Florida Realtors® Receives Two National PR Awards

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Nov 08, 2010, 10:05 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- What do Florida Realtors®, United Nations Foundation, National Education Association and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History have in common? All received national awards for outstanding public relations efforts from PR News in a ceremony held Nov. 3 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

PR News' Nonprofit PR Awards Program honors the nation's top communicators and teams in the nonprofit sector. According to the company, award winners "join a distinguished circle of those holding the key to 'best practices' in the nonprofit communications arena." Most PR News winners operate nationally; Florida Realtors was one of the few national winners that operate at the state level. Organizers called the competition "fierce" and winning an award "a major accomplishment."

"Realtors across Florida are proud of our award-winning state association," says 2010 Florida Realtors President Wendell Davis, a broker with Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville. "Congratulations to our members, our leadership team and staff on this well-deserved national recognition for Florida Open House Weekend and our talented communications team, who are the best in the business."

Florida Realtors garnered two awards as finalists in the national competition, including "Association-Nonprofit Team of the Year," which recognizes the overall quality of a communications team. Jeff Zipper, Florida Realtors vice president of communications, attended the luncheon and accepted the honorable mention on behalf of Florida Realtors.

"This award belongs to everyone here at Florida Realtors, from the leadership team to the communications staff to each and every member of the association," says Zipper. "We've been fortunate to create unique campaigns that get everyone involved. When the staff, leadership and members start moving in the same direction, we create magic."

The second award presented to Florida Realtors was in the "PR on a Shoestring Budget" category. The association earned an honorable mention for the "Florida Open House Weekend" campaign held April 10–11, 2010. A "shoestring budget" campaign uses limited financing to create media interest.

"Taking a cue from President Wendell Davis, the Florida Realtors Communications Team organized 'Florida Open House Weekend' by coordinating local association efforts, providing balloons and creating media buzz," says Zipper. "But this is a perfect example of a campaign that exceeded expectations because members got involved. Over 15,000 Realtors hosted open houses during 'Florida Open House Weekend.' Florida Realtors may have 11 communication pros on staff, but we have 115,000 people who are part of our communications team."

To see a complete list of winners, visit PR News' website at: http://www.prnewsonline.com/nonprofitpr2010

Florida Realtors®, formerly known as the Florida Association of Realtors®, serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its 115,000 members in 67 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Media Center website is available at http://media.floridarealtors.org.

SOURCE Florida Realtors