PRESS RELEASES
BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
NAMES STANTON HUDSON
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
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Buffalo, NY -- During special session today, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL) Board of Trustees named Stanton H. Hudson, Jr., APR, Fellow PRSA, the Library’s Director of Development and Communications, announced Chairman W. Lawrence Buck.
In his new role, Mr. Hudson will be responsible for creating and implementing fundraising and communications programs that support the Library’s mission, elevate its public profile and secure financial support from all sources. Responsibilities involve a range of public relations activities, organizational marketing, planning, advocacy, volunteer program administration and all aspects of fundraising, including annual fund drives, major gifts, grant writing, coordination of special events and private, corporate, foundation and governmental support.
“Mr. Hudson brings more than 30 years of experience in the public relations field, advising institutions in the public, private and nonprofit sectors on how to build relationships that are strong, long lasting and mutually beneficial,” said Buck. “His skills, background and commitment to this community will be tremendous assets to the Library System, and we are extremely pleased and confident as he joins our administrative team.”
A Buffalo resident, Mr. Hudson founded Hudson and Associates Public Relations Counselors in 1992. An independent public relations firm headquartered in Buffalo, it provides high-level strategic public relations/communications counsel to CEOs and senior management. During his career, Mr. Hudson has also held senior management positions with M&T Bank, Blue Cross of Western New York and the American Lung Association of New York State. From 1993 to 2004, he served as Assistant Professor and Director of a graduate program in Leadership and Communication at Canisius College.
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Hudson also has served in leadership capacities with more than 40 nonprofit organizations at the local, regional and national levels. Currently, he is a member of the Boards of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Erie County Cultural Resources Advisory Board, the Graycliff Conservancy, the East Hill Foundation and the Western New York Grantmakers Association.
An accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Hudson received the national organization’s Paul M. Laud Public Service Award in 1997 for his many volunteer activities. A year later, the National Federation for Just Communities recognized him as an outstanding community leader. In 2002, he received the President’s Award from the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Foundation and, in November of that year, he was inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows, a group of approximately 450 senior practitioners throughout the United States honored for lifetime achievement in the public relations profession. Additionally, a number of professional organizations, including PRSA, the International Association of Business Communicators and the National Advertising Agency Network, have recognized his award-winning body of work.
To sustain services compromised by dramatically reduced financial support from Erie County, B&ECPL established an internal development operation last year. “When Mr. Hudson joins the Library’s administrative team in June,” said B&ECPL Director Michael C. Mahaney, “he will integrate the development and communications efforts of the Library into one function. Through a restructuring of current positions, this will be achieved within the Library’s 2007 Erie County budget allocation. Without increasing the bottom line, we’ll be better positioned to communicate our needs to the public and convey justification for their continued support.”
The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library System is dedicated to connecting Erie County’s diverse communities with library resources that enrich, enlighten and entertain.
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