IWPA logoIllinois Woman’s Press Association
P.O. Box 180150, Chicago, Illinois  60618
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Chicago – September 15, 2017 – Randy Richardson of Evanston, Illinois, has received the national Communicator of Achievement Award presented by the National Federation of Press Women. It is the first time a man has received this honor in the award’s 60-year history.

Communicator of Achievement is the highest honor bestowed by NFPW, a nationwide organization of professional women and men in the communications industry.  The recipient, chosen from nominees selected by state affiliates, is recognized for exceptional achievement in the communications field, service to NFPW and to the community. Richardson is a member of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association.

“I still can’t believe that I won. I am honored and humbled to have been selected out of such an impressive list of nominees from all over the country, and to be the first male recipient in the award’s 60 years,” said Richardson. “I feel so proud to have added a new chapter to the great histories of the National Federation of Press Women and the Illinois Woman’s Press Association.”

Richardson was named the Illinois Woman’s Press Association Communicator of Achievement in May.  He and 10 other affiliate-level winners vied for the national award which was presented Sept. 8 at the NFPW National Conference in Birmingham, Alabama.

Richardson is an attorney, author and award-winning journalist. As a reporter for the Times of Northwest Indiana, he co-wrote a series about several unsolved crimes in Glenwood, Illinois, which received awards from the Illinois Press Association.

His essays have been published in Chicken Soup for the Father and Son Soul and Cubby Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year. He has written two novels, Cheeseland and Lost in the Ivy, and is currently at work on a book of interviews with celebrity fans of the Chicago Cubs.

Richardson is a founding member and president of the Chicago Writers Association.

He is an attorney for the Social Security Administration’s disability appeals branch where he works as a senior attorney advisor, and has twice received the Deputy Commissioner’s Citation.

Richardson lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife and son.

Founded in 1885, the Illinois Woman’s Press Association is an organization of communications professionals whose objective is to maintain and improve the professional standards of members in mass communications in Illinois, to promote their interest, and to provide for the sharing of ideas and information. IWPA is an affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women.

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