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PRSA San Antonio Sixth Annual
Del Oro Awards Program Banquet and
Marilyn Potts Endowment Fund Silent Auction
The Public Relations Society of America San Antonio Chapter hosted a gala on Thursday, May 1, 2008, to honor winners of the chapter’s sixth annual Del Oro Awards program. The Del Oro awards are presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the public relations profession.
A total of 37 awards were handed out for outstanding public relations tactics, campaigns, and individual leadership. Winners represented public relations agencies, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, the healthcare industry, government agencies, religious groups, and independent public relations consultants.
Here are the winners.
Del Oro Awards for Individuals
Del Oro Tex Taylor Award
Kelly G. Morris, APR, of Kelly Morris P ublic Relations
The Del Oro Tex Taylor Award is given to the chapter member who has helped develop public relations as a credible profession and has accomplished landmark professional achievements. Tex was a founding member of the San Antonio PRSA chapter and was one of the first Texans to be accredited by PRSA.
Kelly Morris is a native of San Antonio and has been practicing public relations for more than 25 years. Her expertise is in providing results-oriented public relations/marketing strategies that make a difference in an organization’s bottom line and applying a single-minded commitment to achieving results. She is a no nonsense practitioner who possesses a rare and consistent determination to help clients set and reach goals. Other capabilities include media relations, crisis communication, government relations and public affairs, strategic communication planning, stakeholder communication, and media and spokesperson training. Her professional passion is mentoring aspiring public relations practitioners and helping instill in them, early on, the commitment to pursue excellence in all that they do.
Morris has served in key leadership positions with The Edwards Underground Water District,
The Atkins Agency, Taylor West Advertising, and also successfully operated her own public relations firm. Most recently, Morris served as Vice President of Corporate Communications for the Cancer Therapy & Research Center. In spring of this year, Morris decided to re-open her public relations consulting business.
Morris holds a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Communication Arts – both from St. Mary’s University. Morris has been accredited
by the Public Relations Society of America for 15 years.
Del Oro Horizon Award
Randy Escamilla, Sisters of Charity o f the Incarnate Word
The Horizon Award, goes to a “rising star” public relations professional who has been in the profession less than five years.
Randy Escamilla always knew he was going places. However, he could never foresee that a career change into public relations would have a profound change on his life which, among other things, involves being part of a team saving African babies from AIDS.
In 2006, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word selected him from more than 70 applicants to be their Director of Public Relations. Since then, he has helped move this global organization from relative obscurity into prominence. The great works of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word are regularly featured in broadcast news reports and in the San Antonio Express-News.
He has also been active in helping raise funds and awareness of the Incarnate Word Sisters’ beautiful Chapel of the Incarnate Word and the nuns’ powerful and visionary ministries. He has traveled to Africa twice and has produced a documentary on the Sisters’ mission in Zambia. The Sisters have also sent him on humanitarian missions to Peru and to Chiapas, Mexico.
He is the past recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence for Best Television Documentary and the San Antonio Diez y Seis Commission Award for Involvement with the Hispanic Community.
He was born in Silver City, New Mexico. He worked in Roswell, Lubbock, and El Paso before moving to San Antonio in 1992 to begin a 13-year career in TV news here. He is a 1987 graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and is currently working on his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).
In addition to the leadership he provides to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, he sits on the San Antonio PRSA Chapter Board and the Farmington Commons Homeowners Association Board.
Del Oro Community Service Award
Adriana Garcia, San An tonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
The Community Service Award recognizes a public relations professional who has given exceptional time and talents to community service activities.
Adriana R. Garcia, a San Antonio native, exercises her passion for non-profits and her interest in the Hispanic market daily, as Vice President of Communications for the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where she is responsible for all internal and external communications. Additionally, Garcia gives back to the local community through her public relations efforts for a year-round program called Adopt-A-Needy Family. She is a founding board member and volunteers in advocacy efforts for a Laredo-based group, Americans Missing in Mexico.
Garcia is a committee member for the Outstanding Leaders and Hall of Fame Dinner, presented each year by the Catholic School’s Office at the Archdiocese of San Antonio. She sits on the Marketing Committee for Catholic Schools. During her spare time, Garcia volunteers with the CYO program at Our Lady of Grace and at St. Anthony Catholic High School, a high school devoted to service, where her son Steve will attend high school in 2014.
