Hey ho — big news!
The L. Ron Hubbard Public Relations Officer (wonder if any other dead people have a public relations officer?) got an award and they are spreading the good word!
I looked up this organization and this award. Gotta say, for the ONLY workable “PR technology,” this doesn’t seem like much of a recognition. But it is the only one they’ve EVER gotten.
Some notable points:
One, the award bestowers apparently only looked at the stuff scientology sent them — a resume that includes a LOT of generalities (“international VIPs” and “high profile professionals” along with “important town events” and “bringing communities together”) and some outright lies, including this one: “personally distributed 100,000 copies of their Staying Well booklets.” The listing of things isn’t even impressive for someone who has 34 years of work to summarize into highlights…
But second, they seem not to care that scientology’s public relations image is absolutely rot-gut. Worst it has ever been. Same with Hubbard. There isn’t a day that goes by without “entheta” about the abuses in scientology or the lies of Hubbard. How can they present their endorsement of a PR Officer whose client has absolutely atrocious PR?
The answer is found on their website: this organization presents dozens of these same awards — mostly to people in Slovakia and surrounding areas. Seems they will give the award to anyone anywhere who is interested enough to provide them with some information. Where are the UK recognitions? How does someone from the UK even get on their radar?
The award Liz should be receiving is a paper plate inscribed with the following: For 34 years of dedicated service representing a dead man, guiding the steady decline of his reputation.
Mark says
Scientology, scientologists…and “awards”…
Look, look! See how great we are?
Models of humble altruism and selfless service, NOT!
What a church! Its adherents mimick the founder’s narcissism and sociopathy.
Todd Cray says
It’s curious that a benevolent organization, a church even, that works tirelessly for the community, that is humanity’s last hope in fact, would win–of all things possible–a PR trophy. By definition, PR has absolutely ZERO to do with what you are actually about. It’s strictly about how you manage to sell yourself. A Smoke and Mirrors Award, as it is.
GL says
I just did a quick look and found
https://prgn.com/pr-awards/
Strangely, Pro PG Globe Awards isn’t on the list for anything. Prestigious, not even close Snort. Snigger. How much did they have to pay to get the award because I imagine it was not done for free. Another tin plate award for $camology can add to their very very long list of dodgy bs.
Jere Lull says
When I saw “PRO PR”, I immediately thought it was some scientology award they awarded to themselves, therefore meaningless.
Linear13 says
Let’s see it looks like Liz O was ‘nominated’ by another person at another organization. A Jacqueline Purcell.
https://www.ipra.org/news/press-room/ipras-nomination-for-the-2022-pro-pr-globe-award-liz-ostermann-of-saint-hill-castle-and-manor/
These organizations are all just PR for each other. All trying to make a quick and easy buck putting on conferences and ‘awards’. I would suspect Jacqueline Purcell is probably a Scientologist or someone else at this organization could be…why else would IPRA (International Public Relations Association) nominate Liz O. BTW there’s a handful of these four letter organizations having to do with PR and handing out awards to each other.
Down at the bottom of the page the contact for Pro PR is Danijel Koletić. He has a website from Croatia called aprioriworld.net. It’s not the greatest website design. It basically has a few posts and links you to PR reps in Croatia, Great Britain, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Qatar, Turkey and Italy.
On Pro Pr’s website all you get is info on the conference. That’s it. Not any info on who the heck ‘Pro Pr’ is. They have a statement from a gentleman with his arms crossed and looking important but nowhere does it say who he is. Is this Danijel? Who knows. It also has a tab that says ‘Pro Pr Awards Rules’ but when you click it it just reloads the same page. Same with every tab btw.
I think these are similar to those TV awards that SciTV got. These ‘Awards’ people give out awards to people at big agencies and organizations. They want for the people to invite their friends and colleagues to the awards ceremony and 3 day conference where I am sure they will be given a chance to be a keynote speaker. To attend they have to pay upwards of 770€. That’s for accommodation and all. You can buy tickets just to the conference without the attached accommodation but how many people just happen to live in Croatia. I am sure the conference gets a discount for hotel accommodation if you book through them.
