More than 120 practitioners and their guests honored and celebrated 2003’s best public relations programs, projects and professionals at the 15th annual Excalibur Awards held at Fanny’s Restaurant in Amherst in late June.

Travers Collins & Company was awarded two platinum Excaliburs for “Catching up with the Joneses,” an investor relations program for Community Bank System, and for “Promoting Buffalo Word of Mouse,” a direct mail project for the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau. The agency also won eight gold awards in various categories.

Other multiple-award winners were the Health Association of Niagara County, Inc., which received four silver and two bronze Excalibur awards, and Hilbert College, which received two bronze Excalibur awards.

Nancy Fredrickson, president of The Fredrickson Group, and Linus Ormsby, director of public relations at Niagara University, were recognized as May C. Randazzo Outstanding Practitioners of the Year during the banquet. Lori Vallon, community relations manager at Child & Family Services, received the Rising Star award, and Rev. Joseph Levesque, president of Niagara University, was named Outstanding Executive.

Volunteers on this year’s committee from the PRSA Buffalo/Niagara Chapter were: Lisa Anthon; Charlotte Clark, chair; John Della Contrada; Virginia Foreman; Kate Lewis; and Lori Vallon. PRSA members interested in volunteering for the 2005 Excalibur Awards committee can contact Charlotte Clark at 857-7625 for more information.

Message From the President

Thanks to the hard work of many members, PRSA is having an excellent year. The chapter is experiencing outstanding growth and development.  The Excalibur Awards celebrated the outstanding achievements of our award winners and reminded us that the public relations profession is alive and well in Western New York.

As we begin the second half of 2004, the annual Sunrise Seminar is in full swing.  If you are participating, you will enjoy dynamic presenters – both public relations and media professionals. The program committee used your feedback to plan the series and other programs throughout the year.  Thank you for your input and keep those ideas coming.

Up next is a special opportunity for PRSA members - an interactive ethics seminar featuring national expert Mary Pieschek (see article below).  In this time of increased scrutiny for companies and organizations, ethics and social responsibility are critical issues for all public relations practitioners.  Special pricing will be offered for members and space is limited – so look for program registration soon.

Another major project for the board of directors is the redesign of the chapter Web site. We aim to make the site easier to navigate and keep it more current. You will hear more about the newly designed Web site in the fall.

Finally, our chapter had the greatest overall growth for chapters our size during the recent Taste of PRSA membership promotion (see article below).  Kudos to membership chairs Kathleen Kirst and John Senall and the entire membership committee for their hard work.

More good things are on the way – stay involved and get the most from your PRSA membership.

Register now for “Ethics: The Best Public Relations Money Can’t Buy”

If it’s legal then it must be ethical, right?

Who were Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham, and how do their philosophies and ethical theories impact public relations professionals today?

What is the PRSA Member Code of Ethics all about?

What are some of the latest trends in the area of corporate social responsibility?

For the answers to these questions and more, register now for “Ethics: The Best Public Relations Money Can’t Buy,” an interactive, thought-provoking event for members only. Part of the PRSA September Ethics Month 2004, the seminar will be held from 7:30 to 11 a.m.  Tuesday, Sept. 14, at the Buffalo Niagara Marriott, 1340 Millersport Highway, Amherst.

The presenter for this program will be Mary Pieschek, president of Pieschek Public Relations in Green Bay, Wis., and chair-elect of PRSA’s new Strategic Social Responsibility Section.  Mary has more than 30 years’ experience in public relations, journalism and education.  She holds a master of arts degree in philosophy and B.A. degrees in both philosophy and journalism and has been honored in Wisconsin by the Associated Press as Outstanding Journalist.

Participants will increase their understanding of ethics, professional standards and social responsibility. They will also receive a copy of the PRSA Member Code of Ethics booklet and a pocket-sized ethics card.

Due to the nature of this program, it is being offered only to members of PRSA and PRSSA at a significantly reduced price and is being limited to 45 attendees.

The cost for this program (includes a continental breakfast) is:

    * $30 for members of PRSA
    * $15 for PRSSA members

To attend please RSVP to Brenda Schwamborn at b_schwamborn@msn.com by Tuesday, Sept. 7.