Top Orange County Public Relations Professionals Honored at Annual Awards Event; 29th Annual PROTOS Awards hosted by the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- The 29th Annual PROTOS Awards, hosted by the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (OC/PRSA) honored top local public relations professionals, programs and students Friday, June 25 at the Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach. The annual affair attracted many of Orange County's leading businesses and professionals, including this year's sponsors, The Irvine Company, Business Wire, Euro RSCG Magnet, Morgan Marketing & Public Relations, Pacific Partners, PR Newswire, PrimeZone Media, Roddan Paolucci Roddan, and Porter Novelli.

"Celebrating the best work by Orange County's top PR professionals makes PROTOS a special event every year, and this year's event was no exception," said Marcus Ginnaty, co-chair of PROTOS 2004. "The event attracts the brightest young professionals and industry veterans, top agency talent as well as corporate executives and independent consultants - it really has become the premier awards show in Orange County public relations."

Nearly 70 awards in 27 different categories were handed out by OC/PRSA to top Orange County public relations practitioners and firms. A variety of businesses from industries such as automotive, sports, real estate, technology, transportation, education, healthcare, and trade/professional organizations were all recognized for the best public relations work of 2003 in Orange County.

The awards recognized outstanding performance in categories ranging from community outreach and media relations programs to communication collateral materials and multimedia presentations.

Collecting the most PROTOS awards, the highest award in each category, was Porter Novelli of Irvine, with six. Taking home three PROTOS awards each were Amies Communications of Irvine, Echo Media Group of Tustin with Reach Communications, Integrity Public Relations of Mission Viejo, PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. of Cypress and Waters & Faubel of Lake Forest.

Winning the most Awards of Excellence, with three each, were Hilary Kaye Associates of Tustin and LAER PEARCE & Associates of Laguna Hills. Also honored with two Awards of Excellence each were Amies Communications of Irvine, Bock Communications, Inc. of South Coast Metro, PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. of Cypress, and Sperry Van Ness of Irvine.

OC/PRSA also presented its annual Distinguished Service Awards, the chapter's highest honor. The individual honor went to Dennis John Gaschen, APR, and the organization honor was given to the Orange County Water District's (OCWD) communications department.

Gaschen, an independent public relations counselor and educator, was chosen for his years of service to the public relations profession in Orange County. An instructor at California State University, Fullerton, his dedication to the education of students in the field of public relations has advanced the excellence of the communications industry, and his work as an independent counselor has garnered industry-wide praise.

Ron Wildermuth, director of communications for OCWD, accepted the Distinguished Service Award on behalf of the OCWD communications department for the department's tireless public education and outreach efforts emphasizing the agency's various programs to promote excellence in water resources development and management.

The organization also honored three PR students from local universities with the Richard Gavotto Scholarship and presented each student with $1,000 to further their education in public relations. Jaclyn Brown of Chapman University; Monique Aguilar Macalinao of California State University, Fullerton; and Phiphi Tran of California State University, Long Beach, were this year's recipients.