A stellar lineup of communicators who routinely go above and beyond the call of duty were honored at the 2018 PR People Awards Luncheon, held Dec. 4 at the historic National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The winners of categories such as Crisis Manager of the Year, Digital Leader of the Year and Media Relations Professional of the Year were honored at the event. Among the criteria the judges considered were leadership qualities, creativity and flexibility, demonstrating sound judgement, the ability to plan and execute notable campaigns and outstanding volunteer efforts.
Many of the winners expressed the need to reach outside their comfort zone, stay agile and take care of your clients and employees as keys to their success. The winners were asked to answer the question: What was your top "aha!" moment in your work over the last year?
.@BankofAmerica’s Catherine Canniff reflects on her “aha” moment this year as she accepts her Crisis Manager of the Year award. #PRNews pic.twitter.com/0xw4F050Q3
— H+K Strategies US (@HKStrategies_US) December 4, 2018
Crisis Manager of the Year winner Catherine Canniff of Bank of America said that today's natural disasters and national tragedies led to her aha!" moment. "We activate to take care of our customers, our communities and our people," she said We can't stall violent weather and violent people, but when we take care of our people, our employees and our client as a community, we make a difference."
Taking care of your employees also extends to presenting them with a simple narrative to understand your efforts, said Measurement Expert of the Year winner Brett Care of Spectrum Science. "Data is not unique," said Care. "You've got all these analytics available—you need take a step back and see how you can really tell a story to the stakeholders."
Guess who just pulled up to the #PRNews #PR People Awards luncheon? We’re ready for a fun afternoon celebrating the best in #publicrelations and #communications! #prnews #prawards @PRNews pic.twitter.com/kL9UVmX7oi
— SpectrumScience (@SpectrumScience) December 4, 2018
Ashleigh Kathryn White, a Masters at University of Florida’s Mass Comms school who won Student of the Year, said her top "aha!" moment this year was learning how she can impact "aha!" moments in others.
Similarly, Intern of the Year Elana Shaulova of EvolveMKD expressed that "aha!" moments need not come infrequently. "As an intern, every day should bring an 'aha!' moment," she said.
Here is the full list of winners in each category.