Margaret Ann Hennen

An Official obituary will be added at a later date. 

A light went today as Margaret Ann Hennen, APR Fellow PRSA died after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Rest assured, she will continue to influence Fellows and all our lives because she gave us such fabulous tools and advice. I first met Margaret Ann Hennen when she joined the Board and immediately made a mark. She quickly earned the respect of all PRSA board and staff members. But more importantly, she became our friend. Many of us have spent hours in coffee shops, board rooms and yes, bars, with her talking about anything and everything. Because she could listen and offer her sage wisdom. If I needed input on anything connected at all to the profession, she was likely the first person I’d call. Her advice was incredibly wise and spot on.

As a leader in the profession, Margaret Ann left her mark every single place she could. Last year she was awarded the Fellows Outstanding Leader Award in recognition of her efforts. Her list of service to PRSA include years of active membership in the Minesota Chapter, numerous PRSA committees, seven years on the Board of Ethics and Professional Standards, three years on the national board and service as Fellows Chair and officer almost since she became a Fellow in 2009. She received the Pat Jackson award from PRSA in recognition of her lifetime of service.

Nothing seems more fitting than to include the nomination as her remembrance.

One of the first achievements of Margaret Ann’s involvement in Fellows was her role in creating the Standards of Excellence. Because of her strong moral compass and commitment to ethics in her personal and professional life, and her desire to make being a Fellow even more of a pillar in public relations, Margaret Ann chaired the task for that created a “code” which has a higher standard than the traditional PRSA Code of Ethics. The Standards of Excellence have become yet another way Fellows emphasize the importance of ethical practice.

In recent years, Margaret Ann became concerned the College was losing its “exclusive” brand; its reputation as being something only few earned and instead Selection was becoming less selective. She created a training program for the Selection Committee which reminds the members of their job: to select only those who have made a significant footprint in the profession and who have led with the highest ethical standards.

Margaret Ann served as the College’s historian since at least 2019 when she worked with several of us to document the history of the College. Margaret Ann interviewed early Fellows to make sure their stories were preserved forever. Programs from each induction dinner were also gathered which was a huge feat in and of itself. So our history and stories aren’t lost, Margaret Ann created Voices for the Future where she (and now a few others) interviews Fellows about their legacies. These videos are on the Fellows YouTube channel and used by several professors in their classes. To date more than 20 past chairs of the college and PRSA have been interviewed to provide inspiration and education for others.

It may seem minor, but Margaret Ann also wrote the in memoriam for Fellows, a job she began when serving the College as an officer but continued until today. She believed it important these be written in a way that memorializes the Fellow for their professional contributions and provides them the respect they are due. She regularly reached out to Fellows who may have known the deceased Fellow so she could personalize the piece.

Margaret Ann served on the Selection Committee, and Nominating for both Fellows and PRSA, numerous times, provided her counsel to the Board of Ethics and Professional Standards and was on too many committees to name. She has served her chapter and the Midwest District in numerous capacities. Margaret Ann regularly provided sage counsel to me and hundreds of other professionals. In talking with several recent chairs, she was the first person each reached out to because of her willingness to offer support, not to mention her sage advice.

For those who didn’t know Margaret Ann, I’m sorry, but trust those of us impacted by her that Fellows is as amazing as it is because of our dear MAH. RIP my friend.