VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATORS 2021 COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST

Work published between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020

VPC announced state-level contest winners at a virtual event with dozens of members on March 26, 2021. With the exception of our sweepstakes winner, who is listed first, the winners below are listed in alphabetical order. All 1st place entries advance to the national contest. Congrats to all!

Patty Kruszewski

Sweepstakes Winner

For most first, second, and third places

Lyndsie Blakely and Xavier Harrison

First Place

Web and Social Media > Video for Web > Video for nonprofit or government organization

Southern Belle Food Truck

Lyndsie Blakely and Alyce Loeser

First Place

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

Visit Farmville

Lyndsie Blakely and Marge Swayne

Third Place

Writing > Feature Story > Online publication

“Booking Success with SBDC”

Sunni Brown

First Place

Information for the Media > Media Pitch

“Lyme disease symptoms could be mistaken for COVID-19, with serious consequences”

Sunni Brown, Lindsey Grow, Cynthia Price

Third Place

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

@URNews2Use: Twitter Feed for Media Relations

Julie Campbell

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Personal essay

“Remembering Dad, Who Survived WWII, with Love and Pride”

Michele Cook

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Social issues

“1800 Year Sentence for Killing Man Molesting 6-year-old Half-sister”

First Place

Web and Social Media > Blog > Personal

“Survival Gardening for Newbies”

Second Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Agriculture

“When Hens Stop Laying”

Third Place

Web and Social Media > Personal Website

“Toes in the Dirt”

Third Place

Photography > Photographer-writer

“Should You Teach Your Horse How to Drive?”

Honorable Mention

Web and Social Media > Electronic Newsletter > Nonprofit, government, or educational

Covington Farmer’s Market Newsletter

Frances Broaddus Crutchfield

Second Place

Writing > Editorial/Opinion

“Pass the Equal Rights Amendment”

Kristina Eisele

First Place

Public Relations Materials > Catalog, Manual, or Handbook

SVHEC R & D Rebranding: Brand Guide

Second Place

Communications Programs and Campaigns > Marketing Program or Campaign

Virginia Children’s Book Festival

Kristina Eisele and Krista Gargano

First Place

Public Relations Materials > Report

SVHEC Annual Report

Paul Fletcher

First Place

Writing > Editorial/Opinion

“Good Riddance to the Bounty System”

First Place

Writing > Columns > Humorous

“Cornhole in the Pawpaw Patch” and “Holiday Style”

Audrey Hingley

First Place

Writing > Feature Story > Magazine, newsletter/other publication

“Stuckey’s Lives Again”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Specialty Articles > Travel

“The Laws Railroad Museum”

Beth JoJack

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Business

“Stars in Their Eyes”

First Place

Writing > Feature Story > Print-based newspaper

“Gourd Stories to Tell: Suzy Mink Carves Pumpkin Masterpieces”

Third Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Physical health

“Fighting Loneliness”

Gail Kent

Second Place

Public Relations Materials > Report

“2019 Report on Philanthropy for Norfolk State University”

Patty Kruszewski

First Place

Writing > Feature Story > Online publication

“Learning by Heart”

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Green/environmental

“Eco-Corridor breathes new life into Near West End”

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Physical health

“Henrico teen makes candles for a cause”

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Arts and entertainment

“Virus Can’t Silence Chorus Voices—or Memories”

Second Place

Writing > Feature Story > Online publication

“New Community honors legacy of ‘unstoppable’ Britlyn”

Second Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Social issues

“First Aid for Youth”

Second Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Physical health

“Walkers find comfort in time of stress”

Third Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Social issues

“Thinking inside the box”

Kimberly Loehr

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Science or technology

“Lightning Protection Systems for Metal Construction”

First Place

Writing > Headlines

“Shining a Light on Lightning and Its Impact; Lightning, the Explosive, Yet Often Overlooked Danger; Striking Back at Lightning: 20 years of saving lives; Lightning: The overlooked threat striking schools”

First Place

Information for the Media > News or Feature Release – Single Release

“Will Lightning Death Count for U.S. Remain Unconfirmed?”

Kimberly Loehr and Elizabeth Coffey

First Place

Graphics and Design > Graphics > Infographics

“Striking Back at Lightning: 20 Years of Saving Lives (In support of National Lightning Safety Awareness Week)”

Alyce Loeser

First Place

Web and Social Media > Blog > Corporate or for-profit

“Brown, Burgundy and Beyond: Leather to the Limits”

Second Place

Web and Social Media > Video for Web > PR video promoting specific product or service

“Letterpress Communications: Marketing for the Community”

Ilsa Loeser and Julia McCann

First Place

Communications Programs and Campaigns > Crisis Communications

Farmville Cares/South Central Virginia Nonprofit Network

Rachel Marsh

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Reviews

“Review: Round Barn Estate’s Cream Wine”

Second Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Travel

“The Great Smokies: Live Like a Kid Again!”

