Porter Novelli Honored with a L.I.G.H.T. Award from The TORCH Program

NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Global public relations leader Porter Novelli has been honored with a 2010 L.I.G.H.T. award from TORCH (Together Our Resources Can Help), a program that provides underserved New York City public high school students with intensive exposure to career training and opportunities in communications and the arts. Porter Novelli is the first public relations agency to receive this honor.

The TORCH L.I.G.H.T. Awards - which honor Leadership, Inspiration, Guidance, Heart and Teaching - acknowledge those organizations and individuals who have helped make a difference in the lives of underserved NYC high school students. Through their generosity, time, expertise and hard work, honorees have provided the light and inspiration that has kept TORCH burning bright for 11 years.

"We at Porter Novelli are truly honored to receive this recognition," said Anthony Viceroy, global president, chief financial officer, Porter Novelli and member of the board of directors of The TORCH Program. "TORCH is providing extraordinary opportunities to students who may not otherwise have exposure to careers in communications and the arts. It is our pleasure to give these students hands-on training in our business, and to encourage the entire communications industry to draw from a more diverse talent base with the creativity and broad experience needed to help clients compete effectively in the constantly evolving global marketplace."

Porter Novelli's partnership with The TORCH Program is a key component of the agency's diversity initiative and its commitment to ensuring that Porter Novelli is comprised of individuals whose backgrounds and cultures may be different, but who share a common passion for communications excellence and for driving clients' business forward.

Founded in September 1999, TORCH was the vision of advertising and marketing executive Peter Drakoulias. TORCH participants meet weekly throughout the school year to work on a variety of projects in communications and the arts, gaining hands-on experience and training. While the participants benefit immensely from the guidance of professional mentors and volunteers on each project, they are also expected to take ownership and assume leadership roles. Working with their peers they gain valuable team building skills, which are essential to success in today's work environment. The success achieved through completion of TORCH projects builds participants' self-esteem and assists them as they navigate the other challenges in their lives.

"Porter Novelli's support of TORCH has been extraordinary," said Peter Drakoulias, founder, The TORCH Program. "From Shadow Days to offering internships to teaching PR 101 to mentoring graduates of our program, they have taken every opportunity to support us and encourage the educational and career goals of our students. We are absolutely delighted to honor the agency with a 2010 L.I.G.H.T. award."

Other honorees this year include Nancy Hill, president and CEO of the 4As, and Quintin Rodriguez-Harrison, a TORCH graduate. The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, November 10th at Marquee in New York City.

About TORCH

Limited resources prevent many New York City high schools from including significant after school programming and a comprehensive school-to-work curriculum. TORCH helps fill that void and transforms the lives of under-served New York City public high school students by providing intensive exposure to career training and opportunities in communications and the arts, all while facilitating a meaningful way of increasing the diversity of the workforce in those industries. Through hands-on career focused projects, educational outreach, counseling and professional mentors, students are provided with the tools to formulate and pursue career and educational goals. www.thetorchprogram.org

About Porter Novelli

A global public relations leader, Porter Novelli was founded in 1972 and is a part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC). In 90 offices in nearly 60 countries, Porter Novelli combines the power of immersion with the rigor of research to create deep human insights that enable the agency to transform the opinions, beliefs and behaviors of those who matter most to its clients. For additional information, please visit www.porternovelli.com.

SOURCE Porter Novelli