Dick Pope/Polk County FPRA Chapter Seeks Entries for "The Sweet Taste of Success" Local Image Awards Competition

Monday, January 12

The Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) invites all Polk County public relations professionals to enter their top PR programs, projects and materials in "The Sweet Taste of Success" themed 2009 Local Image Awards competition.

The competition is open to for-profit and non-profit organizations located in Polk County whether or not they are affiliated with FPRA.

For people with an interest in learning how to prepare a Local Image Awards entry, the local FPRA chapter will sponsor a free workshop starting at 8:30 am in the third floor conference room of the Colonial Bank Building in Bartow. Kristin Guira, a communications specialist with Polk County Government, who helped prepare last years grand prize winner, will offer helpful insights on how to prepare an entry and answer questions posed by attendees.

The categories for this years Local Image Awards competition are as follows:

Public Relations Programs broad-based communications endeavors in the areas of community relations, public service, institutional, public information, crisis communication, internal, promotional/marketing, public affairs and special events using two or more public relations tools;

Printed Tools of Public Relations newsletters, newspapers, posters/calendars, news releases, written speeches, specialty items, still photography, annual reports, brochures and magazines;

Audio/Visual Tools of Public Relations audio presentations, audio/visual presentations, films or videos, video news releases, websites and computer-generated presentations;

Student Projects in Public Relations projects undertaken by full or part time students enrolled in a Florida accredited college or university including written speeches, news releases, public service announcements, position papers, public relations campaigns and computer generated presentations.

"We invite all Polk County PR practitioners, including students, to submit their programs, projects and PR materials for FPRAs 2009 Local Image Awards competition, which recognizes outstanding public relations programs and encourages and promotes public relations professionalism," said Jennifer Bush, manager of special projects at Publix Super Markets, Inc., who is chair of the Local Image Awards committee. Other members are Kristin Guira, Jan Johnson, Dave Walters and Ginny Wolfe.

According to Bush, PR programs and materials developed after January 1, 2008 are eligible for the competition, with the entry deadline March 2, 2009. Members of the Tampa Bay FPRA chapter will judge the Polk County entries. Local chapter members will reciprocate by judging entries from Tampa Bay.

The winners will be recognized at a Local Image Awards ceremony highlighting the local FPRA chapters monthly professional development meeting scheduled for 12:00 noon on Wednesday, April 15 at the Lakeland Yacht Club.

"The FPRA Image Awards have become the standard of public relations excellence in the state of Florida. Winners demonstrate the very best examples of innovation, planning and design," Bush said, noting that more information, rules and application forms can be obtained by visiting the FPRA website at www.fprapolk.org.

For more information and to make reservations for the free Local Image Awards workshop on January 29, call Teresa OBrien of the Community Relations Department of Polk County Public Schools at 534-0698.

Back to News