NEW: Secretary of State Mollis Honors RI Businesswoman Cindy Butler
Friday, June 03, 2011
Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis recognized a Jamestown woman today with his office’s highest honor for her leadership launching a voter awareness campaign that has reached tens of thousands of Rhode Island workers since 2008.
Mollis presented Cindy Butler, SPHR, of Butler & Associates Human Resources Consulting with the Medallion Award at a joint meeting of the Human Resource Management Association of RI and the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Leadership in voting initiatives
“From her leadership position with the state's major human resources organizations, Cindy encouraged companies to host voter registration drives, post links to voter registration forms on their intranets, display voter-registration posters and distribute broadcast email to their employees,” said Mollis.
In addition to targeting first-time voters, the “Voters in the Workplace” campaign gave voters who moved or changed their names a convenient way to update their records as required by state law.
More than 126,000 Rhode Islanders registered for the first-time or re-registered because they had moved within the state since "Voters in the Classroom" debuted in August 2008.
"Get Out the Vote"
“I am so honored to receive this award on behalf of all of our SHRM chapter members who encouraged employees to participate in SHRM's "Get out the Vote" program and provided them the opportunity to register to vote with the Secretary of State's office at their workplaces,” said Butler.
Bank of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cardi’s, Cox Communications and Lifespan are among the companies that participated in the campaign, which debuted in 2008. For example, Cardi's outreach included newspaper ads promoting the campaign.
"Staging these events on the factory floor, at the main office and in lunch rooms made it convenient for workers to be prepared to vote. We supplied everything companies needed in order to offer this benefit to their associates," said Mollis.
Secretary of State's highest honor
Created by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), the Medallion Award is the highest honor the Office of the Secretary of State can give. The award honors individuals, groups or organizations with an established record of promoting the goals of NASS in one or more of the following areas:
• Elections, with special emphasis on voter education and participation
• Civic education, including the teaching, promotion and study of civics
• Service to state government, specifically as it relates to the duties of the Secretary of State
Award recipients must reflect the mission, purposes and objectives of NASS. They should also promote the same dignity, ideals and stature that NASS has come to represent over the years.
Secretary of State Mollis is committed to making it easier to vote, helping business grow and making government more open and accessible. For more information about the programs and services the Secretary of State offers Rhode Islanders, visit sos.ri.gov.
Photo: Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis presents Cindy Butler, SRHP, of Jamestown with the National Association of Secretaries of State's Medallion Award as Lisa Kilduff, president of the Society for Human Resource Management; and Diane Buerger, SPHR, president of the Human Resource Management Association of R.I. and Labor and Employee Relations Manager for the Narragansett Bay Commission, look on. Butler was honored with the highest honor the Secretary of State's office can give for her leadership on a voter awareness campaign that has reached tens of thousands of Rhode Island workers since 2008.
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