American port association to honor 21 ports for communication efforts

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) recently selected 21 ports that will be recognized for exemplary communication projects and programs on Nov. 12 at the association's annual convention in Houston.

For AAPA's 2014 Communications Awards Program, 40 professional public relations practitioners spent about 160 hours judging entries in 15 categories, ranging from advertisements and periodicals to videos and websites. Based on the number of points awarded each entry, 34 submissions from 11 ports earned an Award of Excellence, 36 submissions achieved an Award of Distinction and 36 submissions attained an Award of Merit.

For example, Awards of Excellence in the "Annual Reports" category will be presented to the Georgia Ports Authority and Port of Stockton, and Awards of Excellence in the "Overall Campaign" category will be given to the Georgia Ports Authority, Port Saint John and Port of San Francisco.

"When port authorities communicate strategically with their many audiences, including their communities, business leaders and policymakers, they’re better able to show their tremendous value as drivers of economic development, environmental enhancement and job creation," said AAPA President and Chief Executive Officer Kurt Nagle in a press release. "This competition helps our member ports by rewarding effective communications and highlighting best practices and lessons learned."

To recognize superior overall performance in the competition, AAPA will honor three ports on Nov. 12. The top-performing port, based on the cumulative judges’ scores for all its entries, will receive the “traveling” Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence for one year. The second-place winner will earn an Overall Award of Distinction and the third-place finisher will obtain an Overall Award of Merit.