Here's what the IABC has to say on its website:
The IABC Cleveland Chapter board of directors and Kelly Blazek have mutually agreed that she will return the chapter's 2013 Communicator of the Year award. The decision was made in the best interest of IABC, its members, and its mission.
Blazek also agreed, per the IABC, not to use the award in further promotion or self-aggrandizement.
Social media backlash to the nasty emails Blazek sent job seekers prompted her retreat from the online sphere late last month — Blazek's blog and social media accounts have been removed.
Though the IABC acknowledges that Blazek really does care about keeping talent in the region and helping out ambitious young folks within the business community — or so she claims!!! — the organization was worried the news, which went national and then international, might dissuade internet-fluent millennials from moving to Cleveland.
For now, Blazek is maintaining a low profile, confident that the Chief Wahoo controversy and selifies will continue to hog the region's media spotlight.