Born to Petra and Valeriano Rocha, Garcia learned a strong work ethic and a commitment to helping others at home. She developed a love for learning and was inspired to continue her education, in honor of her parents who only completed the first and second grades. With that motivation, and to set a good example for her eight-year-old son, Steve R. Garcia III, she received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Communication Arts, from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. She is currently a doctoral student in the Advertising program at the University of Texas at Austin, where her research focuses on advertising and public relations management in non-profit organizations, and Latino advertising.
Del Oro Public Relations Professional of the Year Aw ard
Kami Watson Huyse, APR, My PR Pro
The Public Relations Professional of the Year Award is presented to an individual who represents the best in public relations in 2007.
Kami Watson Huyse is the principal of My PR Pro, a virtual agency with partners across the U.S. She is a sought-after speaker and writes an award-winning blog, Communication Overtones, on the topic of public relations and social media strategy.
She is a senior communicator with 15 years of experience in crisis communication, reputation management, focus group research, public relations measurement and media relations.
Her ideas and work are featured in several books about social media including The New Rules of Marketing and PR, and Now is Gone. She is also a contributor to the MARCOM and PRSA Byline blogs.
As a media relations specialist she has garnered coverage for her clients in media outlets such as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the CBS Early Show and the San Antonio Express News, among others.
She has been a member of PRSA since 1995, and earned her Accreditation in Public Relations designation in 1998. She has served in a number of leadership roles for both the PRSA National Capitol chapter in Washington D.C. and the San Antonio chapter. She has served on the San Antonio PRSA Board of Directors since 2003, first as Secretary, then as treasurer, then as advocacy chair. More recently she worked to establish the Marilyn Potts Endowment Fund that will eventually fund several scholarships for communication students in San Antonio. At the national level, she launched a blog initiative for the 2007 International Conference to bring professional development to members and others who could not attend the conference.
She will be moving to the Katy area of Houston this month, but promises that she will continue to work with her clients and maintain her ties with her many friends in San Antonio.
La Plata Awards for Campaigns
The La Plata Awards are presented for outstanding public relations campaigns that met the highest standards of the four components of strategic PR programming: research, planning, execution and evaluation.
Community Relations category
- La Plata Award to EMW Productions and Robert Marraro, David Torres, Mike Alanis, Roger Parker of the Corpus Christi Police Department for their entry “Save Our Streets – A Bullet Knows No Boundaries”
- La Plata Award to Irma Orozco of CPS Energy and Communities in Schools for their entry “Connecting the Dots: Job Shadowing Program”
Special Events and Observances category
- Award of Merit to Jacquelyn Pfeiffer and Tina Luther of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for their “Greehey $25 Million Gift Celebration”
- Award of Merit to Creative Civilization for “San Antonio Opera Presents Placido Domingo in Concert”
- Award of Merit to Creative Civilization for “Eva’s Heroes Inaugural Celebrity Golf Tournament”
- Award of Merit to Randy Escamilla and Sister Walter Maher of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word for their “Prayer Service for Children”
- Award of Merit to Patty Constantin, Sylvia Carrizales, Cathy Maule, Mary Parra, Anne Gomez, and Drew Guion of Our Lady of the Lake University Marketing and Communications earned an Award of Merit for the “OLLU 2007 Literary Festival”
Marketing Consumer Products, Services or Business to Business category
- La Plata Award to Deborah Vallejo of Bromley Communications for "Wonka Art"
- La Plata Award to Lynn Nowak, Vincent McDonald, and Frank Jimenez of CPS Energy for their “2007 Environmental Campaign”
- La Plata Award to SeaWorld San Antonio and Kami Watson Huyse, APR, of My PR Pro for their SeaWorld San Antonio “Coaster Launch Campaign”
- Award of Merit to Bruce Forey of GVTC for his entry “GVTC Scores with NFL Network and Dallas Cowboys”
Crisis Communications category
- Award of Merit goes to Theresa Brown Cortez, Rolando Romero, Lisa Lewis and Bob McCullough, APR, for the "2007 Ice Storm Proactive and Reactive Response"
Internal Communications category
- Award of Merit to Palmira Arellano of Methodist Healthcare System for “It’s All About ME” initiative
Public Service and Public Affairs category
- Award of Merit to Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, Barbara Cigarroa and Tina Luther of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for entry, “Leading An Academic Health Center in the 21st Century”
- Award of Merit to Dr. Roberto Villarreal for his entry “‘Talk It Up’ Means Talking It Out!”
