NEWS RELEASE
Embargoed until 7 p.m. - September 25, 2003
CONTACT - Sally McDonough (202) 452-7815
sally.mcdonough@ogilvypr.com

Top Washington PR Professionals Honored at 35th Annual Thoth Awards
Victoria Clarke receives “On the Front Line” Award; Spy Museum is “Best of Show”

WASHINGTON, September 25 - The best and brightest in public relations were recognized by the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) tonight at its annual Thoth Awards at the George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium in Washington, DC.

From 133 entries in 20 categories this year, 20 Thoth Awards and 13 Certificates of Excellence were presented to representatives of public relations agencies, corporations, government agencies, and trade and professional associations. The Thoth Awards (pronounced "Tot") are named for the Egyptian god of information and communication.

Among the top honors awarded were: The “Best of Show” award for public relations excellence and two Thoth Awards were presented to the International Spy Museum Media Office and Renicow Schroeder Associates for the promotion and grand opening of the International Spy Museum. Facing serious challenges such as anthrax crises and the huge decline in travel to DC post 9/11 plus the prospect of opening a for-profit fee-based museum in the Washington market, the Spy Museum launched a carefully executed, strategically targeted media outreach and public awareness program. Commenting that “the spy museum is definitely NOT a well kept secret,” the judges praised the program for its “outstanding results...clearly aligned with business needs of visitation targets, coverage and market positioning.” The Thoth Awards were presented in both the competition's special events and observances and in the marketing consumer products categories.

The 2003 “On the Front Line” Award was given to Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Victoria Clarke in recognition of her excellence at public relations, often under the most challenging of circumstances.

The 2003 Thoth Award for Outstanding Personal Achievement was awarded to Paul S. Forbes, APR, Fellow PRSA, founder and chairman Emeritus, The Forbes Group, for his professional accomplishments and contributions made to the community and in furthering the practice of public relations.

The Diamond Award for Chapter Service was presented to Robert V. Bryant, APR, Chief, Command Information Systems Agency, Defense Information Systems Agency, for his significant services to the National Capital Chapter during the past year.

"Washington is unlike any other market for the practice of public relations and it shows in this year’s Thoth Award recipients,” said Steven Grant, APR, President of the PRSA National Capital Chapter. “As the largest PRSA chapter, Washington, DC is truly the communication capital of the free world. This year’s Thoth Awards demonstrate an incredible diversity of public relations issues from international spies and sleepy kids to the VDOT’s “Mixing Bowl” and US Airways’ employees.”

Thoth Awards and Certificates of Excellence presented in the 20 categories are:

Media Relations Category
- Thoth Award - NPR Communications, National Public Radio for "The Tavis Smiley Show: Making and Breaking News for NPR"
- Certificate of Excellence - The Maryland Lottery for "The Maryland Lottery: Big Game Jackpot/Mega Millions Launch"

Newsletter Category
- Thoth Award - Wes Pedersen for the Public Affairs Council's newsletter, "IMPACT"
- Certificate of Excellence - Annamarie G. DeCarlo, Washington Hospital Center, for the newsletter "Washington Hospital Center Physician"

Magazine Category
- Thoth Award - Virginia Hospital Center and Bass & Bradshaw for the Virginia Hospital Center' magazine "Medical Staff News"
- Certificate of Excellence - International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for the IAMAW magazine, "IAM Journal"

Annual Reports Category
- Thoth Award - David K. Rehr, President, National Beer Wholesalers Association for the annual report, "National Beer Wholesalers Association 2002 Annual Report"
- Certificate of Excellence - Airports Council International-North America for the annual report "ACI-NA State of the Industry Report"
- Certificate of Excellence - Widmeyer Communications for the Resources for the Future's "2001 Annual Report"

Brochures Category
- Thoth Award - Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide with The Epilepsy Foundation for the Epilepsy Foundation's brochure, "Entitled to Respect: Packaging Epilepsy Messages to Reach Today's Youth"

