The Blue Ridge Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America presented the 25th annual Summit Awards virtually via the chapter website at www.prsa-blueridge.org. The Summit Awards recognize the best in public relations work in western Virginia. In all, 15 Gold and five Silver awards were presented. In addition, a “Best in Show Award” was presented to the top scoring entry in each of the two divisions, campaigns and tactics. A complete list of Summit Award winners is below.
Again this year, the Chapter honored the memories of Alison Parker and Adam Ward who were tragically lost in August 2015 with the Adam & Alison Award for Media Excellence. Chapter members nominated members of the media who exemplified excellence in media reporting. The winner of the 6th annual Adam & Alison Award for Media Excellence is Luanne Rife from Cardinal News.
Additionally, chapter members were invited to nominate a member for the Shooting Star Award, recognizing the individual who had made the greatest contribution to the advancement of the chapter and the public relations profession over the past year. The Shooting Star Award was presented to Hannah Shinault from Virginia Tech.
This year, the chapter once again presented a special award recognizing the best communications response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. All COVID-19 related entries were automatically considered. The COVID-19 Response Award was presented to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research for their COVID-19 related newsletters.
Blue Ridge Chapter members also were invited to nominate a member for the COVID-19 Communicator Award, recognizing the individual who made a significant contribution to COVID-19 related communications. The COVID-19 Communicator Award was presented to Hannah Curtis from Carilion Clinic.
In a continuing tradition, the Blue Ridge Chapter presented a special award in honor of Lin Chaff, a founding member of the Blue Ridge Chapter who was widely respected in the public relations profession. This award recognizes overall creativity in a tactic or campaign. All entries were considered for this award. The winner of the 2021 Lin Chaff Award for Creativity was presented to the Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation for the 2021 Backpack Run.
The Blue Ridge Chapter of PRSA is proud to announce the winners of the 2021 Summit Awards:
CAMPAIGNS DIVISION:
Community Partnerships:
- Gold: Load the Bus – Roanoke City Public Schools & Roanoke County Public Schools
Issues & Crisis Management:
- Gold: End the Acronym – Eddy Alexander for the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
- Silver: Officer Involved Shooting – Eddy Alexander for the Eureka Police Department
Marketing Products or Services (For-Profit Organizations):
- Gold: Fortuna Business Improvement District – Eddy Alexander
Marketing Products or Services (Government/Education Organizations):
- Gold: Backpack Run 2021 – Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation
Public Relations Campaign (Government/Education Organizations):
- Gold: Return to School – Roanoke County Public Schools
Public Relations Campaign (For-Profit Organizations):
- Gold: Redwood Sky Walk Grand Opening – Eddy Alexander for the City of Eureka, CA
Special Event (Two days or shorter):
- Gold: 2021 Industrial Hemp Summit – Institute for Advanced Learning and Research
- Silver: Graduation Live 2021 – Roanoke County Public Schools
Special Event (Longer than two days):
- Gold: Fulbright 75th Anniversary – Eddy Alexander for the U.S. Department of State and IIE
BEST IN SHOW (campaigns): End the Acronym – Eddy Alexander
TACTICS DIVISION:
Annual Report:
- Gold: 2020 Annual Report – Institute for Advanced Learning & Research
- Silver: One College, Four Campuses – Together We Can Make a Difference – Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
Earned Media – Media Relations (Government/Educational Organizations):
- Gold: Load the Bus 2021 – Roanoke City Public Schools & Roanoke County Public Schools
Earned Media – Media Relations (Non-Profit Organizations):
- Gold: Northam Visits Region’s First Large Vaccine Clinic – Carilion Clinic
Publications – Newsletter (External Audiences):
- Gold: Monthly Newsletter – Institute for Advanced Learning and Research
Shared Media (YouTube Engagement):
- Gold: Roanoke County School Board Live – Roanoke County Public Schools
Video (longer than two minutes):
- Gold: Graduation 2021 – Roanoke County Public Schools
- Silver: Council Chats – City of Roanoke
Writing:
- Gold: Pandemic-Driven Innovation: Creating Access to Care – Carilion Clinic
- Silver: State of the Schools 2020 – Roanoke County Public Schools
BEST IN SHOW (tactics): Load the Bus 2021 – Roanoke City Public Schools and Roanoke County Public Schools
