PRSA Thoroughbred Chapter announces 2026 award honorees
Honoree tributes compiled by Holly Wiemers, Thoroughbred Chapter Awards Chair
The PRSA Thoroughbred Chapter’s annual recognition program celebrates excellence in communications across Central and Eastern Kentucky.
We are pleased to recognized the 2026 honorees:
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Fr. Jim Sichko: Communicator of the Year Award
Nancy Wiser: Tom L. Preston Lifetime Achievement Award
Amy Preske: Career Achievement Award
Brandi Doss: Communications Impact Award
Jordan Strickler: Rising Start Award
Delaney Wolfe: Student of the Year
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The 2026 honorees will be recognized at an awards dinner Sept. 24 at Carson’s at Andover in Lexington.
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See full tributes to the honorees below.
2026 Communicator of the Year Award: FATHER JIM SICHKO
This award recognizes someone who is not a PR professional but is an exceptional communicator in their own right.
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The Communicator of the Year Award recognizes an individual outside the professional public relations field who has demonstrated exceptional communication skills to inform, inspire and make a meaningful impact.
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FR. JIM SICHKO, a Roman Catholic priest from the Diocese of Lexington, demonstrates the power of communication to bring people together and inspire action. Known for his signature presentation, "60 Minutes for Jesus," Fr. Jim reaches audiences of all ages and backgrounds, sharing messages that encourage people to recognize the good within themselves and others and to put that recognition into action.
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From sharing messages of faith and hope across six continents to transforming simple acts of kindness into a worldwide ministry of mercy, Father Jim Sichko has spent more than 25 years demonstrating the power of communication to bring people together and move them to action.
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The PRSA Thoroughbred Chapter Board chose Father Jim as its 2026 Communicator of the Year, recognizing his ability to use storytelling, humor and authenticity to inform, inspire and connect with audiences throughout Kentucky and around the world.
Father Jim is an internationally recognized preacher, evangelist, motivational speaker and author. In 2015, Pope Francis commissioned him as a Papal Missionary of Mercy during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, one of only 100 appointed in the United States and 1,000 worldwide.
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Combining humor, personal stories and real-life experiences, his presentations encourage people to recognize the good within themselves and others and put that recognition into action. The late Dolly Parton once described him as “the best opening act ever.”
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Having spoken in all 50 states and across six continents, Fr. Jim spends nearly 300 days each year traveling for parish missions, retreats and speaking engagements. His daily social media outreach reaches more than 150,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram and X.
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Closer to home, Fr. Jim is widely known for his “simple acts of kindness,” turning messages of mercy and compassion into tangible assistance for people in need. From Lexington to Eastern Kentucky communities recovering from devastating floods, his collaborations with businesses, organizations, public figures, and community leaders have helped make thousands of acts of mercy and outreach possible.
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Fr. Jim is the author of several books, including Encountering God: As a Traveling Papal Missionary of Mercy, Among Friends: Stories from the Journey, Amazing Grace, and 60 Seconds for Jesus. His work and message have been featured by national media outlets including CBS News, EWTN, Fox News, America Media, Esquire, and National Catholic Reporter.
2026 Tom L. Preston Lifetime Achievement Award: NANCY WISER
The Thoroughbred Chapter has created its first named honor — the Tom L. Preston Lifetime Achievement Award — recognizing a career of extraordinary impact, integrity and leadership in the field of public relations.
A special award this year is a brand new one. Beginning with the 2026 awards banquet, the Tom L. Preston Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented annually to an individual whose career reflects the highest standards of the profession and a measurable, lasting impact on the communities they serve.
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NANCY WISER is an exceptional choice for the Tom L. Preston Lifetime Achievement Award because, in many ways, her career represents the continuation of Tom Preston’s legacy. Early in her career, Nancy had the privilege of working for Tom Preston. She learned from him, was shaped by his commitment to public relations excellence, and has spent the decades since building a career that reflects those same values. Today, she is not simply a practitioner who followed in his footsteps — she is one of the people who has helped carry his legacy forward.
