ST. LOUIS (September 14, 2001) - The St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA), Paradowski Graphic Design and The Standing Partnership recently received national award recognition for their work on the RCGA 2000 Report/2001 Outlook to the Community. The report received top honors in the Association category at the 15th Anniversary International ARC Awards ceremony. The competition is the largest and most prestigious international awards show honoring excellence in annual reports. "This report is one of the RCGA's most important member communications," said Dick Fleming, RCGA president and chief executive officer. "It outlines the accomplishments of the past year as well as our initiatives in the coming year. This is critical in defining the St. Louis region's role in the New Economy."
The competition includes entries from organizations and individuals involved in producing annual reports for publicly-held or privately-owned companies, government agencies, associations and not-for-profit organizations. All submissions were based on the 2000 calendar or fiscal year.
"The content and design of this report was created to reinforce the excitement, energy and momentum underway in this region to position St. Louis as a leader and an innovator," added Alex Paradowski, creative director of Paradowski Graphic Design.
An international panel of judges evaluated nearly 1,500 entries in 12 major categories submitted by 800 different companies from 21 countries representing more than 170 industries.
Criteria used to select winners included Cover Design, President's Letter, Writing, Interior Design, Financial Presentation, and Overall, how well the spirit of the organization is reflected in the annual report.
Judges represent top-level investor relations executives, financial executives, writers, designers and photographers from more than 50 different agencies and corporations in the United States, Canada, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The judges ranked the entries with a score between one and 100, with average scores above 90 receiving Gold Awards. Only seven percent of entries were classified as Golds and less than 25 percent placed as Silver, Bronze and Honors winners.
The ARC Awards, established by MerComm, Inc. in 1987, were created to honor overall excellence in annual reports, and to encourage noteworthy and vital writing, as well as imaginative and original design. MerComm, Inc. is an independent organization dedicated to defining the standards of excellence in the communications fields and to recognize the individuals whose work has made an outstanding contribution to their organization, corporation, or client.
The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) has more than 4,000 member firms and nearly 2,000 volunteers active in committees, programs, events and activities. The RCGA was formed in 1836, when rapid growth led business and civic leaders to establish the original St. Louis Chamber of Commerce. Over the years, the mission has remained the same: unite the St. Louis region's business community and engage dynamic business and civic leadership to develop and sustain a world-class economy and community.
Paradowski Graphic Design provides clients with a strategic approach to visual communications that culminates in results-oriented marketing tools, including corporate identity, brochures, web sites, annual reports and other publications.
The Standing Partnership was founded in 1991 by Cathy Dunkin and her sister. Their maiden name was Standing, thus the name of the firm. The firm is a member of the Worldcom Public Relations Group and Cathy Dunkin currently serves as chair-elect, America's Region. A generalist firm, The Standing Partnership has expertise in life sciences, business-to-business, consumer products and technology communications. The current staff is 19 and 2000 billings topped $2 million.