The crowds in the pics on their site look like about 100 people tops. So meh…an award no one has ever heard about given to people that no one has ever heard about all hoping to get their names out there. Meh…
Kimo says
Ah, the incestuous relationship of awards groups. Like the academy awards, only less relevant.
otherles says
To say that Scientology has bad PR is like saying that water is wet.
Jere Lull says
Hubbard’s PR techniques were fairly effective: Look how long it took for “Apollo” to get tossed out of ports despite the anti-social activities he maintained, not paying his bills, openly insulting the Port Captain, assisting a cabal plotting a coup (which failed), running around a Muslim community with a gaggle of young women wearing crop tops and hot pants, etc. Guy was socially tone-deaf, might have been placed somewhere along the autism spectrum, if not anti-social personality disorder/sociopath these days.
Ammo Alamo says
If she were in the US and her sole income was from the Sea Org she would by now be past the point where she could ever qualify for Social Security. Hopefully she has been able to put away money for her elder years somehow, or participates in a government program of some sort. If not, as she grows older and perhaps less able, she will be at the mercy of whatever scraps Scientology throws her way.
Cavalier says
The chances of anyone in the Sea Org being able to put away any money are almost non-existent.
The UK is rather more supportive of its poor than the US.
Having lived in both countries, I would say that the US has a lot more opportunity but it is a terrible place to live for the poor.
Despite this, her social security income would be negatively affected by the years of low income even in the UK and she would not have a great life.
Going back 30 years, the SO in the UK was supportive of its older members and allowed them to stay on a reduced schedule. I have no idea if this is still so.
In the US, the SO seem to be keener on Fitness Boarding their older staff, even after a lifetime of service. This is incredibly cruel.
I was subject to many very heavy pressure interviews by SO recruiters back in the day.
Thank God I never gave in!
Jere Lull says
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that she winds up on SS disability. That’s less tied to your social security taxes paid. It’s not a lot, but if your expenses are super-low, it might be enough. The only way Sea Org crew could possibly “put money away” is an inheritance they hide from the Registrars. After 34 years shackled in the SO (As LRH PPRO? It’s not spelled out), she is likely to only have salesperson/marketing skills to offer likely employers.
Glenn says
I will bet that when she grows older and less able the cult will declare her unfit and “kick her to the curb”. Why else don’t we see photos of old fart staff in their promo pieces? I base this on the fact that a friend who is 65 was told they were too old to “come back on-board”.
PeaceMaker says
And I thought this was going to be about how LRH is less the focus of CofS internal propaganda, replaced to an extent by COB. But I also don’t think COB is ever going to really take over, because he’s a sort of a management placeholder who is not an author of anything; he hasn’t really created any “tech” and doesn’t have the sort of bigger than life charisma Hubbard did (which he apparently really did, particularly in person, in a way that seems hard for outsiders to understand, and is not obvious from photographs).
Also, it’s old-timer true believers who we see keeping up the faith, and keeping things going, once again. As they pass on, and there’s only young born-ins to take over, who won’t for instance have spent the hundreds of hours listening to Hubbard tapes that the old-timers did such as with the now vanished SHSBC, I think Scientology is going to have increasing trouble holding things together both ideologically and organizationally.
Already, what they do has ceased to have any real meaning, or any impact on the world. But the diehards strangely go to all these lengths to put together a Potemkin village show.
vǝda says
Don’t ever romanticize trauma.
Fred G. Haseney says
Re: “The award Liz should be receiving is a paper plate inscribed with the following…”
How about a paper plate and a match?
Jere Lull says
How ’bout a long fireplace match with that inscription?
Fred Haseney says
That’s a good one.
GL says
And if she gets hungry she can always lick the coleslaw and bratwurst juice stuck to the bottom that the hurried cleaning couldn’t remove before reusing it.
Fred Haseney says
A dianetics delicacy, GL; a scientology cuisine.
safetyguy says
My, they got a participation trophy.
Xenos says
The 100,000 booklets certainly doesn’t seem unachievable. They were not dropping them off singlelarly – they were dropped in piles, possibly up to a couple thousand at a time under the guise of instructional booklets on viral protection and it would have been only later that recipients found out that they were actually from the Church of Scientology. Their was a story run on Australian t.v. on how unsuspecting shoppl owners and shopping centres accepted these booklets but felt incredibly dupped when they were to find out that they were from Scientology (and many were quickly removed from display).