By Julie Campbell, VPC Contest Chair

In this surreal and unsettling time, it’s a pleasure to inform you of the results of the VPC Communications Contest.

Thank you to everyone who entered. And I send my best congratulations to the winners, whose expertise and hard work are reflected in these results. I will mail award certificates and all judges’ comments to each winner by the end of April, and we will celebrate you in person at our rescheduled fall conference (date and place to be determined).

The judges comprised communications professionals with expertise and experience in freelance writing, higher education, graphic design, videography, newspapers, media relations, fraternity communications, photography and fiction writing. I’ve included their comments below.

All first-place winners have been forwarded to NFPW for the national competition. While NFPW will soon notify those winners, they will ask them to keep the results under embargo until NFPW bestows them on June 20, at the annual NFPW conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. (As of this writing, the conference is still a go for that date. The NFPW board is following events closely, of course, and will let the membership know of any changes in a timely fashion).

Without further ado, here are the results, including the winner of the VPC Sweepstakes Prize of $50. Winners are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Bonnie Atwood

3rd Place, Editing for Print or Online Publications > Publications regularly edited by entrant > Magazine/Magapaper

“Kudos for tackling the tough, timely issue of gun control in a very measured and balanced way.”

Nancy Wright Beasley

3rd Place, Writing > Feature story > Print-based newspaper

“Lots of really enjoyable detail in this piece.”

Lyndsie Blakeley and Erin Eaton

1st place, Web and Social Media > Videos for web > PR video promoting specific product or service

“The video did exactly what it was supposed to do.”

Lyndsie Blakely and Krista Gargano

2nd place, Graphics and Design > Graphics > Infographics

“Nicely done!”

Sunni Brown

2nd Place, Public Relations Materials > Reports

“This is an excellent piece.”

Sunni Brown, Lindsey Campbell and Cynthia Price

1st Place, Communications Programs and Campaigns > Community, institutional or internal relations

“What a terrific idea, well-conceived and exceptionally well executed!”

2nd Place, Web and Social Media > Website edited or managed by Entrant > Nonprofit, government or educational

“U of R has made finding relevant faculty experts quite easy and intuitive.”

Erin Eaton and Julia McCann

Honorable mention, Web and Social Media > Videos for web > PR video promoting specific product or service

“Very solid storytelling.”

Paul Fletcher

1st place, Writing > Columns > Humorous

“Two good columns with the cats edging by whiskey by a whisker.”

2nd place, Writing > Columns > General

“Very informative piece.”

Paul Fletcher and Maura Mazurowski

2nd Place, Writing > Columns > Humorous

“Thanksgiving column was well done.”

Audrey Hingley

2nd place, Writing > Personality profile > More than 500 words

“Fun take on the lineage of a well-known American family.”

3rd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Travel

“Brings it to life and makes you want to check it out.”

Honorable mention, Writing > Columns > General

“Lots of interesting details and interviews.”

Virginia Johnson

1st place, Writing > Books, Short Stories, Verse > Nonfiction Books for Adult Readers > History

“Meticulously researched, extremely well written, very well organized.”

Beth JoJack

2nd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Arts and entertainment

“A really well-written, interesting profile of a fascinating person.”

2nd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Physical health

“This was a nice job on a very nuanced subject.”

Honorable mention, Writing > Personality profile > More than 500 words

“Good review of the candidate’s views, work ethic, and background.”

Gail Kent

1st place, Public Relations Materials > Reports

“A very nice job showing donors how their gift impacted students and university.”

1st place, Writing > Specialty articles > Personal essay

“Excellent all around—concept, writing, and research.”

2nd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Education

“Entertaining and well done.”

Kristina Kerton-Eisele

1st place, Web and Social Media > Electronic newsletter > Non-profit, government, or educational

“Great! Visually engaging.”

Patty Kruszewski

1st place, Writing > Feature story > Print-based newspaper

“The writer painted a beautiful picture.”

1st place, Writing > Specialty articles > Education

“A really engaging way to present this story.”

2nd place, Writing > Feature story > Print-based newspaper

“A cute story with some good reporting behind it.”

Honorable mention, Writing > Feature story > Print-based newspaper

“I do appreciate the effort this writer puts into her leads.”

