Florida Realtors® Receives Two National PR Awards

ORLANDO, Fla., March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- What do Florida Realtors®, the U.S. Olympic Committee, PBS, the United Nations Foundation and the Nature Conservancy have in common? All received national awards for outstanding public relations efforts from PR News in a ceremony held earlier this week at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110314/DC64568LOGO )

Florida Realtors won the top honor in the Branding/Re-Branding category for the Florida Realtors PAC "I Give Because…" Campaign and brought home an Honorable Mention in the Fundraising category.

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 space." Most PR News winners operate nationally; Florida Realtors was one of the few winners that operate at the state level. Organizers called the competition "fierce" and winning an award "a major accomplishment." More than 200 nonprofit communicators from across the U.S. attended the March 11 event.

"Congratulations to Florida Realtors – it's a privilege to be counted among these highfliers," says 2013 Florida Realtors President Dean Asher, broker-owner with Don Asher & Associates Inc. in Orlando. "We're proud of our outstanding communications and public policy teams, who definitely deserve this national recognition. The work they do every day on behalf of Florida Realtors members goes above and beyond."

Some of the other finalists for the two categories include: IES Abroad; Strategic Image, Inc. - Catholic Charities Money School; Henson Consulting Inc. - Champs for Charity: Hockey Greats Suit up to Raise Funds for Ronald McDonald House; and the Carmelita Group - The #IAM CAMPAIGN.

"To make a campaign like 'I Give Because …' successful, it takes everyone here at Florida Realtors, from the leadership team to the communications staff to each and every member of the association," says Florida Realtors Vice President of Communications Jeff Zipper. "We've been fortunate to create unique campaigns that get everyone involved. When the staff, leadership and members move in the same direction, we create magic. It's an honor for Florida Realtors to be recognized alongside so many outstanding national organizations."

Florida Realtors Communications and Public Policy teams worked together to determine the scope of the "I Give Because…" project. The campaign featured a new logo and branding elements, print ads in Florida Realtor magazine, graphics, banner ads, stories in Florida Realtors News, a special Florida Realtors PAC microsite with interactive tools, posts in the state association's social media channels and videos of Realtor members' stories, along with other collateral materials.

To read more about the Florida Realtors PAC "I Give Because…" Campaign, go to http://www.prnewsonline.com/awards/2013/03/11/2013-nonprofit-pr-awards-branding-rebranding/. To see a complete list of winners, visit PR News' website at http://www.prnewsonline.com/nonprofitprawards2013/.

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 118,000 members in 63 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Media Center website is available at http://media.floridarealtors.org.

SOURCE Florida Realtors