The Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL) has announced the winners of the Torche’ Awards, presented at the annual state conference held at Louisiana State University of Alexandria (LSUA) on June 17. The Torche’ Awards recognize excellence in public relations from across the state.

PRAL members can enter into different categories in three tiers –

Tier One – Long-Term Strategic Programs and Campaigns (7 months or more)

Tier Two – Short-Term Strategic Programs and Campaigns (0-6 months)

Tier Three - Tactical Materials/Projects

Each entry is individually judged based on five categories that follow PRSA’s Four Step Public Relations Process - Research, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation (RPIE), as well as creativity. Entries with an average score between 90-100 receive a Torche’ Award. Entries with a score between 80-89 are recognized with an Award of Excellence and those receiving a score of 70-79 receive a Certificate of Merit.

Torche’ Award winners in each category tier are then judged again against other Torche’ Award winners in the category to determine the Best of Tier winner. The three Best of Tier winners are then judged against each other to determine the overall Best of Show winner.

Submissions were evaluated by accredited public relations (APR) professionals from outside Louisiana.

Tier 1 - Long-term Strategic Programs
Awards of Merit
Louisiana Board of Regents - Celebrating 50 Years of Regents
Chris Yandle, APR

Torché Awards
Louisiana Board of Regents - The In The Know Newsletter - Internal Communications
Chris Yandle, APR

Tier 2 - Short-Term Strategic Programs
Awards of Excellence
Louisiana Board of Regents - Dual Enrollment Report Media Event - Community Relations & Public Service 
Chris Yandle, APR

Tier 3 - Tactical Materials
Awards of Merit
Visit Baton Rouge - The 2023 Impact Report - Collateral Materials
Tamaria Williams

Louisiana Board of Regents - The Master Plan Year 5 Update - Collateral Materials
Chris Yandle, APR

Visit Baton Rouge - The College Gameday Instagram Reel  - Social Media Management 
Tamaria Williams

Sadie Wilks, APR was also named PRAL Educator of the Year, and Micah Walker, MBA, APR, won the Professional Achievement Award.