Third Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Personal essay

“Things I Wish I Knew at the Beginning of the Pandemic That I Know Now”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Specialty Articles > Sports

“I’ll Never Make It to the Olympics: An American Dream Crushed”

Julia McCann

First Place

Communications Programs and Campaigns > Marketing Program or Campaign

Longwood University Graduate Program Marketing

Second Place

Communications Programs and Campaigns > Crisis Communications

The Woodland—COVID PR Campaign

Julia McCann and Krista Gargano

Third Place

Public Relations Materials > Report

Craft Brewery Export Guide

Kristine Meldrum Denholm

Second Place

Writing > Feature Story > Magazine, newsletter/other publication

“Here’s How Northern Virginia is Tackling the Opioid Crisis”

Ann Oppenhimer

First Place

Writing > Columns > Personal opinion (bylined, not editorial)

“Message from the Executive Director, #99”

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Obituary (expanded from a regular obituary)

“Jim Clark, 1938-2020”

First Place

Writing > News Story > Magazine, newsletter/other print publication

“Exciting Events at Christie’s Outsider Art Auction”

Second Place

Editing for Print or Online Publications > Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant > Magazine/Magapaper

Folk Art Messenger #100

Second Place

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

Folk Art Society of America Facebook Page

Second Place

Web and Social Media > Website Edited or Managed by Entrant > Nonprofit, government or educational

Folk Art Society of America Website

Sande Snead

First Place

Advertising > Radio and Television Advertising > Television

“Could it be COVID?”

First Place

Advertising > Advertising Poster, Billboard or Banner

Spread Positive Vibes

First Place

Advertising > Single Advertisement

“Could it Be COVID?”

First Place

 Advertising > Advertising Campaign

“Could it Be COVID?”

Pamela Stallsmith

Third Place

Writing > Editorial/Opinion

“Support redistricting reform on Nov. 3”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Editorial/Opinion

“After the statues fall, now what?”

Martha Steger

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > History

“The 19th Amendment: 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage”

First Place

Writing > Personality Profile > 500 words or fewer

“Made in Tidewater: Inner Vision”

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Travel

“Travel Insurance: Benefits and Warnings”

Second Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > History

“Census: More Than a 10-Year Count”

Second Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Personal essay

“Beyond the Brandenburg Gate”

Second Place

Writing > Books, Short Stories, Verse > Creative Verse > Single poem

“Birder List-Keepers”

Third Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Travel

“For Baseball Fans and Foodies: Fort Myers”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Specialty Articles > Travel

“Discovering Mayberry”

Annie Tobey

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Food

“And the Winner Is … Singing the praises of cocktails and spirits”

First Place

Writing > Columns > General

Editor’s Letters

First Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Government or politics

“Give Me Liberty or Give You Death”

Second Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Green/environmental

“Make America Green Again”

Third Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > History

“Once an Inn, Still an Inn”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Feature Story > Magazine, newsletter/other publication

“All About Barrels”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Specialty Articles > Physical health

“More than an Elixir of the Gods: Holiday safety and the responsibilities of drinking”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Specialty Articles > Social issues

“Epiphanies from a White Woman in the Capital of the Confederacy”

Annie Tobey and Rachel Marsh 

First Place  

Editing for Print or Online Publications > Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant > Magazine/Magapaper  

Boomer Magazine July-August 2020 

Joan Tupponce

First Place

Writing > Personality Profile > More than 500 words

“Here She Is! Virginia’s Miss America”

Second Place

Writing > Columns > General

“Women, Space, Science, Astronauts, and the People They Inspired”

Second Place

Writing > Personality Profile > More than 500 words

“Essential Leader Danny Avula”

Third Place

Writing > Personality Profile > More than 500 words

“Activism, equity, basketball: Charles McLeod and the start of VCU’s first black student organization”

Third Place

Writing > Feature Story > Magazine, newsletter/other publication

“The Art of the TV Talent Show”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Specialty Articles > Arts and entertainment

“Dress On”

Tyya Turner

Honorable Mention

Writing > Personality Profile > More than 500 words

“Mizzou alumnus Nathaniel Reid enjoys the sweet taste of success”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Feature Story > Online publication

“Alumnus builds tables to continue family legacy at Oregon State”

Honorable Mention

Writing > Feature Story > Online publication

“Ohio State brother’s research could have lasting impact on coronavirus treatment”

Paulette Whitehurst

First Place

Writing > Books, Short Stories, Verse > Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers > Autobiography or Memoir

A Child Is a Poem You Learn by Heart:  A Memoir in Verse

Sheila Wickouski

Second Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Arts and entertainment

“ ‘Degas at the Opera’ ready for audiences at National Gallery of Art”

Third Place

Writing > Specialty Articles > Arts and entertainment

“ ‘ecofeminism(s)’ Exhibition Connects Feminism, Art and Eco-Consciousness”

Gwen Woolf

Honorable Mention

Writing > Specialty Articles > Travel

“Recharge Your Batteries at Wintergreen Resort”