For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Kim McCullough, Concordia University Chicago
708-209-3122 or kmccullough@cuchicago.edu
CHICAGO (April 26, 2010) – The Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC) – the premier communications industry trade association in Chicago – announces the year’s “best of the best” in Chicago and Midwest public relations at the 51st Annual Golden Trumpet Awards, May 7 at The Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.
Nancy Loo, Chicago broadcast journalist and blogger, and Jim Williams, CBS 2 Weekend Evening News co-anchor, will join PCC to present awards honoring the year’s most distinguished achievements in public relations and communications practice.
From community relations and special events to crisis PR and new media, Golden Trumpets recognize excellence in planning, creativity and execution in 22 categories. The competition also presents four top honors from among hundreds of programs submitted from across the Midwest:
- The Brand Builder Award for the program that has significantly enhanced and promoted a brand for an organization, product or service.
- The Quality of Life Award for the program whose foremost contribution was to improve the quality of life in our society through public relations.
- The Creativity Award for exceptional creativity in a public relations program.
- The Platinum Award for the year’s best overall public relations program.
PCC also will honor Aaron Cushman and Margie Korshak with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their pioneering achievements in public relations.
Aaron Cushman
Cushman founded Cushman/Amberg Communications in Chicago in 1952 as Aaron D. Cushman and Associates. Today, Cushman/Amberg is an independent, full-service communications agency headquartered in Chicago with an office in St. Louis and global reach through its long-time partnership in Public Relations Organisation International (PROI).
From early days working as an entertainment publicist—promoting the Three Stooges, Jane Russell, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, among others—Cushman moved to handling public relations for small, local accounts and later Fortune 500 clients. Among its accomplishments, the agency opened more than 65 Marriott Hotels & Resorts worldwide; introduced Softbatch Cookies for Keebler; and helped McDonald’s establish the All American High School Basketball Team.
The agency additionally developed a specialty in travel and tourism, with such clients including Mexico, the Cayman Islands, and Canada, and worked with Singapore in restoring its image as a tourist destination after the caning of an American caused international outcry. Cushman’s storied career also encompasses PR in the world of professional sports, including more than a decade as co-owner and PR director for the Chicago White Sox under Bill Veeck.
Margie Korshak
Korshak is chairman of Margie Korshak, Inc., one of Chicago’s 10 largest public relations/events firms. She began her career in 1967 with the PR department of the American Furniture Mart and founded her agency at age 29, specializing in public relations and advertising for the entertainment, retail and restaurant industries, and later, corporate business.
Korshak, press representative for Broadway in Chicago, has been vital to Chicago’s theatre scene including the reopening or opening of downtown theatres and publicity for Chicago’s major theatrical productions. She also helped shape the face of Chicago’s retail industry, providing counsel to Sears, Bloomingdale’s, Crate & Barrel, Plaza Escada, Gap and Old Navy, as well as Water Tower Place, The Shops of 900 N. Michigan, Chicago Place and The Shops at North Bridge.
Her commitment to community through fundraising and PR has benefited charities including Gilda’s Club, The James Jordan Boys & Girls Club, The National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, The Les Turner ALS Foundation, Starlight Children’s Foundation, the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation and the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Co-chairing the 2010 Golden Trumpets Awards are D. Michelle Flowers, President & CEO, Flowers Communications Group, and Kim McCullough, Executive Director for Communications, Concordia University Chicago.
Annually drawing hundreds of Midwest public relations and communications professionals and their clients, the Publicity Club of Chicago Golden Trumpets Awards takes place 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. May 7 in the Grand Ballroom at the Palmer House, 17 East Monroe St.
Tickets are $90 for PCC members, $100 for non-members or $900 for a table of 10. To order tickets or for more information on Vendor Showcase opportunities for the 2010 Golden Trumpets, click here or contact PCC at office@publicity.org or 773-463-5560.
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