PRSA Portland Metro Chapter Announces VanNatta Public Relations as a 2007 Spotlight Award Winner

The Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Portland Metro Chapter announced winners of its 2007 Spotlight Awards on October 11, which honored top PR efforts by professionals across Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Mary Louise VanNatta and Harvey Gail, principals of VanNatta Public Relations, Inc. (VPR), were awarded the first place Event Planning Spotlight Award, in recognition for their work coordinating The Crystal Apple Awards® in Salem, Oregon.  This award is the second PRSA award VPR has received over the past two years, after last year’s Award of Excellence in Community Relations for work on the Salem Chamber of Commerce’s Education Leadership Institute.     

PRSA’s Spotlight Awards are presented annually to public relations practitioners who, in the judgment of their peers, have successfully addressed a communications challenge with exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness. This award recognizes campaigns and tactics incorporating sound research, planning, execution and evaluation that show results, return-on-investment and ethical practice.

Twenty-six first place Spotlight Awards and 37 Merit Awards were presented in categories ranging from community relations and public affairs to marketing business-to-business and podcasts and blogs. The entries were judged by PRSA sister chapters in Connecticut Valley, Southern Connecticut and Westchester/Fairfield, Connecticut.

 “The winners of this year’s Spotlight Awards are on par with the top PR talents across the U.S.,” said Madeline Turnock, APR, president of the PRSA Portland Metro Chapter, and vice president of Rockey Hill & Knowlton.

More than 200 public relations practitioners from Oregon and Southwest Washington, including VanNatta and Gail, gathered at Miller Hall in the World Forestry Center to recognize the best and brightest in the world of communications. Scott Simms with Bonneville Power Administration and Stephanie Swanson with MarketShift Strategies served as co-emcees for the awards ceremony. Themed “Sustaining Excellence - Spotlighting Our Best,” this year’s event also featured a keynote speech from Portland PR legend Jay Rockey, APR, Fellow PRSA, on sustaining the public relations profession.

“We were very honored to receive this acknowledgement from the Public Relations Society of America,“ said VanNatta, CEO of VPR.  “To be recognized by one’s peers in such a competitive field is truly the greatest accomplishment; even if those peers are across the country in Connecticut.”

VanNatta PR Honored for
Excellence in Community Relations

At the November 2, PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) Spotlight Awards, VanNatta Public Relations, Inc. (VPR) of Salem was recognized with the 2006 Award of Excellence for Community Relations. The award was given for VPR’s work with the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce’s Education Leadership Institute.
Mary VanNatta, CAE and VPR President Harvey Gail, attended the awards dinner, accepting the award for VPR from colleagues and event emcees Hilary Hutchinson from Fox News 12 and Drew Carney of News Channel 8 in Portland. An independent panel of judges of PR professionals from North Carolina reviewed the entries.
VPR is Salem’s most established public relations, association management and public policy consulting firm, founded by Fred VanNatta. They will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary next year.
Says VanNatta, “We are so thankful for the opportunity to work with the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce to help educators better understand the job market and how business works.”
Mike McLaran, Executive Director of the Salem Chamber added, “We are pleased that the public relations community values the importance of community relations and are especially proud of the opportunity to open up the dialog between businesses and educators."

Fox 12's Hilary Hutchinson and Channel 8's Drew Carney with VanNatta

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