FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COOK & SCHMID WINS PRSA SILVER ANVIL AWARD
San Diego Rescue Mission Gains National Recognition for Innovation and Creativity

NEW YORK (JUNE 19, 2007) – Cook & Schmid is the recipient of this year’s prestigious Silver Anvil Award, sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), for its work promoting the San Diego Rescue Mission. The Silver Anvil, which recognizes outstanding achievement in strategic public relations planning and implementation, was presented during the Silver Anvil Awards Evening held June 14 in New York City.

Cook & Schmid received the 2007 Silver Anvil Award for its San Diego Rescue Mission campaign in the Branding and Reputation Management category. Cook & Schmid worked with the Mission to change the face of homelessness, engage new stakeholders, and diversify and enlarge the donor base within the framework of a sustainable reputation management program. The program was notable for results that were directly correlated to tactics implemented by Cook & Schmid, including Sleepless in San Diego, a benefit sleepout held in April that raised several hundred thousand dollars for the Mission. Cook & Schmid’s program for the San Diego Rescue Mission was led by agency partner Jon Schmid and was initiated at Gable-Cook-Schmid PR, which was dissolved in November 2006.

“The PRSA Silver Anvil Awards are the highest watermark of success for any public relations practitioner,” said Sherry Goldman, 2007 PRSA Silver Anvil Awards chair and president, Goldman Communications Group, Inc. “We congratulate Cook & Schmid for their public relations program that incorporated measurable and sound research, planning, execution and evaluation. This program contributes to the best practices of our industry.”

“Winning the industry’s highest honor, and in the company of some of the world’s largest, most respected agencies, is pretty inspiring for a young, independent agency like ours,” said Schmid. “But what we’ve been honored for is even more meaningful. Raising awareness of and encouraging support of the life-changing work that happens every single day at the San Diego Rescue Mission is a pretty important illustration of the potential of public relations.”

The Silver Anvil Awards has grown in scope and stature since its inception in 1946. The Silver Anvils are awarded to programs in 54 categories. In the 60 years since the inception of the program, more than 1,000 organizations have received Silver Anvils for excellence in strategic public relations planning and implementation.

ABOUT COOK & SCHMID
Cook & Schmid specializes in reputation and issues management, marketing and advertising for private and public companies, organizations and government agencies, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. Cook & Schmid partners personally manage each program and lead expert teams to ensure measurable success, from positioning a new company, launching new services or products, growing a bottom line or passing a referendum. The firm’s partners include a former journalist with multiple Pulitzer Prize nominations, and its senior team members boast an average of 20 years experience. Additional information is available at www.cookandschmid.com.

ABOUT THE PUBLIC RELATIONS SOCIETY OF AMERICA (PRSA)
The Public Relations Society of America www.prsa.org, headquartered in New York City, is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals with more than 31,000 professional and student members. PRSA is organized into 109 Chapters nationwide and 20 Professional Interest Sections and Affinity Groups, which represent business and industry, counseling firms, independent practitioners, military, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations. The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has 285 Chapters at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

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