Society of Human Resource Professionals Names Allstate's Joan M. Crockett HR Professional of the Year.

CHICAGO -- The Society of Human Resource Professionals, (SHRP), the Chicago chapter of the national Society of Human Resource Management, (SHRM), the world's largest association devoted to human resource management, has named Joan M. Crockett, senior vice president of human resources at Allstate Insurance Company, as the 2005 recipient of the Chicagoland HR Professional of the Year award.

Crockett will be honored at the SHRP Annual Dinner to be held on September 21, 2005 at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

"It will be an honor to present this year's award to Joan Crockett. Her commitment to helping Allstate and its employees excel is an inspiration to HR professionals at all levels. She epitomizes the "Good Hands" spirit of Allstate, and the leadership qualities of a true strategic thinker", said Carolyn Sperl, SHRP president.

Crockett was recognized for her distinguished lifetime achievement of contributions to the HR profession, in particular her work at Allstate where she has been instrumental in the insurance provider's 10-year transformation from a subsidiary of Sears to an independent Fortune 100 company with a high-performance culture. Some of Crockett's major achievements include:

--The creation of a streamlined shared service HR model to efficiently and effectively support the $33 billion corporation

--A technology platform that provides "self-service" HR resources to Allstate's 38,000+ employees as well as an online development tool with access to more than 2000 courses and other developmental resources

--An enterprise-wide strategy that integrated diversity into human resource processes, provided education for more than 40,000 employees and introduced many work/life support initiatives

--A unique approach to talent management that helps Allstate position its leadership to meet the challenges of the next decade of growth

Crockett is actively involved in a number of civic and professional organizations. She is currently a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources, on the National Board for Jobs for America's Graduates, and a Partner of the Center for Human Resource Management at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is the past Chair of the Governing Council of Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, IL.

Selection Criteria

SHRP's Professional of the Year committee expanded their practice of seeking nominees for this award by performing an exhaustive inclusive process of influential companies in the Chicagoland area. Sourced through Crain's Top 100 list and companies represented in the Chicago Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies, the committee sought a broad list of potential nominees who were representative of the search criteria. Notable nominees were sourced based on their demonstration of possessing leadership, utilizing progressive HR strategies and commitment to professional and independent volunteer contributions.

About SHRP

Noted as one of the largest SHRM chapters in the U.S. with over 1000 members, SHRP leads by supporting the development of human resource professionals in the Chicago metropolitan area. For SHRP membership information or for information on upcoming events, or tickets to the annual banquet please visit www.shrp.org or call [phone].