behindthechair.com Stylist Choice Awards: The Lab a Paul Mitchell Partner School

Winn Claybaugh, dean and co-founder of The Lab a Paul Mitchell Partner School and the nationwide network of Paul Mitchell Schools, motivational speaker, and author of Be Nice (Or Else!), will receive behindthechair.com’s Hairdressers Unlocking Hope Awards on March 13, 2011, at the BTC 11th Annual Stylist Choice Awards in Chicago.

Claybaugh is the fourth recipient of the honor, joining celebrity stylist Ken Paves, stylist and international hair care manufacturer John Frieda, and Paul Mitchell School graduate Michelle Kelly.

The award is given to individuals in the professional beauty industry who serve as exemplary models of philanthropy, giving back to their communities and to the world with generosity and spirit. The award was created in 2007, when behindthechair.com Founder Mary Rector Gable joined forces with the legendary Vidal Sassoon and launched an industry-wide campaign to build homes in the wake of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. The ensuing campaign, Hairdressers Unlocking Hope, rallied the entire industry and resulted in 22 new homes for displaced New Orleans residents after raising more than $2 million. The Lab a Paul Mitchell Partner School and the Paul Mitchell School network provided two of the 22 homes.

“Winn has woven generosity and philanthropy into every aspect of his business and his life,” states Rector Gable. “He has made giving back an integral part of the Paul Mitchell Schools’ curricula, thereby creating generation after generation of caring, giving beauty professionals. His own leadership efforts on behalf of the Andrew Gomez Dream Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation and causes related to AIDS, breast cancer, homelessness, domestic abuse and substance abuse, just to name just a few, never cease to inspire all of us at BTC. We are proud and excited to present him with our Hairdressers Unlocking Hope Award.”

Paves was honored for his work with numerous charities, Frieda for establishing the HairRaising foundation to benefit Children’s Hospital Boston, and Kelly for overcoming unimaginable adversity, including abuse and homelessness, and going on to attend cosmetology school to build a better life for herself and her daughters. Since graduating from beauty school, Kelly has worked diligently to help others in need.

The 11th Annual BTC Stylist Choice Awards take place Sunday, March 13, 2011, during America’s Beauty Show at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
About Paul Mitchell Schools

At Paul Mitchell Schools, the teaching style is unique. They believe that education is an adventure and that the learning experience needs to be fun. When visitors tour a Paul Mitchell School, they notice something differentâ€"a positive learning environment everywhere they look. The culture within every Paul Mitchell School campus inspires confidence and success. Each school is a learning community that provides future professionals with the opportunities to develop essential skills while exploring their talents, passion, and creativity. Paul Mitchell School instructorsâ€"they call them ‘learning leaders’â€"are trained to draw out the artist in every student and prepare them to compete in the real world. Rather than concentrate only on the basic training needed to pass state licensing board exams, Paul Mitchell Schools provide a well-rounded lifestyle education. Their experienced staff members are specially trained to help future professionals explore all of their creative and professional possibilities.

Established 30 years ago, the Paul Mitchell network is nearly 100,000 salons strong and in 81 countries worldwide. Every professional hairdresser knows the Paul Mitchell name. Prospective employers recognize Paul Mitchell Schools’ commitment to quality and their reputation for innovation and excellence. Visit www.paulmitchell.edu to learn more.


About Behindthechair.com

behindthechair.com is the professional beauty industry’s first and largest site in the world exclusively for licensed beauty professionals. Every month it welcomes more than 530,000 members from more than 90 countries. Business Week featured behindthechair.com in its publication and the New York Times cited behindthechair.com as “the most talked about site in the beauty industry.”