Ports of Indiana to receive four international awards for communications

July 10, 2012 - The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), a trade association representing leading port authorities throughout the Western Hemisphere, recently announced that the Ports of Indiana will receive four Communications Awards at the 101st annual AAPA Convention this fall in Mobile, Ala.

This was the highest number of awards the Ports of Indiana has ever received in the annual competition and trailed only the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in total awards. The top honor that the Ports of Indiana received was an Award of Excellence for the quarterly magazine, Portside. Additional honors included Awards of Merit for the website portsofindiana.com and the 2011 Indiana Logistics Directory, as well as special recognition for a brochure titled Connecting the World to America's Heartland.

We would be honored to receive one award but to earn four in one year is quite an accomplishment, said Rich Cooper, CEO for the Ports of Indiana. Communicating the significance of Indiana's three ports is often challenging since we are not a coastal state; not everyone understands our geography allows us to reach the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Gulf of Mexico via the inland river system. But, make no mistake, Indiana has one of the premier inland port systems in North America and it is gratifying to see our efforts recognized alongside the biggest ports in the country.

AAPA selected 22 ports for exemplary communications projects from 101 submissions. The association utilized 29 public relations professionals from the Washington, D.C. area to judge entries ranging from advertisements and periodicals to videos and websites. Only 15 submissions from 10 ports received an Award of Excellence and 19 submissions from 12 ports scored an Award of Merit.

When port authorities communicate strategically with their many audiences, including their communities, business leaders and government representatives, they're better able to articulate their value as economic development and jobs drivers, said Kurt Nagle, AAPA's president and CEO. This competition helps our member ports by rewarding effective communications and highlighting best practices and lessons learned.

The Port of Long Beach will receive the Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence, which is bestowed on the port earning the most award points in AAPA's communications competition.

Founded in 1912, AAPA today represents 160 of the leading port authorities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean and more than 300 sustaining and associate members, firms and individuals with an interest in ports.

The Ports of Indiana is a statewide port authority that operates a system of three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan in Mount Vernon, Burns Harbor and Jeffersonville. For more information, please visit www.portsofindiana.com.