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Since 1986, Nancy has distinguished herself as a strategic counselor, communicator, entrepreneur, educator and leader. She is most in her element when analyzing complex issues, developing and managing strategic communication programs, counseling senior executives and bringing creativity to challenging problems. Her work has influenced organizations across healthcare, transportation, environmental affairs, economic development, public affairs and corporate communications.
Nancy’s competitive advantage has always been the rare combination of strategic intellect, creativity, sound judgment and an ability to turn strategy into meaningful action. From managing statewide media relations and controversial public issues to counseling major corporations, universities, healthcare organizations and government entities, she has consistently demonstrated what excellent public relations looks like.
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She has also strengthened the profession itself — developing communication models and training programs, teaching future communicators, mentoring colleagues and serving PRSA at the local, district and national levels. Her induction into the PRSA College of Fellows, the PRSA Thoroughbred Hall of Fame and recognition with the East Central District Platinum Award affirm the extraordinary impact of her career.
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Tom Preston helped shape Nancy Wiser. Nancy, in turn, has spent a lifetime shaping the practice of public relations in Kentucky and beyond. There may be no more fitting way to honor Tom’s legacy than by honoring hers.
2026 Career Achievement Award: AMY PRESKE
The Career Achievement Award recognizes a Thoroughbred Chapter member (current or within the past five years) with more than 15 years of experience who has demonstrated a commitment to excellence.
AMY PRESKE built an independent PR practice from scratch and turned it into a national media machine, landing hundreds of earned stories and Tier 1 placements for clients most agencies twice her size would envy. She represents exactly what this award is meant to recognize: strategic thinking, creative risk-taking, and results you can measure.
Some highlights from her nomination packet include these excerpts.
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Two of Amy’s campaigns that stand out include launching the J. Mattingly 1845 Classic Bourbon and helping storied spirts award company, the ISWC, with promoting their name in the U.S.
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Amy worked with J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery to help them uncover their family distilling lineage and created a communications plan to tell that story. This plan is helping the distillery create foot traffic and online direct to consumer bottle sales, resulting in 970 earned media stories in the past year.
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With IWSC, although they are one of the oldest spirts award companies, having been created in 1969, they are based in the U.K. and lack U.S. consumer brand awareness. They also wanted to raise awareness to U.S. brands to enter their awards.
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Knowing from past experience that award news typically receives little to no media coverage, Amy brainstormed ways to get IWSC coverage and then exceeded all earned media goals that had been set. The objective had been 15 earned media stories, and the campaign received 180, exceeding that objective by 1,100%. Several outlets were Tier 1 media, such as Forbes and Food & Wine, both of which were syndicated and helped placement numbers tremendously. The campaign also landed seven interviews and/or podcast placements and worked with four paid influencers.
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2026 was a year of milestone achievements for Amy. She was named Communicator of the Year, North America, Whisky Magazine, and also as one of the “Women in Whiskey” by Bourbon Women.
Amy is passionate about sharing her knowledge of PR, and has spoken at the James B. Beam Distilling Conference in 2024, 2025, and 2026 about tourism PR, crisis communication and brand storytelling.
When prompted about challenges, Amy shared the following:
In 2023, I faced a career crossroads. I had not been happy at my employer for several years, but the thought of leaving and starting over is scary. And then one day I did it, I took the leap, without having even applied for one single job. I did at least have an updated resume.
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But I was scared. I didn’t particularly want to go back into the corporate world, so I started my own business, but I must admit, I was worried. Would anyone want to work with me, outside of the Sazerac umbrella? Would media still return my calls without the powerhouse bourbon brands Buffalo Trace owned, like Pappy Van Winkle and Blanton’s, to dangle in front of them? Would people still attend my events, if I couldn’t tempt them with promised tastings from experimental warehouses and 20+ year old stocks?
