23rd ANNUAL PARTHENON AWARDS RECOGNIZE BEST IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
Nashville PRSA Ceremony Honors Public Relations Programs and Two Individuals
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 22, 2009) – Dye Van Mol & Lawrence Public Relations and Advertising won the most prestigious award at the 23rd Annual Parthenon Awards of the Nashville Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) on April 21, winning the Business Wire “Best of Show” title for its 9-1-1 Public Awareness Program.
The Parthenon Awards of Nashville PRSA, hosted this year by Tennessean columnist Gail Kerr, recognize excellence in all aspects of public relations.
Dye Van Mol & Lawrence’s “Best of Show” award recognized a public education program that teaches young and old the proper way to use 9-1-1 and helped a young student save her mother’s life after participating in the Rescue Rex show.
“The PRSAParthenon Awards demonstrate the exceptional talent, creativity and passion of Nashville's public relations sector and the enormousimpact the profession has on the success of our businesses and organizations," said Julie K. Davis, President of PRSA Nashville. "The awards represent a broad spectrum of quality programs and projects from special events and brand management to speech writing and blogs."
The evening’s big winners included the following: Seigenthaler Public Relations, 12 Parthenons and 12 Awards of Merit; Dye Van Mol & Lawrence Public Relations and Advertising with a total of 11 Parthenons and 12 Awards of Merit; McNeely Pigott & Fox, five Parthenons and two Awards of Merit; Lovell Communications, four Parthenons and four Awards of Merit; Gish, Sherwood & Friends, two Parthenons and two Awards of Merit; Affinion Group, two Parthenons and one Award of Merit; Southwestern Company, two Parthenons and one Award of Merit; Nashville Symphony, two Parthenons; Katcher Vaughn & Bailey Public Relations, one Parthenon and four Awards of Merit; Caterpillar Financial, one Parthenon; and Peritus Public Relations, one Parthenon.
The organizations that took home Awards of Merit included Allstate Insurance Company, Belmont University, Communications Strategies LLC, and The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
Two individuals were honored with the Hercules and Mercury Awards. The KraftCPAs, PLLC Hercules Award was presented to Anita Bailey, APR, principal of Bailey Marketing Communications. The Hercules Award recognizes a senior practitioner who has made significant contributions to the Nashville Chapter of PRSA, the PR profession and the community, demonstrated professional leadership and set an example with ethical practices.
Jenny Barker, APR, manager of public relations and marketing at Centennial Medical Center, won the Marketwire Mercury Award, which is presented to an outstanding young professional in the field of public relations who has demonstrated a high level of achievement in the profession and in PRSA.
The PRSA Scholarship was presented to Belmont University public relations student Sara Pecchia. Pecchia is an intern at Peritus Public Relations and was also recently honored as the AT&T Outstanding Student in Public Relations. She plans to graduate in fall 2009.