June President’s Message
The Virginia Public Relations Awards is one of my favorite PRSA Richmond events of the year. The 69th annual awards ceremony took place on May 18 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and honored the best public relations campaigns around the Commonwealth. Yet again, it was a beautiful night filled with wonderful memories! In fact, it was the largest event in PRSA Richmond’s history with over 320 attendees.
I also recently learned that the Virginia PR Awards program is one of the largest local PR awards programs in the country based on the number of entries. We receive more entries than most other PRSA chapters. This accomplishment is a testament to the incredible talent around Virginia.
What most impressed me at the awards ceremony was the diversity of the winning campaigns and PR pros who developed them. I had the great privilege of taking pictures with all the award recipients and was overwhelmed by the talented PR pros picking up their hardware. There were winners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Large corporations, small agencies, academic institutions, transportation authorities and many more were honored. I was truly inspired by the quality of the work on display!
The Thomas Jefferson Award for Excellence recognition of PadillaCRT’s Mike Mulvihill, APR was equally as moving. He’s a leader in Virginia’s PR community who has served as a friend and mentor to so many. Plus, who knew he would serenade us?
The 2016 Rising Star Award could not have gone to a more deserving candidate than Alexsis Rodgers, currently working in the Lieutenant Governor’s office. She’s now a PRSA Richmond member and if you don’t know her, introduce yourself. You’ll be impressed.
I feel energized and excited about the state of the public relations and communications industry in Virginia. As the awards ceremony demonstrated, there is a deep pool of talent around the Commonwealth. If you weren’t able to make the ceremony this year, check out more details and photos. If you did attend, feel free to share your photos on our Facebook page.
Congratulations again to all the winners honored at the Virginia PR Awards ceremony! Finally, it’s important to recognize those who made it happen. As you can imagine, it’s a massive undertaking and the entire PRSA Richmond chapter is grateful to the superb awards committee, led by Greg Surber, APR, for its tireless efforts to ensure the evening was such a success.
Sincerely,
Andrew Ryan, APR
PRSA Richmond President
