Live From Chicago: Jones Becomes Second Woman to Receive Downs Award
On Wednesday, Susan K. Jones will become the second woman in the history of the Chicago Direct Marketing Association to receive the Charles S. Downs Chicago Direct Marketer of the Year award.
Jones is president of Susan K. Jones & Associates, East Grand Rapids, MI. and a partner in The Callahan Group LLC in Rosemont, IL. Since 1990, she has been on the faculty of the department of marketing at Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI, and was appointed a full professor in 1999. A member of CADM since 1978, Jones has served on the board of directors since the mid-1980s, and has served as secretary-treasurer of the organization for two years.
Last year, retired consultant Kate Kestenbaum became the first woman to win the Downs Award, presented for contributions to the industry and the community. Jones said it was “an honor to follow in Kate’s footsteps,” noting that she has known all but three or four of the previous 21 Downs recipients.
“As a practitioner,” Jones said, “I have always loved direct marketing because it combines art and science–inspiration and accountability. It appeals to both my creativity and my competitiveness.”
The Downs Award is named in honor of Charles S. Downs, the late advertising director of Abbott Laboratories, who was a founder of CADM and served as its first president, in 1955-56. The award will be presented by Mitchell A. Lieber, president of Chicago-based Lieber & Associates and immediate past-president of CADM, during CADM’s DM Days at Navy Pier. “Susan Jones is an articulate, energetic, and tenacious believer in all aspects of life that interest her–and there is precious little that does not command her attention,” said Lieber in a statement. “Fortunately for her peers, direct marketing was her chosen profession from the beginning of her career.” “Fortunately for CADM,” he added, “Susan has continued to identify as a Chicago direct marketer despite a move to the Grand Rapids area two years after joining the association. She has given her all to our organization, while helping build and maintain a strong direct marketing community in her home base, as well as nationally.”
