The Florida Public Relations Association – the nation’s oldest PR trade association – has named Public Relations Specialist Jada Bigord as one of its 2026 Joe Curley Rising Leader Award recipients.
Presented Aug. 10 at FPRA’s annual PR & Comms Summit, the Rising Leader Award identifies and honors up-and-coming FPRA members who demonstrate emerging leadership traits along with dedicated active involvement in chapter activities, programs, functions and events. Bigord is the first team member at Priority Marketing to be honored since the award debuted in 2012.
Bigord first joined FPRA as a student at Florida Gulf Coast University, where she was president of the college’s student chapter during her senior year. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and graduating summa cum laude, she joined Priority Marketing in 2023 as a public relations coordinator. Bigord continued her membership with FPRA and served as education chair of the Southwest Florida Chapter for two terms between 2024 and 2026. In 2025, she collaborated with FPRA’s Southwest Florida chapter and FGCU student chapter to establish Soaring Connections, which provides students with opportunities to connect with public relations and marketing professionals to learn about the PR, marketing, communications and journalism industries.
FPRA’s Southwest Florida Chapter named Bigord as its Rising Star of the Year in 2025. She previously received the chapter’s Pam Nulman Soaring Eagle Award in 2023 in recognition of her exceptional leadership ability, talent and passion for the public relations profession.