RALEIGH, N.C. (June 27, 2007) – The Raleigh Public Relations Society held its annual Sir Walter Raleigh Awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 26 at the RBC Center. The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards competition is a statewide showcase of exemplary work by public relations and communications professionals. RPRS presented awards in six divisions and 24 categories with entries being judged by the Sacramento, Calif. Public Relations Association. The event was sponsored by EMBARQ, provider of business and residential communications solutions such as voice and data services.
RPRS also presented Dr. Melissa Johnson, Associate Professor of Communication at North Carolina State University, with the 2007 Watt Huntley Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award is given annually to an individual who has made meaningful contributions to the field of public relations over the course of a career. It is given in memory of the late Watt Huntley, who served as public relations chief at Carolina Power & Light in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Huntley also served as president of the Raleigh Public Relations Society.
Award winners are as follows:
BEST IN DIVISION AWARDS
The best in division trophies were awarded to the single highest-scoring entry in each division, regardless of category. In the event of a tie score, a panel of judges selected which of the entries stood above the rest.
Division I – Total Campaign
Billy Warden of Capstrat for Raleigh Wide Open
Division II – Publications
Katy Hipp of Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council for the 2004-2005 Annual Report
Division III – Public Relations Writing
Jenny Dubberly of French/West/Vaughan for Justin AQHA Lifestyle Collection Launch
Division IV – Audio/Visual Communications
Eva Hornak of The Catevo Group for 2006 Holiday E-Card
Division V – More Bang for the Buck
Mariryan Starr of Kelly MarCom for the American Institute of Healthcare Grand Opening
Division VI – Students
Sarah-Frances Wallace of Capstone Public Relations for Campaign for the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium
DIVISION I – TOTAL CAMPAIGN
Category 1, Promotional Campaigns
Honorable Mention: Billy Warden of Capstrat for the Raleigh Convention Center Promotional Campaign Silver:
Leslie Maxwell of VIF Program for the 2006 Cultural Educator of the Year PR Campaign
Gold: Graham Wilson of PRStreet for Dignity Memorial Vietnam: Veteran’s Day 2006
Category 2, Organizational Identity Campaigns
Honorable Mention: Jo-Anne Chase of French/West/Vaughan for Wrangler Jeans Co. leverages Dale Jr. sponsorship
Honorable Mention: Katy Hipp of Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council for Be a Girl Scout
Silver: Lilyn Hester of Capstrat for the Fit Community Obesity Prevention Awareness Campaign
Gold: Jo-Anne Chase of French/West/Vaughan for Riders Finds Favor Outside the Jeans
Category 3, Political Communications – No award
Category 4, Employee Relations
Honorable Mention: Joe Mecca of Coastal Federal Credit Union for Employee United Way Campaign
Category 5, Crisis Communications
Honorable Mention: Eva Hornak of The Catevo Group for Vinyl News Service
Silver: Paige Sargent of French/West/Vaughan for bioMerieux Blood Bank Crisis
Category 6, Special Events
Honorable Mention: Jessica O’Mahoney of French/West/Vaughan for NC State Enters China
Silver: Chuck Norman of Smith & Associates for the Cary Magazine Elegant Weddings Gala
Gold: Billy Warden of Capstrat for Raleigh Wide Open
DIVISION II – PUBLICATIONS
Category 7, Annual or Special Reports
Silver: Becky Wrisley of Prevent Child Abuse NC for the 2005 Annual Report
Gold: Katy Hipp of Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council for the 2004-2005 Annual Report
Category 8, Brochures, Handbooks or Guidebooks
Silver: Katy Hipp of Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council for Go! Girls Only
Gold: Ali Orcutt of AENC for the AENC Resource Guide
Category 9, Newsletters
Honorable Mention: Joe Mecca of Coastal Federal Credit Union for Cooperatively Yours
Silver: Graham Wilson of PRStreet for “Streetalk” News from the Fast Lane
Gold: Katy Hipp of Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council for Parent Pines
Category 10, Magazines
Honorable Mention: Chuck Norman of Smith & Associates for Cary Magazine Category 11, Media Kits
Silver: Joe Mecca of Coastal Federal Credit Union for the Student Banking Launch Media Kit
Silver: Stephanie Styons of Howard Merrell & Partners for the Zen Puppy Press Kit
Category 12, Open
Silver: Caroline Beavers of Fleishman-Hillard for Fleishman-Hillard, So You
DIVISION III – PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING Category 13, Opinion or Feature Writing
Honorable Mention: Greg Behr of Capstrat for A gun, a magazine, a critical hit
Silver: Eva Hornak of The Catevo Group for Feature Writing for GreenMaster Magazine
Category 14, News Releases
Silver: MarketSmart for Road Trip News Release
Gold: Jenny Dubberly of French/West/Vaughan for Justin AQHA Lifestyle Collection Launch
Category 15, Speeches – No award
DIVISION IV – AUDIO/VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
Category 16, Audio/Visual Presentations
Silver: Eva Hornak of The Catevo Group for Multimedia Presentations for Mysis Healthcare
Gold: Eva Hornak of The Catevo Group for 2006 Holiday E-Card
Category 17, TV Ads or Public Service Announcements – No award
Category 18, Radio Ads or Public Service Announcements – No award
Category 19, Web Sites
Honorable Mention: Derek Ross and Brooks Helms of French/West/Vaughan for the 2007 CIAA Tournament
Gold: Eva Hornak of The Catevo Group for Unknown to No One
Category 20, HTML Presentations
Honorable Mention: Martin Armes of the Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau for Online Media Campaigns
Silver: Miranda Harwell of Talk PR, Inc. for the Talk PR, Inc. Website
DIVISION V – MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK
Category 21, Special Events or Campaigns
Honorable Mention: MarketSmart for the Iron Chef Promotional Campaign
Gold: Miranda Harwell of Talk PR, Inc. for the Children’s Museum of Wilmington Grand Reopening
Gold: Mariryan Starr of Kelly MarCom for the American Institute of Healthcare Grand Opening
Category 22, Publications – No award
DIVISION VI – STUDENTS
Category 23, High School – No award
Category 24, College
Silver: Sarah-Frances Wallace of Capstone Public Relations for Campaign for the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium
About RPRS:The Raleigh Public Relations Society, formed in 1959, is an organization for public relations professionals in the Raleigh area. RPRS hosts professional development opportunities including monthly meetings and an annual awards banquet. For more information, see www.rprs.org.
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