21 Ports Receive Awards in AAPA’s 2014 Communications Competition

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Since 1966, AAPA’s annual Communications Awards Program – sponsored by the AAPA Public Relations Committee – has recog­nized excellence in the products, programs and services that public port authorities design and produce to meet their public relations and marketing goals.

In May, a group of 40 professional public relations practitioners from the Washington, D.C. area cumulatively spent 160 hours over two-and-a-half weeks judging 15 classifications of entries in AAPA’s 2014 competition, ranging from advertisements and periodicals to videos and websites. Upon completion of the judging, entries from 21 seaports scored high enough to be recognized at AAPA’s 103rd Annual Convention and Expo in Houston, Tex., which runs Nov. 9-13.

In all, 34 submissions from 11 ports earned a communications 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 the most superior performance in the competition, three special awards will be made. 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 take home AAPA’s Overall Award of Distinction trophy, while the third-place finisher will receive AAPA’s Overall Award of Merit trophy.

"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."

Following are summaries of each of the 34 Award of Excellence-winning entries in the 2014 communications competition, followed by a listing of the ports that won Distinction and Merit awards.