Ethics in Corporate Communication

Ethics in Corporate Communication

Tracey Budz

Director of Corporate Communications & Community Relations 

Love's

Russ Florence

Partner & CEO

Schnake Turbo Frank

Stephanie Higgins

Director of Communications & Community Relations

Helmerich & Payne

Shelly Loftin

Senior Director, Strategic Marketing & Sales Enablement

Arvest Bank

OKC 

Devon Energy Tower

333 W Sheridan Ave 50th Floor

Wednesday, November 20th

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Premium Members: Free for the number of pre-paid registrants included in membership

Members: $50

Non-Members: $60

Menu

TBD

CPE Details:

1. Instruction Delivery Method:  Group Live Instruction

2. Prerequisites:  None

3. Category: Behavioral Ethics (Non-Technical)

4. Attendance requirement: 50-minute presentation

5. Refund or cancellation policy: refunds not available after event 

6. Complaint resolution policy: email mary@okethics.com with concerns

7. Advanced preparation: none

Content reviewer: Executive Director & CPE Coordinator

Program Description:

Discuss how to handle communications during a crisis ethically, maintain transparency, and rebuild trust post-crisis. Emphasize the role of values as guiding principles in challenging times, as these are the moments when an organization’s integrity is most tested.

Focus on the importance of ethical leadership within corporate communications, ensuring that transparency, integrity, and accountability are part of every decision. Highlight how corporate communications professionals can act as the ethical conscience of the organization, guiding the communication of values to both employees and stakeholders.

Explore how corporate communications build trust with stakeholders through transparency, balancing the need for open communication with confidentiality requirements. Address how this approach fosters an ethical and trustworthy brand image, particularly in sensitive contexts.

Key Takeaways: 

• Crisis Communication and Reputation Management

• Ethical Leadership and Organizational Values

• Stakeholder Engagement and Transparency

About the Panelists:

Tracey Budz is an accomplished corporate communications leader committed to the creation and delivery of progressive communications strategies that engage, inform and inspire external and internal audiences. Currently, she is the director of corporate communications and community relations for Love’s Travel Stops. In this role she is responsible for all communications efforts including internal, media relations, social media, and executive, as well as the company’s philanthropic giving initiatives.

Previously, Budz spent eight years with The Boeing Company’s communications team supporting initiatives within the Defense, Space and Security and Global Services’ digital aviation and analytics business units. She built and executed metrics-based communications plans designed to showcase how Boeing drives value for global customers.

Prior to joining Boeing, she was the director of communications for Air Methods, a publicly traded, near $1 billion air medical transport provider with 400 aircraft and operations in 48 states. Budz successfully established the corporate communications department from essentially the ground up spanning all marketing communication disciplines. In addition, Budz has corporate communications experience in the financial, fitness and insurance industries in the Chicago and Denver markets.

As a leader, Budz believes in giving back to her local community. She currently serves on The Oklahoma City Philharmonic board and previously volunteered with Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma, Citizens Caring for Children, Boeing’s Employees Community Fund, Catholic Charities and the Dumb Friends League Denver animal shelter.

Budz earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in marketing from Lewis University and resides in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Russ Florence is partner, president and CEO of Schnake Turnbo Frank, a firm specializing in leadership development and public relations. He works from its Oklahoma City office.

Russ brings a broad range of experience to the firm. With more than three decades in journalism, corporate leadership and consulting, he delivers a multi-faceted, balanced perspective to his clients. His expertise includes leadership development, strategic planning, executive coaching, reputation management, inclusion and diversity, crisis communications, media relations and integrated communications.

He created and developed the firm’s Leadership & Reputation Academy, which has been delivered to more than 600 leaders in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Dallas. He also started the Inclusion & Diversity Consortium, which has reached more than 1,500 people since 2017.

Russ joined Schnake Turnbo Frank 2001. He became a partner in 2007 and was named CEO in 2021. He works collaboratively with his partners in leading the company's strategic growth and external affairs.

Before joining the firm, Russ managed corporate communications for the BOK Financial Corporation. He relies on every facet of his past experience -- journalism, nonprofit, corporate and entrepreneurism -- in his work today.

Stephanie Higgins has been in the communications industry for 26 years and is currently the Director, Communications and Community Relations for H&P.

Prior to joining H&P, she was the supervisor of external communications for ONEOK, Inc., in Tulsa, where she led the external communications team for 5 1/2 years. He responsibilities encompassed media relations, project and field communications as well as designing and producing ONEOK’s ESG publication. Earlier in her career, Stephanie worked as the Director of Communications for the City of Broken Arrow for 6 years after starting her career as a journalist with the Tulsa World serving as a reporter and editor for 9 years.

She is certified as a Strategic Communications Management Professional (SCMP) through the Global Communication Certification Council - one of only 240 communications professionals worldwide to hold that designation.

Stephanie received a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Northeastern State University and has received numerous local, regional and international awards from the International Association of Business Communications, specifically in Internal Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility, Audio Visual, Strategic Communications and Corporate Writing.

Stephanie and her husband, Chad, have been married for 26 years and have two sons, CJ and Cannon. All are avid sports fans and love the outdoors, but nothing is better than Sooner Football! BOOMER!

Shelly Loftin is the Senior Director of Marketing Strategy and Sales Enablement for Arvest Bank, where she is charged with blending creativity and strategy to streamline and elevate marketing initiatives to drive revenue. She began her banking career in the proof department, mastering keying and balancing before transitioning to the retail side of banking. From there, she worked her way up through various roles to become a bank executive overseeing marketing and retail business lines. After leading the retail, payments, marketing and lending strategic initiatives at the American Bankers Association, she returned to community banking.

A versatile leader, Shelly brings a wealth of experience leading teams and initiatives locally and nationally. She always focuses on making banking fun, simple, and impactful. She’s a mom to two boys, an infographic aficionado, a fintech fan, and a geriatric millennial. Whether fostering team success, facilitating a discussion or working on a creative campaign, Shelly is always ready to roll her sleeves up, collaborate and leverage her expertise across multiple domains.