The American Association of Port Authorities selected 22 seaports to be recognized for exemplary communications projects and programs at its annual convention and awards luncheon, set for Oct. 21-25 in Mobile, Ala.


The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), an Alexandria, Va., trade association representing leading port authorities throughout the Western Hemisphere, selected 22 seaports to be recognized for exemplary communications projects and programs at its annual convention and awards luncheon. Winning entrants in the 45th annual Communications Awards Program will be recognized at an Oct. 25 luncheon in conjunction with AAPA’s 101st Annual Convention, Oct. 21-25 in Mobile, Ala.

“When port authorities communicate strategically with their many audiences, including their communities, business leaders and government representatives, they’re better able to articulate their value as economic development and jobs drivers,” says Kurt Nagle, president and CEO of AAPA. “This competition helps our member ports by rewarding effective communications and highlighting best practices and lessons learned.”

The 2012 AAPA Communications Awards Program received 101 submissions from 25 AAPA-member ports. The association’s communications competition utilized 29 professional public relations practitioners from the Washington, D.C., area, who cumulatively spent more than 115 hours over a period of two weeks judging the 15 classifications of entries, ranging from advertisements and periodicals to videos and websites.

Based on the number of points awarded each entry by the judges, 15 submissions from 10 ports received an Award of Excellence, while 19 submissions from 12 ports scored an Award of Merit and 24 submissions from 11 ports earned an Award of Recognition.

The Port of Long Beach, winner of AAPA’s top communications award in 2004 and 2011, will again receive the Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence, which is bestowed on the port earning the most award points in AAPA’s communications competition.

To see all of the winning entries in the 2012 AAPA Communications Awards Program, as well as winners from previous years, go to http://www.aapa-ports.org/Programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=692&navItemNumber=697.