RELEASED: June 15, 2001

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College received a Silver Anvil award Thursday night at the Public Relations Society of America ceremony in New York City.

The award—the highest honor in the industry—was for work done in collaboration with Preston-Osborne, a Lexington public relations and marketing firm, for the "Thrill in the ‘Ville" vice-presidential debate campaign. The award was in the Special Events and Observances category.

The "Thrill in the ‘Ville" public and media relations campaign involved creating an educational web site, a partnership with the largest Internet network of U.S. high schools, a debate poster that is displayed in the Smithsonian Institution, and media kits that were distributed on a national level. Centre became the smallest college to ever host a nationally televised debate.

"We set the standard by which future debates will be judged—in preparation, in execution, and in tone," said Centre College president John Roush. "Much of the credit for this belongs to Preston-Osborne. We are proud to share this with the Preston-Osborne staff and everyone who worked to make the debate successful."

The debate between Dick Cheney and Joseph Lieberman took place Oct. 5, 2000, as 28 million viewers watched the candidates engage in a civil, substantive discussion of the issues on Centre’s campus.

"Centre College hosted the finest vice presidential debate ever held," CBS news anchor Dan Rather said.

It was the second straight Silver Anvil award for Preston-Osborne. The firm took honors last year for its work with the PRIDE environmental clean-up program in Southern and Eastern Kentucky. Preston-Osborne became the first firm of its size to win back-to-back Silver Anvil awards.

"It’s a tremendous honor and distinction for everyone who took part in these campaigns," said Phil Osborne, president and CEO of Preston-Osborne. "Our staff, Centre College’s staff and all the volunteers who worked on ‘Thrill in the ‘Ville’ should be proud of their efforts and the success that was achieved."

The PRSA awarded 46 Silver Anvil awards from 736 entries—the second highest total submitted in the history of the event. For more information about PRSA and the Silver Anvil awards, visit www.prsa.org and www.silveranvil.org


Contact: Clarence Wyatt
(859) 583-6898

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