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Thankfully, the answer to all those questions is YES! In the past three years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with legends such as the first female master taster, the first female master blender at Brown Forman, as well as other industry veterans from Brown Forman; tech start-ups who are re-inventing the online barrel marketplace, and many more companies and clients that I now call friends.
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The past three years have been ones of tremendous personal growth and I have learned that yes, I can stand on my own.
2026 Communications Impact Award: BRANDI DOSS
The Communications Impact Award recognizes an outstanding mid-career professional with five to 15 years of communications experience.
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In 2023, BRANDI DOSS was recognized with the YMCA of Central Kentucky Full-Time Staff Impact Award. In her remarks, our CEO said: “There is nothing that happens in this association that Brandi doesn’t touch, and we’re better for it.” That statement is even truer today. Brandi facilitates association-wide initiatives while also staying connected to the daily activity and needs in every branch.
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Her work reflects continuous improvement, curiosity, and creativity. After 10 years leading marketing for our association, she continues to pursue new ways to share consistent messaging, promotions, and stories. She tirelessly executes omnichannel campaigns, sometimes monthly, while balancing daily responsibilities in marketing, communications, membership, and staff engagement.
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Brandi combines data with instinct to lead initiatives. Recognizing the rise of short-form video, she elevated that medium in the Y’s storytelling, stretching a modest nonprofit budget to deliver meaningful stories with outsized impact.
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Brandi stands out for her uncompromising commitment to excellence. Her creative work is consistently executed at the highest level, with no detail overlooked. Her high standards for design, accuracy, and aesthetics raise the bar for the entire organization and inspire colleagues to do their best.
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In her expanded role, she is bridging membership and marketing by coaching, training, and encouraging staff. Through her leadership, she underscores the importance of relational rather than transactional member experiences, strengthening both our team and the community.
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Brandi brought multiple omni-channel appeals to life for the philanthropy team in service of our annual giving campaign. The “Send a Kid to Camp” push generated over $16,000 and attracted 10 brand new donors to our organization. Additionally, Brandi’s work on a quiet but important capital campaign for the Beaumont YMCA has been critical in soliciting capital gifts.
This year, Brandi has managed communication about significant organizational changes: the sale of and impending closure of the High Street YMCA; the acquisition of PROOF fitness; and the launch of a major renovation at one of our local Ys. Her leadership in communications and PR have been vital to the success of launching and messaging these initiatives.
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Beyond local work, Brandi is engaged with the national Y-USA office, serving on committees and participating in cohorts to advance best practices. She recently helped elevate a member’s testimony to national prominence, where it was featured in Y-USA’s membership newsletter and virtual meeting.
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​Brandi manages a demanding, ever-changing workload. She oversees a large volume of marketing campaigns, branding efforts, and special projects, yet consistently delivers with excellence.
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Brandi’s blend of excellence, process discipline, and people-centered leadership makes her a standout communications professional. She manages both the spirit of the work and the demands of the job with grace and impact. Brandi is the backbone of our organization, the unsung hero in every sense.
2026 Rising Start Award: JORDAN STRICKLER
The Rising Star Award honors an emerging professional with two to five years in a PR or communications role who has demonstrated initiative and creativity.
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JORDAN STRICKLER is a marketing and agriculture communications specialist at the University of Kentucky, where he helps tell the stories of the research accomplishments coming from the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
One example included his recent work, “Unleashing horsepower: The genetic secret behind equine stamina,” a feature that translates a complex genetics discovery into a clear story. The story explains how a “stop sign” in the KEAP1 gene is bypassed in horses and their equid relatives, thereby boosting cellular energy and protecting muscles against oxidative stress during intense exercise.
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The story was released in April, during the run-up to the Kentucky Derby, which helped draw attention to Thoroughbred racing. This played a part in the story getting picked up by various publications, including major horse racing publications.
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The nominee stands out for combining accuracy, timing and audience relevance. The feature in particular connects UK’s role to a high-impact Science study. It explains that horses “run a genetic stop sign” in KEAP1, increasing ATP production and antioxidant defenses, an unusual adaptation in vertebrates. It links directly to the journal article and identifies the lead institutions, which builds trust for expert readers while keeping the language approachable for a general audience.
