NSSF Finalist for PR/Communications Awards

NEWTOWN, Conn., March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has been named a finalist in four different communications categories and one individual category in the non-profit/association division by PR News Online.

NSSF, the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry, was a finalist in Advocacy Campaign & Lobbying Efforts, Annual Publication & Brochure, Digital PR and Marketing and Public Affairs and Issues Management, and Mark Thomas, managing director, marketing communications, is a finalist for Non-Profit Communicator of the Year.

PR News' Non-Profit PR Awards are recognized as the industry's top honor in the public relations-communications non-profit space, showcasing outstanding marketing communications initiatives among the nation's leading nonprofits and associations. The coveted awards set the industry benchmark for excellence across all areas of marketing communications. According to PR News, the winners of the Non-Profit PR Awards are the ones who had a strategic and integrated marketing communications plan and then executed the plan economically and professionally.

"As a finalist for PR News' Non-Profit PR Awards, NSSF shares company with the nation's top associations and non-profit organizations," said Chris Dolnack, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of NSSF. "Being recognized for these prestigious awards demonstrates the high level of work being produced by NSSF on behalf of our more than 6,000 members."

For the second consecutive year, NSSF has been recognized for its Annual Review. This year's edition details the organization's 50th anniversary. Hunting Works for America is a program developed in conjunction with the Public Affairs Company of Minneapolis, Minn., to communicate the social and economic importance of hunting and is a finalist in the Advocacy Campaign and Issues Management categories. Bullet Points, a weekly newsletter for the outdoor industry with a readership of over 60,000, achieved finalist status in the Digital PR and Marketing category.

Thomas began with NSSF in June 2009 and is responsible for all marketing communications strategic planning while directing the efforts of the marketing communications team, which is an 11-member department with specialists and category experts in creative and editorial services, electronic media, emerging media and traditional communications.

"NSSF has made great strides using multimedia and digital communications to keep its members informed about its coordinated efforts to promote, protect and preserve our industry and our sports," said Thomas, NSSF's managing director of marketing communications. "It is always gratifying to have your work recognized by professionals in the PR-communications industry. It's a tribute to the entire NSSF family."

Winners and honorable mentions in the PR News' Non-Profit Communications Awards contest will be honored at a luncheon in May in Washington, D.C.

About NSSF

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 6,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen's organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

NSSF is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011. Learn about the Foundation's history at www.nssf.org/50.

SOURCE National Shooting Sports Foundation