Maryville, Tenn. — Mary Beth West Consulting, LLC, a public relations and reputation management firm in Maryville, Tenn., won “Best in Show” and multiple top honors at the annual awards dinner of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Volunteer Chapter on May 12 at Hunter Valley Farm.

The event also honored Kevin Painter of LeConte Wealth Management with the Community Service Award, which recognizes an individual or organization who has used public relations practices to improve the quality of life within East Tennessee communities.

The agency won “Best in Show” for the 2010 holiday media relations campaign for Dandy Lions as well as 10 “Award of Excellence” honors in the following categories:

• Public Service: Blount Education Initiative
• Media Relations: Dandy Lions 2010 Holiday Campaign
• Public Affairs/Government: Expanding Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Scientific User Community
• Marketing Consumer Products: Rainscapes
• Marketing Consumer Services (Financial): LeConte Wealth Management
• Marketing Business-to-Business: Interactive Springboard 2010 Launch Campaign
• Writing (Column): LeConte Wealth Management “Purpose-Built Portfolio”
• Collaterals (Direct Mail): Rainscapes 2010 Direct Mail Campaign
• Website (Professional Service): Rainscapes website
• Blogs: Mary Beth West Consulting “In the Profession” Blog

Joe Bogardus, Mary Beth West, Amy Schwinge, Mallorie Mendence and Tyra Haag following the V Awards ceremony.

Interactive Springboard – a collaboration between Mary Beth West Consulting and Knoxville-based Blue Media Boutique – shared top honors for the newly redesigned Avistelé website; Avistelé Lifestyle Communities is managed by Knoxville-based RenaissancePG.

 “I’m so appreciative of the clients we’ve been privileged to serve,” said agency principal Mary Beth West. “Throughout my career, I’ve held tremendous respect for the public relations profession; my team is honored with the overwhelming response by our colleagues to recognize the work we so highly value.”

Painter – a graduate of Maryville High School and co-founder of LeConte Wealth Management– was  honored with the Community Service Award.

“Kevin has been a client for three years and a dear friend for many years longer,” said West. “Of all the colleagues I have in my age cohort in the local community, I can think of no one who takes on more community service efforts to support the non-profit, social service and arts sectors than Kevin.” 

Established in 2003 and located in the Law Building in downtown Maryville, Mary Beth West Consulting works with clients to advance their communications, relationships and reputations to meet business objectives. 

The firm’s services include integrated brand marketing communications strategies and campaigns; media, community and employee relations programs; social and interactive media strategies and program management; crisis preparedness; and special events.

by Tyra E. Haag

What’s your communications strategy for 2011? How do you plan to implement it?

According to a 2009 speech from Emory University Goizueta Business School’s Paul Carroll, “Plenty of lessons can be learned from the glut of businesses that have fallen under the swift sword of merciless recession. There are a number of mistakes being made, but the number one cause of failure is misguided strategy – not sloppy execution, poor leadership or bad luck.”

Although there’s a light at the end of the economic recession tunnel, it’s still paved with a few speed bumps known as fear, doubt, confusion and uncertainty.

This means being more strategic and purposeful in all facets of communications efforts. Most economic experts forecast a somewhat brighter economic outlook this year. Don’t get too excited yet. In order to get more bang for your communications-budget buck, take a moment to make sure your approach is an appropriate one.

This Thursday, Mary Beth West, principal of Mary Beth West Consulting, LLC, and Tori Rose of interactive firm Blue Media Boutique, LLC, will partner with independent market researcher Rebecca Bryant of Bryant Research to present do’s and don’ts of interactive tool development at the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Volunteer Chapter meeting at 11:30 a.m. at Rothchild’s in Knoxville.

Their message to the chapter is a simple one: cookie-cutter approaches to social media are costly and ineffective. Template-driven approaches can be profitable for interactive agencies and firms that sell website and social media development, but they rarely produce good results for the client.  

Although social media is just one facet of an overall communications strategy, customization is the key when developing a plan for the New Year. Organizations must keep in mind that a communications strategy is not a one-size-fits-all deal. What works for one company may not work for another. 

Allow me to reach into my bag of sports analogies.

The University of Tennessee Men’s Head Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl’s mantra of having his players always be fired up, focused and prepared, has served both him and his teams well over the years.

Former Vol basketball standout Chris Lofton says of Pearl, “When he first got to Tennessee, I was just a shooter,” the three-time All-American said. “But by the time I left, he and his staff turned me into a scorer.”

Fired up. Focused. Prepared. Shouldn’t your 2011 communications strategy represent that same mantra?

Now, make it a goal to not only shoot but also score with your communications efforts in 2011. Of course, if you need a little coaching along the way, our team is here to help you with a game plan.

The event also honored Mallorie Mendence – senior account service coordinator at Mary Beth West Consulting and a Maryville native – with the PRSA Rising Young Professional Award, which recognizes an outstanding public relations professional in East Tennessee who has worked for six years or less in the field.

The agency won public relations campaign “Award of Excellence” honors in the public service category for its Blount Education Initiative Public Awareness Campaign and in the marketing consumer services—financial category for its LeConte Wealth Management Marketing Campaign.

The firm’s work producing strategic communications tools also received “Award of Excellence” honors in five areas:  non-profit media relations for the Blount Education Initiative; consumer services media relations for LeConte Wealth Management; media kit development in the service category for Todd Richesin Interiors; press conference implementation for the Blount Education Initiative; and external web site development for Blount Education Initiative.

The web site award was shared by the agency with Knoxville-based interactive firm Blue Media Boutique, which together with Mary Beth West Consulting launched Interactive Springboard in early 2010 to formalize the firms’ collaboration in online and social media strategy research, reputation management and measurement. 

In addition, Mary Beth West Consulting won four “Award of Quality” honors for several news releases and media relations campaigns.

“For me, one of the most rewarding parts of managing this firm has been building a team of professionals who share high values for producing great work that meets clients’ business objectives and also serving the public in meaningful ways,” said agency principal Mary Beth West.  “I’m proud of my team, and I’m also appreciative of the clients we’ve been privileged to serve.”

Mendence – a graduate of Maryville High School – joined Mary Beth West Consulting in December 2007, following her graduation with honors from Berry College in Rome, Ga., with a degree in public relations, as well as completion of a summer internship with Mary Beth West and other practicum experience. 

In her position with the firm, Mendence works with the account team to coordinate campaigns for agency clients.  She serves on the board of directors of Maryville City Schools Foundation and is a past board member of the Community Food Connection. 

Established in 2003 and located in the Law Building in downtown Maryville, Mary Beth West Consulting works with clients to advance their communications, relationships and reputations to meet business objectives. 

The firm’s services include integrated brand marketing communications strategies and campaigns; media, community and employee relations programs; social and interactive media strategies and program management; crisis preparedness; and special events.