For Immediate Release
October 18, 2011
| Contact: | Jennifer Boes Nancy Marshall Communications 207-623-4177 |
Nancy Marshall Receives Maine Public Relations Industry’s Highest Honor
FREEPORT, Maine - Nancy Marshall, president of Augusta-based Nancy Marshall Communications, was awarded the Edward L. Bernays Achievement Award by the Maine Public Relations Council at the organization’s annual conference, held October 13 at the Hilton Garden Inn. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the council to a single practitioner.
Tami Kennedy, president of the Maine Public Relations Council, said, “Nancy’s passion for what she does is rare and inspiring. I have met very few people whose vocation is also their avocation. Nancy is one of those people. Her contributions to the Maine public relations field elevate the prestige of the award to a higher plateau.”
Marshall is the founder of one of the state’s longest-operating and largest marketing communications firms. She started the agency in the basement of her home in Carrabassett Valley 20 years ago, growing it from a one-woman public relations firm to a full-service agency with 14 employees and a client list ranging from the Maine Office of Tourism to Church’s China of Northampton, England.
She began her public relations career in 1982 at Maine Public Television and continued to expand her public relations expertise with positions at Sugarloaf and Hinckley Yachts before founding her own firm.
Marshall said, “I am humbled by this honor. I remember when the late Edward L. Bernays came to Portland in 1984 to speak to the MPRC about how he founded the field of public relations. I was at once inspired and motivated by him to make public relations my profession. I feel very lucky to have found a profession that I love so much, and that suits my personality so perfectly.”
She was joined at the awards luncheon by approximately 60 of her professional peers, her staff, and her mother, fondly called Oma, whom Marshall credits for giving her the strength and determination to become a successful entrepreneur. She also recognized her late father, Frank Briggs, for always tell her she could do anything she set her mind to, as long as she committed herself one hundred percent.
2010 recipient Jon Paradise of the Maine Credit Union League presented Marshall with the award. He said, “Thanks to Nancy’s leadership, influence and success, she was one of the women in Maine public relations to pave the way for the next generation. She is one of the pioneering women in our state who started an agency and has shepherded its growth through the years while hiring and training many young employees. She is an outstanding member of our profession, a tireless volunteer, and an innovator.”
The award’s namesake, Edward Bernays, was an honorary member of the MPRC until his death and is widely recognized as the "father of public relations.”
Marshall is a 1978 graduate of Hebron Academy and a 1982 graduate of Colby College. She earned an M.B.A. from Thomas College in 1994. She lives in Carrabassett Valley with her husband Jay and her two sons Craig and James. Prior to founding her own business she worked at Maine Public Broadcasting, Sugarloaf Mountain Corporation, Hinckley Yachts and The Irregular Newspaper. She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, the Eastern Ski Writers Association and the Maine Public Relations Council. Her website is at www.marshallpr.com and she publishes a blog at www.maineprmaven.com .
