Special Olympics World Games Communications Team Receives Top Honors At 2016 PRism Awards Ceremony

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Public Relations Society of America – Los Angeles Chapter (PRSA-LA) handed out its annual PRism Awards on November 16 at a ceremony at the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood. An independent panel of judges from the Georgia Chapter of PRSA scored more than 159 submissions and awarded 66 PRism Awards, the highest form of recognition bestowed on local public relations professionals, and 39 Awards of Excellence.

Hosted by Phillip Palmer, the ABC7 Eyewitness News morning anchor, and correspondent Albert Lawrence, the ceremony also honored the 2015 Special Olympics World Games Communications and Media Operations Team as the PR Team of the Year. PRSA-LA also recognized the team's leader, Steven Vanderpool, with the Joseph Roos Community Service Award. Actors John C. McGinley and Lauren Potter, both Special Olympics Ambassadors, presented the awards.

"The public relations efforts surrounding 2015 Special Olympics World Games were nothing short of extraordinary," said Victoria Lelash, PRSA-LA chapter president. "The team hosted 1,200 journalists from 79 countries helping to propel coverage of the Games, international and domestic, to more than 20 billion media impressions through multiple mediums."

Steven Vanderpool was honored for his distinguished 30-year career as a sports public relations professional and community servant. A volunteer PR position on the global media relations team for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles set Vanderpool on his professional course and instilled a passion for service. In recent years, Vanderpool has been a wish-granting volunteer for Make-a-Wish Foundation.

The Trevett Award, which honors an outstanding young professional, was given to Diana Pinedo of Castells & Asociados. Finn Partners took home the PRism Award for Best in Show, an honor given to the highest scoring entry for the evening, for its work for The Recording Academy. Consensus Inc. received the President's Award, which goes to the team earning the most awards of the evening.

The 52^nd annual PRism Awards ceremony was sponsored by Charter Spectrum, Princess Cruises, UCLA Extension, PR Newswire, Advotocracy, Business Wire, News Exposure, Cunard, Golin, Blue Shield of California, RSE and Los Angeles Magazine.

CONTACT: Mindy Carson Brundige, Executive Director, info@prsala.org

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SOURCE PRSA-LA