The recent PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) banquet might have been mistaken for a Loyola mass communication reunion.  Lots of folks in attendance were alums, with a few current students, faculty and staff adding to the head count.

Loyola pretty much hogged the limelight at the banquet, beginning with a welcoming speech by PRSA New Orleans president and Loyola grad John Deveney. His agency, Deveney Communication, walked away with a handful of awards.  Jeffrey Ory, a past president of PRSA and another Loyola grad, announced that John has been named a PRSA fellow, the first from the NOLA area.

We heard from alum Christine Albert as she accepted a number of awards for Touro.

The Loyola 2009 Bateman team added to their list of accolades. Sure, they’re the current national champs,  continuing Loyola’s tradition of success in the PRSSA competition. And now the team – composed of Janine Sheedy (account executive),  Vicki Voelker, Ashley Sutton, Sarah Mackota and Heather Miranne – has a Silver Anvil award for their campaign, “The Bling Starts Here.”

Lourdes Fulton, a current Loyola PR major, won the PRSA-Nia Robertson scholarship. Robertson, who died in 2007, received a master’s degree in mass communication in 2004 from Loyola.

The crowd was on their feet as Dr. Cathy Rogers was given the Preeminent Plate Spinner Award. Dr. Rogers, head of the PR sequence and adviser to the Loyola PRSSA chapter and the Bateman team, has in the past received the PRSA New Orleans Great Ball of Fire Award.  Her latest honor is one given to “a practitioner and leader who goes beyond their work and makes a difference,” according to John Deveney. Of course, those of us who work with her know she’s a genius at keeping those plates spinning, and she makes us look good by association!

Congratulations to all the PRSA award winners, with special kudos to the Loyola associates who continue to make us proud.