lawrence, Kansas. When she started her family, she began working part time in public relations, and in 1984 opened Jane Lee Communications. She won numerous awards, including the NFPW sweepstakes award in 1998. Lee has served as her affiliate president and on the NFPW board. She retired in 2016.
A lifelong learner, Kennedy earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Brown University and 40 years later, a Master of Science in instructional design and technology from Emporia State University. A freelance writer who now writes an eight-page weekly update on her senior community, she spent 16 years as the About.com children’s books expert. A past president and longtime board member of WPC, she also served on the KPC board. A winner of several communications awards, Kennedy was the 2008 Kansas Communicator of Achievement. When she and her husband retired to Portland, Oregon, she continued her NFPW membership with that state’s affiliate.