May 21, 2010 – Milwaukee, Wis. – The Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America will present its annual Paragon Awards to outstanding local companies at an evening ceremony.
The event will be hosted by two recognized journalistic personalities from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, columnist Jim Stingl and reporter Crocker Stephenson. The awards ceremony will begin at 5:30pm on Tuesday, May 25th at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Bradley Pavilion in Milwaukee,
The Paragon Awards were created in 1983 and are given annually to honor local companies and individuals that exemplify excellence in communications. The awards recognize outstanding work in the area of public relations, honor creative and strategic superiority and encourage a higher level of performance among public relations professionals. For more information about the PRSA, visit www.prsawis.org or www.twitter.com/prsawis.
From this year’s pool of 95 submissions, the PRSA will present 20 awards of excellence, 28 awards of merit and one award for best in show at the ceremony.
In addition, the Southeastern Wisconsin PRSA has selected two outstanding industry leaders to receive awards for individual public relations achievements. These awards will be given to Rich Meeusen, CEO of Badger Meter, and Carolyn Bellin, APR, chief public relations officer of Froedtert Hospital, in recognition of the tremendous skill and commitment both have shown as advocates for their organizations in the Milwaukee region.
“Both honorees have made significant strides in advancing the success of their companies and in making Milwaukee a better place to live and do business,” said Mary Scheibel, APR, PRSA president and principal owner of Scheibel Halaska.
Serving as Masters of Ceremony, Jim Stingl and Crocker Stephenson will add a unique style of entertainment and personality to the evening.
Jim Stingl is best known for his local news column that runs in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, plus his regular video columns. He has worked at the Journal and the Journal Sentinel for a total of 23 years, not counting the five years he delivered the paper as a kid. A Milwaukee native and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he worked at two other Wisconsin newspapers in Beloit and Green Bay before returning to his hometown.
Crocker Stephenson has been a reporter at the Milwaukee Sentinel and the Journal Sentinel for a total of 24 years. He began covering Milwaukee criminal courts in early 2008. In November that year, a kinship foster mother was charged with killing 13-month-old Christopher Thomas and with torturing his sister. Stephenson’s aggressive coverage of that story and other issues related to child welfare in Milwaukee has sparked legislative and institutional changes that deepened public accountability and have tightened the safety net for Milwaukee’s most vulnerable children.
Live updates from the Paragon Awards and the latest news can be found on Twitter by following #paragonawards, or @prsawis.
The Public Relations Society of America Southeastern Wisconsin chapter was founded more than 50 years ago by pioneering public relations professionals. The organization today consists of more than 300 plus member organizations serving to advance networking and educational opportunities for communications professionals in the community.
For more information, contact Matthew Mente at (414) 270-3514 or mmente@insidesh.com.
