Four individuals who have made a notable contribution to the communication efforts of the Seventh-day Adventist Church were each honored July 7 with the “Bridge Award,” given by the church’s communication department during a reception at the 58th General Conference Session here.

Dr. Bert B. Beach, who just retired as director of inter-church relations for the movement, was cited for being “an untiring advocate of religious freedom and a bridge builder between churches and religions,” as well as for being “a masterful communicator of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

Andrews University professor Dr. Pamela Harris was cited as “an outstanding educator in the field of communication” for the church who has contributed to “creative promotion of the Adventist message of hope and quality of life,” as well as “raising the public profile of the church.”

John Smith, operations manager for the world church’s communication team in St. Louis, was also recognized for “outstanding service to corporate communication” in the church. As well as being a mentor “in the field of Adventist broadcast journalism.” Smith was a BBC producer and broadcaster for 14 years, and part of the team that won a Sony Gold award for the radio coverage of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Lynn Friday, a veteran member of the church’s communication staff, was presented with a Bridge Award “in appreciation for her outstanding contribution to the Adventist Communication fraternity, and for excellence in coordinating activities of the corporate communication office at the world church headquarters and internationally.” A longtime world headquarters employee, Friday was the unifying presence in the press room at the world business session.

“As in every profession, there are individuals who inspire us,” said Ray Dabrowski, communication director for the world church. “Some are visionaries, others are examples of excellence in their particular professional activity. They all are contributors to making Adventism better known and contribute to a better understanding of who we are.”

Established in 2001 by the Communication Department of the World Church, the Bridge Awards are in recognition of outstanding contribution to Seventh-day Adventist communication, locally and internationally, and in particular for visionary thinking, fostering professionalism and excellence in responsible journalism, and relevance of communication through broadcasting, public relations and media productions.

The award point of reference is the vision statement of the Church’s communication strategy: “Seventh-day Adventists will communicate hope by focusing on the quality of life that is complete in Christ.”