CRT/tanaka, Richmond utility department snag PR awards

The Richmond area's public relations community gathered last night to honor its own at an awards ceremony at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

The big winners of the evening were CRT/tanaka and the city of Richmond's Department of Public Utilities, both of which won Best in Show awards.

The local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America also honored A. Prescott Rowe with its Thomas Jefferson Award for Excellence in Public Relations.

Rowe is former vice president of external affairs for the Ethyl Corp., now NewMarket Corp., and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame.

It was the 62nd annual awards ceremony for PRSA Richmond.

Awards were handed out for full-scale campaigns as well as for specific components of larger campaigns.

Full-scale campaigns were in the Silver category, while components were in the Bronze category. Each had a Best in Show for the top winner.

CRT/tanaka won for its work promoting The George Washington Foundation's announcement last year that it had found the spot where first U.S. president's childhood home had stood.

The firm, working with a $35,000 budget, was hired to increase awareness among the foundation's potential donor base. It was able to garner national, international and regional coverage.

Neathawk Dubuque & Packet, Rhudy & Co. and Free Agents Marketing also won Silver awards.

Richmond's Department of Public Works won Best in Show in the Bronze category for its quarterly newsletter Utility Talk.

The newsletter goes to its customers and includes tips on whom to contact in case of problems, as well as such tidbits as recipes for black bean soup and stories on how to help save Chesapeake Bay crabs and then eat them.

Other Bronze category winners included TouchPoints Public Relations and Charles Ryan Associates.

Alissa M. Poole, president of PRSA Richmond, said the group received about 90 entries, which were judged by the New Orleans chapter. She said the awards "celebrated the work of talented PR professionals and recognized the importance of public relations as a tool across disciplines."

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or .