2012 Golden Trumpets

CHICAGO (May 9, 2012) – The Pub­lic­ity Club of Chicago (PCC) pre­sented Golden Trum­pet and Sil­ver Trum­pet Awards today to win­ners in 20 cat­e­gories at its 53rd Annual Golden Trum­pet Awards. The PCC also announced the win­ners of its four most pres­ti­gious awards, cho­sen from Golden Trum­pet Award win­ners, and hon­ored a promi­nent Chicago busi­ness­woman with the organization’s Life­time Achieve­ment Award.

The organization’s top four award win­ners are:

• Plat­inum Award (best over­all): Rotary Inter­na­tional, “This Close”
• The Ely­nore Dolkart Meserow Cre­ativ­ity Award (for excep­tional cre­ativ­ity): Lin­coln Park Zoo’s Project Chim­p­Care, “Chimp iPad App Play­fully Educates”
• The Edwin J. Shaugh­nessy Qual­ity of Life Award (for improv­ing the qual­ity of life): AIDS Foun­da­tion of Chicago and Pub­lic Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Inc., “Change My Story”
• The Jef­frey D. Bierig Brand Builder Award (for enhanc­ing and pro­mot­ing a brand): The All­state Foun­da­tion, Fleishman-Hillard, “Pur­ple Purse: Domes­tic Vio­lence Awareness”

The PCC hon­ored Michelle Flow­ers Welch, founder and chief exec­u­tive offi­cer, Flow­ers Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Group, Chicago, with its 2012 Life­time Achieve­ment Award. Welch, a for­mer PCC board mem­ber, is well-known in the Chicago pub­lic rela­tions com­mu­nity. Her firm man­ages a vari­ety of pub­lic rela­tions pro­grams and cam­paigns for high-profile clients.

This year, Chicago pub­lic rela­tions and com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­fes­sion­als judged a record 172 entries sub­mit­ted to the PCC’s Golden Trum­pet Awards, a com­pe­ti­tion that rec­og­nizes excel­lence in pub­lic rela­tions and com­mu­ni­ca­tion. “The Golden Trum­pet is the pre­mier awards pro­gram for Chicagoland com­mu­ni­ca­tions pro­fes­sion­als,” said Dave Smolen­sky, PCC pres­i­dent and chief oper­at­ing offi­cer, Res­olute Con­sult­ing Inc., Chicago. “The award rep­re­sents a val­i­da­tion by indus­try peers of the hard work put forth by com­mu­ni­ca­tions prac­ti­tion­ers on a daily basis on behalf of employ­ers and clients.”

“It is reas­sur­ing to see the record num­ber of entries sub­mit­ted this year. Com­mu­ni­ca­tions activ­i­ties are a lead­ing indi­ca­tor of the econ­omy, and opti­misti­cally the sig­nif­i­cant response the Pub­lic­ity Club of Chicago received this year is indica­tive of the recov­er­ing econ­omy,” he added.

The 2012 Golden Trum­pet Awards was co-chaired by Sue Mark­graf, pres­i­dent and founder, Green­Mark Pub­lic Rela­tions, Mundelein, Ill., and PCC’s imme­di­ate past pres­i­dent; and David Bosch, com­mu­ni­ca­tions direc­tor, Gift of Hope Organ & Tis­sue Donor Net­work, Itasca, Ill. Bosch is also a past PCC president.

“In a town known for its great media and pub­lic rela­tions cam­paigns, receiv­ing a Pub­lic­ity Club of Chicago sil­ver or golden trum­pet is more than just get­ting an award,” said Mark­graf. “It means you have earned the recog­ni­tion and respect of your colleagues.”

“The Golden Trum­pets Awards pro­vide an oppor­tu­nity to cel­e­brate the out­stand­ing work being done by so many pub­lic rela­tions pro­fes­sion­als in the Chicagoland area,” said Bosch. “The awards pro­gram also allows us a chance to rec­og­nize those cam­paigns that excel in cre­ativ­ity, brand­ing, pro­mot­ing a qual­ity of life ini­tia­tive and over­all pub­lic rela­tions excellence.”

Valerie Warner and Ryan Chi­averini, co-hosts of ABC 7 Chicago’s pop­u­lar morn­ing talk and enter­tain­ment show, “Windy City LIVE,” were pro­gram emcees. In addi­tion, atten­dees viewed a video pre­sen­ta­tion pro­duced by PCC board mem­ber Jon Kaplan, direc­tor of mar­ket­ing and com­mu­ni­ca­tions, Safer Foun­da­tion, Chicago, in recog­ni­tion of the organization’s 70th year. The video fea­tured 10 for­mer PCC pres­i­dents, two Life­time Achieve­ment Award hon­orees, along with the organization’s his­tory and sig­nif­i­cance in Chicago. Stu­dents from Colum­bia Col­lege, Chicago, vol­un­teered at the awards luncheon.

The PCC Golden Trum­pet Awards lun­cheon and pro­gram was held at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel, Chicago.