21 Ports To Receive Awards In AAPA’s 2014 Competition

 

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), a trade association representing leading port authorities throughout the Western Hemisphere, has selected 21 seaports to be recognized for exemplary communications projects and programs at its annual convention and awards luncheon this fall. Winning entrants in AAPA’s 47th annual Communications Awards Program will be recognized at a Nov. 12 awards luncheon in conjunction with AAPA’s 103rd Annual Convention and Expo in Houston, Tex., which runs Nov. 9-13.

“When port authorities communicate strategically with their many audiences, including their communities, business leaders and policymakers, they’re better able to show their tremendous value as drivers of economic development, environmental enhancement and job creation,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO.  “This competition helps our member ports by rewarding effective communications and highlighting best practices and lessons learned.”

The 2014 AAPA Communications Awards Program, which had a May 1 deadline for entries, utilized 40 professional public relations practitioners from the Washington, D.C. area who cumulatively spent about 160 hours over a period of two-and-a-half weeks judging the 15 classifications of entries, ranging from advertisements and periodicals to videos and websites.

Based on the number of points awarded each entry by the judges, 34 submissions from 11 ports earned an Award of Excellence, while 36 submissions from 14 ports scored an Award of Distinction, and 36 submissions from 15 ports received an Award of Merit.

To recognize superior overall performance in the competition, three ports will be specifically honored on Nov. 12 at AAPA’s annual convention awards luncheon in Houston.  The top-performing port, based on the cumulative judges’ scores for all of its winning entries, will receive AAPA’s prestigious “traveling” Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence for one year, together with an engraved wood-and-brass plaque to keep. The second-place winner will receive AAPA’s Overall Award of Distinction trophy, while the third-place finisher will receive AAPA’s Overall Award of Merit trophy.