In recent years, the business climate has become seemingly more and more challenging with every passing day, and that couldn't have been more true in 2008, when a sharp economic
downturn challenged organizations' abilities to protect their own interests, let alone to address the interests of others.
But, as the profiles outlined in the following pages demonstrate, even a crippling recession didn't stop the corporate social responsibility efforts of many companies, which
committed valuable time and money to help improve communities around the world.
All CSR Award winners and honorable mentions were honored alongside the PR News Legal PR Awards winners during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on
Feb. 26, 2009 (to read about the Legal Awards winners, see PRN 02-23-09).
In addition to the awards presentation, the luncheon featured a keynote presentation by Julie Robertson, National Director of American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women,"
and Jens Bang, CEO of Cone Inc. The two CSR leaders discussed the topic of agency-client partnerships in the context of corporate responsibility efforts.
To read more about Robertson and Bang's keynote presentation, and to read expanded
profiles of the CSR Award winners and honorable mentions listed in this special
awards issue, please visit http://www.prnewsonline.com.