El Bronce Awards for Tactics
El Bronce Awards recognize outstanding PR tactics based on planning, content, creativity, quality, technical excellence, and assessment and results.
Newsletters category
- El Bronce Award to Lisa Lewis and Barbara Burris of CPS Energy, for "Payday Plus"
Magazines category
- El Bronce Award to Veronica Laurel from the KCI for "The 'Times' They Are a-changin’!"
- Award of Merit to Pam Maris, Frank Jimenez, and Vincent McDonald of CPS Energy for Broadcaster.
Special Purpose Publications category
- El Bronce to Bob McCullough, APR, Vincent McDonald and Mark Hill of CPS Energy for “Report To Stakeholders: POWER 5”
- El Bronce Award to Irene Hahn of Sirius Computer Solutions for “Taking Employee Benefits Sirus-ly”
- Award of Merit to Creative Civilization for “San Antonio Opera Presents Placido Domingo in Concert – Media Guide”
- Award of Merit to Patty Constantin and Drew Guion of Our Lady of the Lake University for their "OLLU Media Guide"
Video News Release category
- Award of Merit to Theresa Brown Cortez, Rolando Romero, and Gary Chavez of CPS Energy for their entry, “8-1-1 Call Before You Dig”
Video Programs category
- El Bronce Award to Creative Civilization for their work with the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on “79th Annual Installation Banquet Video”
- El Bronce Award to Creative Civilization for “Eva’s Hero’s Marketing Video”
- El Bronce Award to Gary Chavez of CPS Energy for his “Video News Item Program”
- Awards of Merit to Creative Civilization for their entry “QuePasa.com Marketing/Sales Video”
Feature Story category
- Award of Merit to Pam Maris, Vincent McDonald, and Frank Jimenez of CPS Energy for their entry “Bikers Band Together to End Abuse”
- Award of Merit to inHouse PR for its entry “UFC ESPN Deportes Feature Story”
- Award of Merit to Will Sansom of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio his story “Plant Shed Light on Age-Old Quest”
Annual Reports category
- Award of Merit to Tina Garza of Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas
Media Kit category
- Award of Merit to Rosanne D. Fohn of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for “Awareness Campaign for the Laredo Campus Extension”
Direct Mail and Direct Response category
- Award of Merit to Sandy Doughton of Planned Parenthood, Inc. her entry “Plan to Stop By and Visit Us!”
Speeches category
- El Bronce Award goes to Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, Barbara Cigarroa and Tina Luther of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for “Leading An Academic Health Science Center into the 21st Century”
Interactive Communications
- El Bronce Award to Patty Constantin and Mary Parra of Our Lady of the Lake University for their “OLLU 2007 Holiday E-Appeal”
- Award of Merit to Rosanne D. Fohn, Natalie Gutierrez and Rene Torres of the University Health Science Center at San Antonio for “HSC News and inside-dot-news Communications Package”
- Award of Merit to Palmira Arellano and Bonnie Munroe of Methodist Healthcare System for “Our Site Meets the Needs of Women At All Ages and Stages”
2008 Del Oro Committee
Co-Chairs: Nancy Arispe, Judging and Awards Chair; Abbey Forney, Banquet Chair; and Josie Villela, Collateral Materials Chair. Del Oro Coordinator, Paige Ramsey-Palmer, APR
Master of Ceremonies: Bruce Kates.
Dayton, Ohio PRSA Chapter: Judges for our La Plata and El Bronce awards.
Gold Sponsors
- Business Wire
- Clear Visions, Inc.
- esd & associates
- Gray Web Technology and Design
- H-E-B
- Lopez Printing, Inc.
- Northside Independent School District
- San Antonio Express-News
- San Antonio Federal Credit Union
- SeaWorld San Antonio
- Security Service Federal Credit Union
- Taylor Ochoa Design
- USAA
Silver Sponsors
- Our Lady of the Lake University
- Photo Express Digital Pro Lab
- Texas Organ Sharing Alliance
Contact Information:
Nancy Arispe
arispen@uthscsa.edu
210-567-0729
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