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As a whole, the nominee is known for turning hard-to-understand science publications into easy-to-read stories. The end result was a piece where readers get a clear explanation of how energy production and muscle protection are linked in horses, and a sense of how UK’s Gluck Equine Research Center fits into a larger discovery pipeline.
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This work shows how research communications can deliver public value. It ties a precise molecular story to outcomes that matter in Thoroughbred racing — stamina, recovery, and horse health — while staying faithful to the peer-reviewed record. It also demonstrates strategy: publish when interest is high, point directly to source materials and quote the scientists involved in the study to ground the claims.
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The competitive edge is clarity with depth. Many summaries flatten complex biology; this one preserves the mechanism and its implications in terms an undergraduate, a trainer, a veterinarian, or just your average Daily Racing Form reader can follow. By doing so, it strengthens UK’s credibility with both lay and expert audiences and supports the mission of Martin-Gatton CAFE to advance equine health through discovery and outreach.
2026 Student of the Year: DELANEY WOLFE
The Student of the Year Award recognizes a college student actively engaged in public relations through academic or extracurricular involvement.
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​Excerpt from the packet nominating Delaney for this award:
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In my roles as professor, faculty advisor, and research supervisor, I have watched many talented students prepare for careers in public relations. None has matched Delaney’s combination of self-directed learning, intellectual curiosity, and ethical conviction.
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What distinguishes Delaney is not merely the number of opportunities she has pursued, but the intention behind them to build a broad base of experience. She continually identifies what she needs to learn, seeks that experience independently, applies her knowledge in practice, and reflects on how to improve. That process has led her to explore work in agency, government, law enforcement, nonprofit, health, crisis, and reputation management—not merely to build a resumé, but to understand how public relations can responsibly serve different organizations and communities.
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For a statewide lung cancer screening campaign, Delaney translated audience research into creative concepts, messages, talking points, and integrated paid, earned, shared, and owned strategies.
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As “Breathe It In” moves toward a four-region pilot and eventual statewide launch, Delaney is helping plan integrated paid, earned, shared, and owned media—including press releases, media and partner toolkits, experiential activations, message amplification, and evaluation. The stakes are high: Kentucky has the nation’s highest rate of new lung cancer cases, yet only about one in five high-risk residents is screened. By helping Kentuckians recognize their risk and seek screening, the campaign could encourage earlier diagnoses, expand treatment options, and save lives.
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She has already transferred this participatory approach to PRSSA recruitment. For UK’s K-Week, Delaney transformed a passive information table for first-year students into an interactive, movie-themed activation incorporating voting, tailored membership materials, a popcorn giveaway, and strategic lead collection. The activation generated 25 prospective-member sign-ups from approximately 50 attendees, and her follow-up converted two students into dues-paying members.
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Across both projects, Delaney demonstrates creativity, strategic thinking, and the ability to turn classroom knowledge into meaningful professional and community outcomes.
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Her professional experience is unusually broad. At Evolve Studios in London, Delaney drafted more than 200 press materials, researched influencers for 21 clients, and managed more than 30 product send-outs. As an intern with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, she created a centralized system to track pollution complaints, which the agency later adopted. She also drafted, edited, or reviewed more than 20 news releases. As a Lexington Police Department intern, she now creates three to four social media posts weekly while expanding her experience in public-sector operations.
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Underlying these accomplishments is an unusually strong ethical conviction. Delaney independently brings me current public relations cases, evaluates organizational decisions, and considers how practitioners could respond more responsibly. She represents the thoughtful, ethical, resourceful, and energetic future of public relations.
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Delaney views public relations not simply as a career, but as a responsibility she is preparing to uphold. By turning curiosity into knowledge, knowledge into strategic action, and action into ethical results, she represents the thoughtful, resourceful future our profession needs—and deserves the Outstanding Student Award.