Honorable mention, Writing > Specialty articles > Green/environmental

“An engaging piece.”

Honorable mention, Writing > Columns > Personal opinion

“Provided some good ideas and was well organized.”

Kim Loehr

1st place, Graphics and Design > Graphics > Infographics

“You took a very complicated subject and made it easy to navigate and understand.”

1st place, Information for the Media > News or feature release – single release

“Very nice pitch with good results.”

1st place, Writing > Specialty articles > Science or technology

“Great way to take a topic that is very tactical and make it strategic.”

2nd place, Web and Social Media > Electronic newsletter > Non-profit, government, or educational

“Visually engaging.”

Honorable mention, Web and Social Media > Social Media Presence > Nonprofit, government or educational

“Good, consistent content.”

Rachel Marsh

1st place, Editing for Print or Online Publications > Single page, section, or supplement edited by entrant > Magazine, newsletter or other non-newspaper publication

“Nice-looking event roundup with clever blurbs.”

1st place, Writing > Specialty articles > Travel

“Great descriptive writing.”

Julia McCann and James Venti

3rd place, Web and Social Media > Videos for web > PR video promoting specific product or service

“A very effective story with some compelling B-roll.”

Catherine Petrini

1st place, Photography > Single photograph > General photo

“The living element elevates it to an interaction with art.”

1st place, Public Relations Materials > Brochures > Nonprofit, government or educational

“The content and writing in this book were nice.”

2nd place, Photography > Single photograph > General photo

“A nice mood and nice light.”

Pamela Stallsmith

1st place, Editorial / Opinion

“Good flow.”

2nd place, Editorial / Opinion

“A solid piece.”

3rd place, Editorial / Opinion

“Strong commentary.”

Honorable mention, Editorial / Opinion

“Takes on an important topic.”

Honorable mention, Editorial / Opinion

“Uses quotes effectively.”

Martha Steger: SWEEPSTAKES WINNER

1st place, Radio and Television > Interview

“The interview was both informative and extremely professional.”

1st place, Writing > Personality profile > 500 words or fewer

“Wonderful recapitulation of a storied career.”

1st place, Writing > Specialty articles > Arts and entertainment

“An excellent piece of writing.”

1st place, Writing > Specialty articles > Physical health

“Great specialty article.”

2nd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Style

“This story sparked joy for me.”

2nd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Travel

“Appealing and very well written.”

2nd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Personal essay 

“Great personal account.”

3rd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Business

“Very cool history.”

3rd place, Writing > Specialty articles > History

“Timely and engaging.”

3rd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Social issues

“Very visually engaging content!”

Honorable mention, Writing > Personality profile > More than 500 words

“Great short piece about a noted professional.”

Honorable mention, Writing > Specialty articles > Arts and entertainment

“A good feature story.”

Annie Tobey

1st place, Editing for Print or Online Publications > Publications regularly edited by entrant > Magazine/Magapaper

“A great combination of entertainment and information.”

1st place, Writing > Specialty articles > History

“A delightful and creative story.”

1st place, Writing > Specialty articles > Reviews

“Connecting the books for this collection of reviews was a solid concept.”

3rd place, Writing > Columns > General

“The column is interesting.”

Joan Tupponce

1st place, Writing > Feature story > Magazine, newsletter or other non-newspaper publication

“Great explanation of the main subjects.”

1st place, Writing > Personality profile > More than 500 words

“Perfect length.”

2nd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Education

“Well done.”

3rd place, Writing > Feature story > Magazine, newsletter or other non-newspaper publication

“Great arc from tragedy to triumph.”

3rd place, Writing > Personality profile > More than 500 words

“Well done.”

3rd place, Writing > Specialty articles > Arts and entertainment

“Ambitious and well-written.”

Honorable mention, Writing > Columns > General

“A good subject.”

Honorable mention, Writing > Personality profile > More than 500 words

“Well written.”

Tyya Turner

2nd place, Editing for Print or Online Publications > Publications regularly edited by entrant > Magazine/Magapaper

“Chock full of content, but it’s also organized in a beautiful way.”

2nd place, Writing > Feature story > Magazine, newsletter or other non-newspaper publication

“Great work.”

Gwen Woolf

Honorable mention, Writing > Specialty articles > Travel

“Well-researched overview.”