FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2011

What: GTL Class of 2010-2011 Graduation
When: June 23, 2011
5:00 pm
Where: The Stillwell House
134 S. 5th Ave, Tucson, AZ 85702
Contact: Kim Bourn
Executive Director
(520) 247-5531

(Tucson, AZ) Each year the Greater Tucson Leadership Board of Directors chooses a recipient for the Tucson Leader Award whose commitment to and active involvement in the community exemplifies proven leadership. On Thursday, June 23rd, Linda Cohen and Kerry Stratford of The Caliber Group will be honored with the 2011 Tucson Leader Award.

The Board chose Cohen and Stratford to receive this award because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the Tucson community. The Caliber Group has provided thousands of hours of volunteer and pro bono services to businesses and non-profit causes such as The Tucson Festival of Books, Tucson Values Teachers, Imagine Greater Tucson, Tucson Regional Town Hall, Glassman Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation, Tucson Pima Arts Council, Downtown Tucson Partnership, Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Urban Land Institute, and Metropolitan Pima Alliance.

Linda Welter Cohen is the chief executive officer and principal, and Kerry Stratford is the chief creative officer and principal of The Caliber Group, a brand marketing and public relations firm based in Tucson. Both Linda and Kerry have worked in the marketing and advertising industry for more than 20 years.

In 2010, Cohen was named a YWCA Woman on the Move. In 2007, Stratford was named Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year by the Tucson chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

Both of the honorees were recipients of the 2009 Arizona Small Business Owners SASIE (Southern Arizona Smart Inspiring Enterprise) Award, and both were named Advertising Professionals of the Year in 2009 by the Tucson Advertising Federation at the 28th annual ADDY Awards. Cohen and Stratford have exemplified leadership by helping find solutions for community problems; implementing positive change that affects the quality of life in Southern Arizona; initiating and facilitating programs that generate community dialogue; creating increased understanding and appreciation of diversity; and encouraging responsible action that enhances Tucson. Their leadership is clearly illustrated through the many organizations to which they contribute and dedicate their time.

Past recipients of the Tucson Leader Award are:
2007 – Steve Lynn
2006 – Alaina Levine
2005 – Dr. Tanis Salant
2004 – Rick Myers
2003 – Emily Meschter
2002 – Dr. Richard Carmona
2001 – Dr. Augusto Ortiz and Martha Ortiz
2000 – Judge Nanette Warner
1999 – Jim Click Jr.
1998 – Lorraine Lee
1997 – James S. Griffith
1996 – F. Ann Rodriguez
1995 – Charles “Punch” Woods
1994 – C. Donald Hatfield

About Greater Tucson Leadership
GTL is a 30 year old non-profit 501c3, non-partisan leadership organization dedicated to providing leadership education, community development and civic engagement for the overall care and commitment to our Tucson community. The mission of Greater Tucson Leadership is to inspire, develop, identify and promote leadership in greater Tucson. For more information, visit http://www.greatertucsonleadership.org.