The South Carolina Chapter hosted its annual Mercury Awards celebration on Thursday, May 4, 2017, in Columbia. Communication professionals from across the state were recognized for their work, with more than 100 awards presented at the event.

Their awards program includes three types of awards: Mercury Awards (programs and campaigns), Silver Wing Awards (outstanding tactics) and Individual Awards (career accomplishments). There is a Best of Show award for Mercury and Silver Wing.

To see the Winners Booklet with all winners listed please click here.

To see all the photos from the big night please click here.

The overall Best in Show Mercury Award winner was Erwin Penland, for “Denny’s Makes America Flip Over Tastier, Fluffier, Better Pancakes,” a consumer products campaign for Denny’s.

The overall Best in Show Silver Wing Award winner was Chernoff Newman for “Fresh on the Menu – Poke Plate,” a social media campaign for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

Jamie Prince of Flourish in Greenville was recognized as the W. Thomas Duke Distinguished Public Relations Practitioner of the Year, the chapter’s highest individual honor.

Lauren Shirley of the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Foundation received the chapter’s Rookie of the Year Award, which recognizes a young practitioner with fewer than three years of experience in public relations.

Colonial Life received the George L. Johnson Community Spirit Award for the company’s extensive volunteer service and community partnerships.

Robyn Rudish-Laning of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness in Columbia received the chapter’s first Volunteer Service Award, which recognizes her dedicated service as a committee and board member.

Tyson Blanton, a 2016 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications, received the Public Relations Student of the Year Award. While she was a student, Blanton served as the president of the USC chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), one of three student chapters that SCPRSA sponsors.

The South Carolina Chapter, established in 1967, has more than 200 members across the state representing public relations agencies, corporations, nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education.