November 2009
Melbourne Health Public Affairs
Director Jan Sharrock and Public Affairs Officer Catherine Lander receive the
award from new PRIA president Robina Xavier.
Royal Melbourne anniversary promotion wins award
The national award, in the
Special Event/Observance category, was presented at the PRIA conference in
Brisbane.
Melbourne Health won the
Victorian award in the same category the month before.
The PRIA awards recognise top
performers in Australia for excellence, best practice and professionalism in
public relations and communication.
The judges agreed The Royal
Melbourne Hospital’s 160th celebration campaign was the standout submission.
They said it was ‘an impressive
campaign of events over a long timeframe with virtually no budget and executed
by what must be a highly committed and talented in-house team.’
The public affairs team was
commended for its ‘outstanding range of tactics/ implementation and measurable
evaluation of outcomes against objectives.’
Melbourne Health’s win was
particularly noteworthy as most other finalists were public relations agencies
working for large corporate clients with substantial budgets.
Also, the PRIA, with its tough
scoring system, did not award a top prize in all categories.
Melbourne Health’s Public
Affairs team successfully engaged staff in the year-long celebration of the RMH
160th anniversary in 2008, which has led to a stronger sense of community and
reinforced the organisation’s values of respect, caring, integrity,
unity and discovery.
Just some of the activities
during the year were a walking challenge, new Living Our Values Every Day
(L.O.V.E.D.) awards, staff photographic exhibition, an RMH Month to mark the
opening of the hospital in 1848, an historical exhibition on the women of RMH
and their role in the development of public health, the opening of the relocated
Merlyn Myer Historical Room, unveiling of the RMH Research and Respond Tapestry
that was created through an artist-in-residency and a staff commemorative book.
Many of the initiatives have now become annual events.
