PHILADELPHIA — December 4, 2009 — Jack Horner Communications Inc. (JHC), a full-service public relations and marketing communications agency, and its client, Carnegie Mellon University, have won a 2009 Pepperpot for “Special Events and Observances (seven days or fewer)” from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

JHC was honored with the first-place award for work on The Gates & Hillman Centers Dedication at Carnegie Mellon. JHC collaborated with the university to integrate a series of related campus events and initiatives last fall to promote the opening of the new state of the art complex.

Made possible by a lead gift of $20 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the building included new classrooms, graduate and faculty offices, conference rooms, labs and open project space. Response to the program was overwhelming—the allotted seats for Bill Gates’ keynote address were filled in a matter of minutes.

The Pepperpot Awards program is an annual competition held by PRSA Philadelphia to recognize excellence and creativity in public relations programs and tactics in the Delaware Valley. This year’s competition attracted nearly 100 entries.

PRSA is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals. The organization has nearly 32,000 professional and student members, which represent business and industry, counseling firms, independent practitioners, military, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations.

“Our collaboration with Carnegie Mellon’s terrific internal team made this win possible for our agency,” said Jack Horner, president of JHC. “We are grateful to be recognized by our industry peers for our work on the Gates & Hillman Centers Dedication.”

ABOUT JACK HORNER COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Jack Horner Communications Inc. is a full-service, award-winning public relations and marketing communications agency, established in 1992. The agency services a diverse client roster representing a wide range of products, services, issues and opportunities. Clients include PPG, Carnegie Mellon University, Parata Systems, Tozour Energy Systems, Philadelphia Marketplace and many others. In 2009, JHC was named a Philadelphia “Top-10” PR firm by the Philadelphia Business Journal. For more information, visit www.jackhorner.com, follow us on Twitter at jackhornercomm and become a fan of JHC on Facebook.