IEEE-USA Wins International Public Relations Award

WASHINGTON (29 July 2004) – IEEE-USA won first prize in the special event and observance category of the Golden World Awards for excellence in public relations, the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) announced in London on 30 June. Top prizes went to 27 public-relations programs from 11 countries, out of 237 entries.

IEEE-USA was recognized for its planning, coordinating and fundraising activities in connection with the IEEE’s lead society participation in National Engineers Week (EWeek) 2004, which included:

• Organizing a United Nations briefing on “Girls and Technology: New Educational Opportunities”
• Supporting three additional teams to compete in the national Future City Competition, which the IEEE launched in 1993 when it last led EWeek, as well as implementing a study of the Future City program’s impact on participants to be used in fundraising
• Continuing the EWeek Family Day event that attracted more than 8400 youngsters and adults to the National Building Museum in Washington to enjoy hands-on engineering activities
• Running ads in USA Today and the International Herald Tribune promoting diverse, new role models for engineers
• Producing an award-winning “12 New Faces of Engineering” calendar for minority engineering students

The IEEE, with its corporate partner, the Fluor Corp., led a coalition of more than 70 engineering, education and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations and U.S. government agencies in what the National Academy of Engineering considers the engineering profession’s preeminent outreach effort. Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, EWeek now reaches thousands of schools, businesses and community groups in the United States.

An international jury of 44 senior public relations practitioners from 25 countries examined the entries for competence and quality. In addition to IEEE-USA, winners included such global PR firms as Burson-Marsteller, Weber Shandwick, Fleishman-Hillard Saunders, Ketchum and Edelman -- submitting entries on behalf of such multinational companies as American Express, Pfizer, Xerox, 3M and GlaxoSmithKline.

The IPRA Golden World Awards, now in its 14th year and sponsored by Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., will be presented in London on 21 October. IEEE-USA Public Relations Director Pender M. McCarter, an IPRA member, will accept the award on behalf of IEEE-USA and 2004 EWeek Chair Joseph V. Lillie. IEEE-USA received its first Golden World Award in 1991 for an advertising and public-relations campaign, “Winning With Technology,” reinforcing IEEE-USA’s legislative agenda of enhancing competitiveness at home and abroad.

IPRA is the premier association for senior international public relations professionals. For more information on the 2004 IPRA Golden World Awards, go to http://www.ipra.org/services/gwa.htm.

IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of the IEEE. It was created in 1973 to advance the public good and promote the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 225,000 technology professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org.

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