HPBA Nets Two Awards for
Grassroots Campaign in Utah
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA) took home two awards last week – the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Silver Anvil Award and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) “Power of A” Silver Award – for HPBA’s success in defeating a proposed winter wood-burning ban in Utah. Under the state’s sweeping proposal, even residents who had made the responsible investment in low-emission wood stoves certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would have had to find alternative, costlier sources of heat for nearly half the year.
Working closely with HPBA members, DC-based communications consultants Stratacomm, and Salt Lake City-based Wilkinson Ferrari & Co., HPBA developed and launched the Utahns for Responsible Burning campaign in just a matter of weeks. The campaign resulted in a tremendous public outcry that forced regulators to rescind the proposal and prompted state lawmakers to overwhelmingly pass HPBA-supported legislation that prevents Utah's Air Quality Board from imposing a similar ban in the future.
Other results included:
- 2,000 attendees packed seven public hearings, with the crowd nearly unanimously opposed to the wood-burning ban.
- Almost 100 news articles and local TV segments generating more than 25 million media impressions.
- 3,500 petition signatures supporting responsible burning in less than a month.
- 3,000 new subscribers to the campaign e-mail list, 2,500 followers on social media and 25,000 unique visits to the website during its first four weeks online.
For more than 70 years, PRSA’s Silver Anvil award has served as the most distinguished honor in the field of public relations, recognizing complete communications campaigns that incorporate measurable and sound research, planning, execution and evaluation. The awards are judged by an elite group of national public relations professionals. HPBA and its partners received the Silver Anvil award in the Community Relations for Associations/Nonprofit Organizations category.
The ASAE Power of a Silver Award is the second highest recognition that a program can receive within one of the five Power of A Award categories. The Awards recognize and celebrate the contributions associations make to society by enriching lives, creating a competitive workforce, preparing society for the future, driving innovation and making a better world.
