Charlotte Coach Receives National Survivor Award

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - April 27, 2022 - PRLog -- Local award-winning journalist, author and leadership coach Glenn Proctor will be awarded the 2022 American Association of Suicidology's (AAS) Loss Survivor of the Year Award on Thursday, April 28, 2022 in Chicago. This award has been given since 1995 to acknowledge ways in which survivors of suicide transform the trauma of their loss into suicide prevention efforts and/or survivor support.

By all accounts, Proctor is a survivor. He survived hearing the suicide of his grandfather in the next room when he was 23. He survived combat in the Vietnam War, cancer, alcoholism and long-term intermittent suicidal ideation. He later survived the suicide deaths of his brother in arms. He coped with these layers of trauma through writing. A successful journalist for 40 years, he shared in the Pulitzer Prize among other accolades before retiring in 2011. After retirement, Proctor has dedicated his life to suicide prevention. He became a QPR Trainer, an AAS Member, and the AAS PGQ Lived Experience Essay Contest Chair. He is passionate about helping others share their suicide loss, suicidal ideation and suicide attempt lived experiences and supporting veterans' efforts to recover through writing.

As Jacquelyn Christmas, Secretary of the AAS Board of Director mentioned in her award letter, "It is intended to recognize significant accomplishments of an individual involved with suicide prevention, intervention and/or postvention advocacy/activism that embodies the mission of AAS…Glenn began his life as a suicide loss survivor and is now a recovery mentor. A true inspiration!"

"I cannot fully express how much this award means to me," Proctor noted. "I have been fortunate  enough to receive many awards over the course of my professional life, but none has had the impact of this one because it validates that I have been able to make a real difference in the lives of people who desperately need and desire assistance and inspiration."

Glenn Proctor completed a journalism career spanning 41 years when he retired as executive editor and vice president of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He shared in the Pulitzer Prize at The Akron Beacon Journal, judged Pulitzers five times, taught at Kent State and Washington and Lee universities and lectured at dozens more. A Marine and Vietnam veteran, the longtime mentor is a career and life coach, peer support professional and mental health advocate, leadership trainer and media strategist. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Finding Dust Trilogy, multiple books on leadership, relationships, the pandemic and a soon-to-be published book on suicide. You may learn more about his company at  http://REDDjobb.com.

The American Association of Suicidology is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to promote the understanding and prevention of suicide and support those who have been affected by it.  To learn more about AAS, visit suicidology.org.