Skip to main content
HomeSpotlight Awards

2026 Spotlight Awards and Awards of Distinction

Did you do great work this year? Do you know someone who is a star in our chapter? It's time to enter your work for a Spotlight Award or nominate someone for an Award of Distinction!

PRSA Oregon celebrates the best of the public relations and communications industry. The PRSA Oregon Spotlight Awards recognize campaigns and tactics exemplifying excellence and leadership in public relations, digital media, and integrated communications. The Awards of Distinction commemorate commitment, support, leadership and lifetime achievement by outstanding communication leaders.

Best - PRSA Spotlight Awards 2025-78

2026 Spotlight Awards

The Spotlight Awards recognize campaigns and tactics that exemplify excellence and leadership in public relations, digital media and integrated communications. Entries scoring between 53-60 earn a Spotlight Award. These awards were given high marks by the judges for exceptional campaigns and tactics that exceeded goals, got noticed and measured much success. Those scoring between 45-52 points earn a Merit Award, earning an honorable mention for all the hard work.

Enter by August 31!

  1. Download and read through the entry instructions.
  2. Look at examples of winning entries.
  3. Decide what category you want to enter.
  4. The 2026 awards recognize work completed between January 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
  5. Prepare your entry. Don't forget to include your summary document and any other required elements.
  6. Visit the Spotlight Awards entry portal, submit your entry and pay your fee(s). $120 for members, $150 for non-members and $45 for students. We also have a pro bono category.
  7. Entries are due August 31, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

This is your opportunity to showcase the campaigns, strategies, and communications work that made an impact. Whether you delivered measurable results, navigated a complex challenge, strengthened community engagement, or launched a standout campaign, we want to celebrate your success.

Enter Today!

Why Enter?

  • Earn recognition from industry peers.
  • Showcase your work and results.
  • Highlight your organization's or your client's achievements.
  • Celebrate the creativity, strategy and impact behind your success.

Have questions? Contact us.

Save the Date for the Spotlight Awards!

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026
5:30 p.m.
Nordia House at Nordic Northwest (8800 SW Oleson Rd., Portland, OR 97223)


Registration coming soon.

Awards of Distinction

Our Awards of Distinction recognize those individuals who have given exemplary service to our chapter, profession and communities. PRSA Oregon celebrates its members through four distinct awards:

Awards of Distinction Requirements

New Professional Award of Excellence

The New Professional Award of Excellence honors a chapter member who has entered the field of public relations within the past five years. The recipient must have demonstrated their commitment to advancing public relations through: Career achievements, volunteerism and the highest standards of professionalism.

  • 2024 - Josh Kulla and Alexes Jones
  • 2021 - No award given
  • 2020 - Thelma Hale, MBA
  • 2019 - Eric Johnson
  • 2018 - Nicole Shaddy
  • 2017 - Nicole Early
  • 2016 - Megan Donaldson
  • 2015 - Prapat "Jojoe" Nujoy
  • 2014 - Colby Reade, APR
  • 2013 - Taylor Long
  • 2012 - Julie Williams
  • 2011 - Kate Pitchlynn
  • 2010 - Jamie Godfrey

Olga M. Haley Mentorship Award

The Olga M. Haley Mentorship award reflects our chapter’s dedication to supporting members at every stage of their careers and lives. A legendary figure in Portland public relations, Haley’s background included leadership roles at Gerber and Leopold Ketel, where she spent most of her career before forming her own firm, Power Public Relations. A longtime member of the PRSA Portland Metro Chapter and accredited in public relations, Haley served as president in 2003.

Recent winners:

  • 2024 - Carol Fenstermacher, APR
  • 2023 - Tracy Lam, APR
  • 2022 - Julie Reed, APR, MBA
  • 2021 - Mary Louise VanNatta, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • 2020 - Lise Harwin, APR; Mark Mohammadpour, APR; and Dave Thompson, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • 2019 - John C. Mitchell, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • 2018 - Donna Z. Davis, Ph.D.
  • 2017 - Taraneh Fultz, APR
  • 2016 - No award issued
  • 2015 - Tom Unger, APR, ABC, CTM, Fellow PRSA
  • 2014 - Patti Atkins, APR; Chuck Williams, APR; and Mara Woloshin, APR, Fellow PRSA

Ron Schmidt Community Involvement Award

The Ron Schmidt Community Involvement award honors the outstanding use of public relations to support community improvement and important causes. For nearly 30 years, Ron Schmidt served as an aide to Oregon Gov. Tom McCall, then as the owner of the state’s biggest and most influential public relations firm. He stood at the center of public policy in business, government and the arts.

Ron Schmidt continually raised our collective awareness, consciousness and commitment. Schmidt served nationally on the President’s Commission on the Arts and the board of directors of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

A recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award, Ron Schmidt died in 1992 at the age of 56.

Recent winners:

  • 2024 - Mara Woloshin, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • 2023 - Josh Thomas, MPA
  • 2022 - G. Harvey Gail, MBA
  • 2021 - Kat Hendrix
  • 2020 - David Lucas, Maurice Lucas Foundation
  • 2019 - Sheila Hamilton, Communicator, Author, Advocate for Mental Health
  • 2018 - Gary Withers
  • 2017 - Dianne Danowski-Smith, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • 2016 - Stacy Moe-Kean, APR
  • 2015 - Michael Duyck, TVR&R
  • 2014 - Frank Grady, Grady Britton
  • 2013 - Carole Morse, Portland General Electric
  • 2012 - Katlin Smith, APR, Urban Words Group
  • 2011 - Friends of Trees
  • 2010 - Ron Arp, Amplify Group

At the 2013 Spotlight Awards, PRSA’s Portland Metro Chapter celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Ron Schmidt Community Involvement Award through a commemorative video. Film clips courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society.

William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award

The William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement award honors an outstanding leader in the field of public relations.

For nearly four decades, William W. Marsh was a towering figure in public relations in Oregon. A charter member of the Portland Metro Chapter, which was merged into the PRSA Oregon Chapter in 2017, Marsh served as president in 1963. After 28 years in the profession, Marsh joined Marylhurst University, where he taught from 1986 to 1993, establishing a public relations certificate program.

William Marsh died in 1996 at the age of 81. He was the first recipient of the award named in his honor.

Recent winners:

  • 2024 - Rhonda Morin, APR
  • 2023 - Vicki Guinn, MS
  • 2022 - Patti Atkins, APR
  • 2021 – Wendy Lane Stevens
  • 2020 – Michael Lewellen, APR
  • 2019 – Sally Ridenour, APR
  • 2018 – Mary Louise VanNatta, APR, Fellow PRSA, CAE
  • 2017 – John Mitchell, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • 2016 – Barbara Kerr, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • 2015 – Dave Thompson, APR, Fellow PRSA
  • 2014 – Kathryn Hubbell, APR, M.S., Fellow PRSA
  • 2013 – Darcie Meihoff, APR
  • 2012 – Michael J. Riley, APR, PRC
  • 2011 – Tom Unger, APR, ABC, Fellow PRSA
  • 2010 – Lisa Donoughe

Contact Us: membership(at)prsaoregon.org