Winner: Kathy Callahan, Director of Corporate Communications, Ameristar Casinos
In recent years, casino properties and companies have changed hands as often as the dice at the craps table. Kathy Callahan faced the challenge in 2002 of creating a unified
voice for five Ameristar Casinos properties across the Midwest and South, building unity out of a diversity that came from the brand personalities of several previous property
owners.
She studied the company and its needs, built a team of communications pros, created programs that enhanced the brand at each of the properties, developed a crisis
communications plan, and established effective internal communications strategies for the Ameristar family of 7,000 employees. Her contributions extend beyond the company into the
communities of the casino properties, and the gaming industry as a whole.
Callahan invented and implemented a program that has garnered her much praise, in addition to several awards. The program is dubbed "Ameristar Cares." This venture fosters a
corporate culture of giving and volunteerism among employees through supporting nonprofit organizations in the regions where each of the casinos is located. This year, the
campaign raised close to $5 million for the several communities where Ameristar team members live.
Other programs and events have also helped to bring the team closer together, whether it's interactive kiosks at each property that help keep the members in touch with each
other, or a three-day star-spangled event in Kansas City to celebrate that property's reopening, complete with the biggest fireworks display the region had ever seen.
In addition, Callahan unified the company's crisis communications plan, nominating herself to be the touchstone for any property that needed help in a media emergency. She is
on call to every manager 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And to maintain continuity of the brand from one property to the next while keeping them unique, she developed a
Property Planning Matrix that identifies stakeholders and their desires for each of the properties, tailor-making each approach to achieve property-specific desired outcomes by
delivering key messages to their target markets.
Her efforts in behalf of her company's team members are unflagging. While still at Harrah's, she created a bonus program to reward front-line employees, and launched that
company's first stock-option grant program for employees.
Callahan has also given back to the PR and gaming industries, co-chairing the IABC awards program for two years and writing a regular column for Casino Journal, for which she
has won several awards.
Contact: [email protected]
Honorable Mentions
Lisa Marie Bongiovanni isn't just playing around when it comes to PR. As VP of corporate communications for Mattel, Inc., she most recently led the charge to re-launch the
company's Mattel Children's Foundation to promote education, health and well-being for all children, as well as girls' empowerment. She was also behind Mattel's first Corporate
Social Responsibility Report.
Sunil Robert, director of corporate communications at i-flex, a medium-sized information technology firm, helped bring an Asian firm to light among the "Ivy League" of business
media. Placements in BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, and other publications of note raised i-flex's profile to new prominence last year in a crowded marketplace.
LuJean Smith had a busy year: this director of public relations for Siemens Medial Solutions implemented a PR measurement program, managed the communications of a $1 billion
acquisition, led the launch of the first dual-source computed tomography system, and worked to elevate the reputation of her department. And that was all during her first year in
her current title.