1944

Graduates the University of Alabama

1967

Plays a central role in the establishment of PRSSA

1973

Becomes the first woman president of the Publicity Club of Chicago and PRSA 

1977

Wins the Gold Anvil Award, PRSA’s highest individual award.

1981

While serving as a National Adviser, Betsy co-founds “Friends of PRSSA” (now “Champions for PRSSA”)

1989

Wins the Paul M. Lund Public Service Award, given to a PRSA member whose volunteerism has increased the common good and reflected credit on the Society. 

1989

The PRSA Foundation establishes the Society’s first-ever scholarship endowment fund in her name. Since then, the Betsy Plank Scholarship Endowment Fund has helped ensure the availability of public relations education funds for students at more than 40 colleges nationwide.

2001

Wins the Patrick Jackson Award for Distinguished Service to PRSA, making her the first-ever person to receive three of PRSA’s top individual honors.

2002

She’s honored with the first Arthur W. Page Society’s Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award and the Public Relations Institute’s Hamilton Award.

2005

The trustees of the University of Alabama establish The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. The Center’s mission is to develop research, scholarships, and forums that advance the ethical practice of public relations.

2010

Plank serves as the Chair of The Plank Center’s advisory board until her death in May