Company: Ron Sachs Communications, Inc., Tallahassee, Florida
Company Description: Ron Sachs Communications is an integrated public relations firm serving non-profit, government, and corporate clients with public relations, advertising, media buying and design, video and multi-media production, and public education initiatives for the state of Florida. We specialize in building public awareness and support for issues of local, state, regional and national impact.
Nomination Category: Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Executive – Service Businesses – up to 100 Employees

Nomination Title: Michelle Lagos Ubben, Chief Operating Officer, Ron Sachs Communications in Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America

1. Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated executive during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):

Michelle Lagos Ubben is partner and chief operating officer of Ron Sachs
Communications in Tallahassee, Fla., responsible for managing firm activities
for up to 40 accounts, a full-time staff of 25, coordinating new business
development including proposals and client presentations, defining initial
client strategies, budgets and tactics as well as seeing overall day-to-day
operations.

A creative and highly skilled leader with a "can do" attitude and inviting
warmth, she motivates and inspires everyone on staff. She takes pride in leading
teams to formulate bold and innovative approaches that engage the media—no
matter the client’s specifications—and she is always ready to jump in if a
crisis arises. Her energy and boundless enthusiasm for every client project
permeates the office, upholding an expectation for excellence, and her ability
to quickly grasp and adjust complex client issues is a testament to her
significance as an executive PR professional. Regardless of any pressures, she
remains composed and generous with her time and ideas.

Michelle’s executive skills have been recognized well beyond the Tallahassee
limits. In 2006, PR News chose Michelle to be one of the five national finalists
for the distinct honor of the PR “Agency Executive of the Year” award. She also
received honorable mention for her successful reengineering of firm operations
that improved productivity and efficiency, increasing revenue by 27 percent. And
in 2007, The Tallahassee Democrat noted Michelle as one of the top business
women in the region, praising her talents as a multi-tasking professional and
out-of-the-box thinker who helped Ron Sachs Communications earn its ranking as
a top PR firm in the state. In that same year, the Democrat also recognized and
honored Michelle in celebration of Women’s History Month. And because of all of
her accomplishments, Michelle was recognized as one of Tallahassee’s “25
Women You Need to Know.”

Aside from her evident PR and business acumen is a fact that exudes her
humanity and possibly her most admirable talent yet: Michelle has an astounding
dedication to her family. A mother of six children, Michelle somehow balances
the significant demands of work without losing focus of the important tasks at
home. She approaches her clients as she does her family: with respect, care and
humility. Her passions for life and family are reflected in her development of
an initiative, Explore Adoption, operating in conjunction with Florida Governor
Charlie Crist. Michelle is the driving force behind the creative execution of
this initiative. With her influence and commitment, Explore Adoption helped
Florida set a new state adoption record: An additional 595 adoptions were
finalized in the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

Michelle is an exceptional leader because, to her, life is about balance. She
masters a career and leads a team of professionals, while simultaneously taking
care of a family of six— juggling after school activities, PTA meetings and
recitals—all without missing a beat.The sheer ability of anyone who can tackle
all of these things as Michelle successfully does deserves the respectable
distinction of “Best Executive” for Women in Business.

2. List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:

http://www.unitedpartnersforhumanservices.org/docs/women-in-business-3-1-07.pdf
http://www.prnewsonline.com/awards/prpeople/Finalists2006.html
http://www.indusbusinessjournal.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing
&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=E7640E05A4CB464283
F8EC902F485036&AudID=2A49137C8BBB4CAB9F23C2A2692E1395
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS155741+15-May-2008+PRN20080515
http://www.prweekus.com/Florida-puts-family-face-on-adoption-campaign/article/112414/
http://www.adoptflorida.org

3. Provide a brief biography of the nominated executive (up to 100 words):

Michelle got her start as a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel and taught speech
writing at FSU. Her career includes directing communications for the Department
of Children and Families, Health and Rehabilitative Services, Agriculture and
Consumer Services, along with Insurance and the Florida Senate. Her ten years in
public relations agency management and fourteen years in senior-level service for
state government agencies guaranteed her growth at Ron Sachs Communications.
She joined the firm in 1998 as a consultant and was promoted to Vice President,
then Executive Vice President, and then to Partner and COO where she currently
stands.