DANA POINT, Calif., June 26, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The 31st Annual PROTOS Awards, hosted by the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (OC/PRSA), honored top local public relations professionals, programs and students Friday, June 23 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort. The annual affair attracted many of Orange County's leading businesses and professionals. This year's presenting sponsor is PrimeZone Media, and other sponsors include Bock Communications, Euro RSCG Magnet, Morgan Marketing and Public Relations, Global Result Communications, Idea Hall, Porter Novelli, The Irvine Company, Golin Harris, Business Wire, Toledo PR, KLR Communications, St Regis Monarch Beach Resort and Brahma Beer.
"This year is a record-breaking year for PROTOS -- we have more award entries, more people attending the event and have raised more sponsorship dollars," said Lisa Cottini, PROTOS awards chair.
Eighty awards in 25 different categories were handed out by OC/PRSA to top Orange County public relations practitioners and firms. A variety of businesses from industries such as action sports, automotive, education, healthcare, real estate, sports, technology, transportation, wireless and trade/professional organizations were all recognized for the best public relations work of 2005 in Orange County.
The awards acknowledged outstanding performance in categories ranging from community outreach, multicultural and media relations programs to communication collateral materials and multimedia presentations. PainePR took home the Best in Show for their consumer program for Pampers Baby Stages of Development.
Collecting the most PROTOS awards, the highest award in each category, was Porter Novelli of Irvine with six. The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) of Orange and PainePR of Irvine were both awarded four PROTOS. Also Echo Media Group of Tustin was honored with three PROTOS awards.
Winning the most Awards of Excellence was Bock Communications Inc. of South Coast Metro with six. OCTA of Orange was awarded five Awards of Excellence. Winning three each was Amies Communications of Irvine and Sperry Van Ness of Irvine.
OC/PRSA also presented its annual Distinguished Service Awards, the chapter's highest honor. The individual honor went to Catherine A. Douglas APR, periodicals editor at California State University of Fullerton and the organization honor was given to Porter Novelli, a public relations firm in Irvine.
Douglas was chosen for her long record of service with the Orange County PRSA chapter and leadership as president of the chapter in 2003. This year, she served as the chapter's Bylaws Review Committee Chair. She has more than 15 years in public relations and a decade in newspapers and magazines. As a consummate mentor, Douglas always takes time to share experiences and give advice to others.
Porter Novelli accepted its Distinguished Service Award for providing pro-bono public relations services to the Orange County Business Council and Human Options, an Orange County based non-profit organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence. The contributions Porter Novelli makes, whether offering pro-bono public relation services, supporting PRSA or training young professionals, has a positive influence on Orange County public relations.
The organization also honored three public relations students from local universities with the Shinning Star Scholarship and presented each student with funding to travel to and attend the National PRSSA conference in October of this year. Cassandra Allen of California State University, Long Beach; Becky Meza of California State University, Fullerton; and Jennifer Sisk of Chapman University were this year's recipients.
ABOUT OC/PRSA:
OC/PRSA was chartered in 1963 to serve and educate the public relations practitioners of Orange County, Calif. The PROTOS awards began in 1975 to serve as the chapter's annual gala and to honor top members of the Orange County public relations community and their work. Monthly lunch meetings provide members an opportunity to exchange ideas with other public relations professionals and hear speakers on a wide variety of topics related to the communications field.