The Agricultural Relations Council’s (ARC) 2013 Golden ARC Awards Contest were recently announced at the organizations annual professional development meeting in Oklahoma City, OK. 14 Golden ARC winners and 18 Merit winners were awarded to elite agricultural public relations professionals.

This year the Golden ARC de Excellence Award was awarded for the best all-around entry in the campaign division. Congratulations to the American Farm Bureau Federation for receiving the acclaimed award for their public relations campaign, public affairs entry “Estate Tax Campaign”.

Agency Charleston | Orwig took home the most awards with five Golden ARC Awards and three Merit awards for clients Novartis Animal Health, Illinois Soybean, Smithfield Foods Inc. and the AgChat Foundation. Right behind them were Osborn Barr and Farmer Lumpe + McClelland, each winning seven awards.

“This year’s contest included many strong, creative entries with impressive measurable results,” said Amy Keith McDonald, contest manager. “In its history, the Golden ARC Awards Contest has established a precedent of being the most prestigious agricultural PR awards program in the nation.”

“The Golden ARC Awards Contest is unique in that it is the only award competition directed to agricultural marketing communications professionals that is not judged by our peers in agriculture,” she continued. “The competition is judged by public relations professionals who are not directly or indirectly linked to the entries.”

Members of the Florida Public Relations Association served as judges focusing on audience analysis, creativity, execution and campaign results.

Here you can find a complete list of the 2013 Golden ARC Awards winners: 2013 Golden ARC Winner