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©2022 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

AMWAJournal.org     54

The recipient of the President's Award is selected by the 

AMWA President, and each year this award is bestowed upon 

a member of AMWA who has made distinctive contributions 

to the association at the chapter or national level.

I am delighted to recognize Kelly Byram, MS, MBA, ELS, as 

the 2022 AMWA President’s Award recipient. Kelly, a writer, 

editor, and founder of Duke City Consulting, LLC, received 

the award in November at this year’s Medical Writing & 

Communication Conference in Denver, Colorado. Since 

Kelly joined AMWA, she has served at both the chapter and 

national levels. She is the immediate past President of the 

Southwest Chapter that spans Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, 

Oklahoma, and New Mexico. In 2017, she volunteered to 

serve as an At-Large-Director for New Mexico, hosting 

networking events in Albuquerque and Santa Fe and has 

served in that role many years.  In this role, she recognized 

the work taking place at the chapter leadership level, so 

when she was asked to take on a chapter officer role, she 

didn’t hesitate.

 Kelly took the chapter to new heights as Assistant 

Program Chair, introducing the chapter to new and reg-

ular programming events with a variety of talented guest 

presenters. She then served as Program Chair, President-

Elect, and President. At the same time, Kelly was sharing 

her expertise at the national level leading several round-

tables and open sessions at the annual conference and 

writing articles for the AMWA Journal. Kelly also served 

as co-chair of the Southwest Chapter’s John P. McGovern 

Award committee, and as a member of the chapter’s nom-

inating committee. She regularly serves on panels and 

presents on various topics of interest including writing, 

editing, technology, and career spaces. Ongoing volunteer 

work for the chapter includes technical assistance proj-

ects, such as migrating the chapter website and designing 

and implementing surveys. She also manages the integra-

tion of technologies to support the chapter’s operations 

and programming efforts. She was a key part of helping 

the chapter migrate to the virtual environment during the 

pandemic and has helped chapter leadership continue to 

deliver important educational content. Her most recent role 

was serving on this year’s Annual Conference Committee 

helping to pull together an amazing program for the 2022 

Medical Writing & Communication Conference.

 It’s been a wonderful experience seeing Kelly lead the 

chapter, share her expertise with AMWA members, and ven-

ture into the national realm of volunteerism for the organi-

zation. When I asked Kelly about why she volunteers, here is 

what she had to say (email communication, 27 July 2022).

 “Volunteering helps members build their networks and 

refine their skills, and it provides opportunities to build 

new skills. From another perspective, as we move through 

our careers it's important to give back to the community by 

contributing our time, experience, and expertise, and vol-

unteering provides opportunities to do that. On its own, 

membership in AMWA provides ample benefits and, if you 

take advantage of all AMWA has to offer, you will grow in 

your practice of the profession. Volunteering amplifies  

those benefits.”

 It is an honor to present Kelly with this well-deserved 

honor. Please join me in congratulating Kelly on her con-

tributions to AMWA and for being this year’s President’s 

Award recipient.

Katrina R. Burton, BS  / 2021–2022 AMWA President

2022 President’s Award Recipient: Kelly Byram, MS, MBA, ELS

AMWA NEWS

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