Special Purpose Publication Category
- Thoth Award - Academy for Educational Development’s National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign "In the Zone: Living Drug Free"
- Certificate of Excellence - Reinhart-Tse/Montanez-Allman, LISBOA, Inc. with Freddie Mac for "Credit Smart Espanol"
- Certificate of Excellence - Erich Parker, APR; Eileen Secrest, APR; and Jeffrey Lofton, APR with SIG Combibloc Inc. for "A Booklet Introducing the SIG Combibloc Food Service Line"

Direct Mail/Direct Response Category
- Thoth Award - Erich Parker, APR; Eileen Secrest, APR; and Jeffrey Lofton, APR with SIG Combibloc Inc. for "Forget Everything You've Ever Heard About Wine in a Box!"

TV PSAs Category
- Thoth Award - Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide for NHLBI, The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), for the TV PSA "The Heart Truth"
- Certificate of Excellence - Crosby Marketing Communications and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development for the TV PSA "1 in 6"

Video Category
- Thoth Award - The EFX Company and AOL for the Video "AOL - The Road to 8.0 Gold Master"
- Certificate of Excellence - The EFX Company and Hope Street Kids for the video "Hope Street Kids: What Does Hope Mean to You?"
- Certificate of Excellence - Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide for NHLBI, The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), for the video "The Heart Truth"

Advertorial Category
- Thoth Award - Crosby Marketing Communications and Utra Bridge for the advertorial "First-Ever State of IT in Long Term Care Survey"

Research/Evaluation Category
- Thoth Award - Eisner Petrou and Associates, Inc. and the Baltimore City Public Schools for the "BCPSS Research Program"

Creative Tactics Category
- Thoth Award - Recreation Vehicle Industry Association for "RV Stress Reliever"

Interactive Communications Category
- Thoth Award - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Business Responds to AIDS/Labor Responds to AIDS Programs, "At Work, Online, for Workers with HIV/AIDS-www.hivatwork.org"

Special Events & Observances Category
- Thoth Award - International Spy Museum Media Office and Resnicow Schroeder Associates for the "International Spy Museum Grand Opening"

Public Service Category
- Thoth Award - Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide with NHLBI, The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), for "Sleepy Kids: A Major Health Issue"

Marketing Consumer Products Category
- Thoth Award - International Spy Museum Media Office Resnicow Schroeder Associates for the "International Spy Museum Grand Opening"

Business to Business Marketing Category
- Thoth Award - The St. Paul Companies with IMRE Communications for “The E-Frontier 2002: Continuing Threats to Corporate Risk Management"
- Certificate of Excellence - APCO Worldwide and Dow Corning for the "Rubber Web Promotion Campaign Launch for Dow Corning"

Integrated Communications Category
- Thoth Award - VDOT, VDRPT, Siddall, Inc. with the Virginia Department of Transportation for "Fixing the Mixing Bowl"
- Certificate of Excellence - Inova Health System and RightMinds for "Nursing Recruitment Campaign "’I Choose Inova’"

Institutional Programs Category
- Thoth Award - CoreNet Global with IMRE Communications for "IDRC Merges with NACORE: The Launch of CoreNet Global"

Internal Communications Category
- Thoth Award - Corporate Affairs, US Airways for "Employees Keep US Airways Flying"
- Certificate of Excellence - Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center with IMRE Communications for "Introducing Linc: Linking Information and Care"

The National Capital Chapter would like to thank Thoth sponsors AARP and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and Thoth premium seating sponsors IAMAW and Hill & Knowlton. The Chapter expresses its continued appreciation of the support from its 2003 PRSA NCC sponsors. Platinum Sponsor: The EFX Company; Gold Sponsor: PR Newswire; Bronze Sponsors: Business Wire, Burrelles and VMS, Hill & Knowlton, Strategic Communications Group, Inc., U.S. Newswire, and Vocus, Inc.

About PRSA-NCC
The National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America is the largest PRSA chapter in the country, with more than 1,100 members. The NCC represents public relations professionals from the major business sectors in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, including associations, agencies, corporations, universities, non-profits, government, and independent practitioners. Visit us on the Web at www.prsa-ncc.org. ###