Winner: Raymond L. Buse, III, Director of Public Relations, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
Raymond L. Buse has the "cool" thing down pat, and that cool is rubbing off on the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. As the director of pubic relations for Cincinnati's regional
chamber, Buse - who is fondly referred to as Buz by many, including the mayor's office - has the daunting job of promoting a city. To make it even harder to wrap his arms around
the task, the first adjective that comes to mind when discussing Cincinnati probably isn't "cool."
But Buz won't take that news sitting down. He has brought positive name recognition to Cincinnati and the surrounding region through aggressive, creative campaigns to
demonstrate its many flavors. And no flavor is too bitter. Case in point: He coordinated a "Downtown Hop Around" to bring positive media attention to an otherwise negative
observance of the city's fifth year anniversary of the 2001 civil unrest, prompting a reported 20 percent increase in business for local bars and restaurants for the evening.
As for events that didn't require a positive spin, they are innumerable. Buz worked with the mayor's office to stage "Blitz Jay Leno Day" to celebrate the winning streak of the
Bengals, whose less-than-desirable performance was once fodder for Leno's nightly banter. The event prompted Leno to personally phone Buz to accept the challenge to "play ball."
Beyond the "fun" events, Buz takes action to fight injustices within his city's borders. In 2004, he coordinated media relations in support of the successful repeal of an
anti-gay amendment to the Cincinnati City Charter that denied gay citizens the right to petition the city government.
Buz is also an innovator, as seen through the wi-fi initiative to connect Cincinnati with two Kentucky towns via a virtual Internet bridge that offered interstate wireless
service.
The list of accolades Buz garnered for Cincinnati goes on and on thanks to his creativity and gumption in positioning it as a fun, lively, up-and-coming place, and the media
definitely takes notice time and time again. It's hard to imagine what he'll cook up next.
Contact: [email protected]
Honorable Mentions
In 2005, Sheri Baer's broadcast coverage for Amazon.com's 10th anniversary reached more than 16 million people, using "special deliveries" that thanked customers by arranging
for their purchases to be delivered by their favorite celebrities. She also tapped into the podcasting frenzy, helping Hoffman build an in-house broadcast studio that enables
clients to create and record their own podcasts and reinforce their image as industry thought leaders.
David Ebeling, communications manager for Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Advisors, raised the company to prominent national recognition by putting its 600 brokers in
front of the media on a daily basis, garnering 4.6 articles per day as of the last counting. His efforts in behalf of the Miami Arena earned him a Protos Award from the PRSA.
Jennifer Risi hangs her media-relations hat on the power of the pitch, and it has served her - and Weber Shandwick - well in recent years. As the executive vice president of
the Global Strategic Media Group, she understands the evolving strategies for reaching all constituents in a fragmented media environment, and her skills in this area have
assisted in brand building for Allstate Corporation and Siemens Corporation, and in securing a higher level of corporate coverage for Sealed Air Corporation - a client of four
years.