Blacksmith Awards 2026

2026 BLACKSMITH AWARDS INFO SESSION

Hear from Blacksmith Awards Co-Chair Helen Tracey-Noren and Lexi McCoy about the this year’s awards. You’ll also find helpful tips about how you can turn a year's worth of hard work into award-winning entries.

Session document

MACKENZIE PIERCE'S ENTRY TIPS

Don’t forget, it’s all about the metrics! Mackenzie Pierce of Ohio National Financial Services describes what you need for your award-winning entry.

DREW BOEHMKER’S ENTRY TIPS

Never underestimate the importance of a good proofreader. Drew Boehmker, Senior Account Executive at Scooter Media, shares his best Blacksmith Awards entry advice.

MAUREEN RICHMOND’S ENTRY TIPS

Check out this tip from Maureen Richmond, VP of Integrated Communications at Bon Secours Mercy Health and a 2018 Blacksmith Award recipient, on how to prepare a winning entry.

ALLISON SCHROEDER’S ENTRY TIPS

There’s one simple suggestion that will help you prepare an award-worthy entry. Hear from Allison Schroeder, Founder and Lead Strategist at Pomme Communications and 2018 Blacksmith Award recipient.

Why enter your work for a Blacksmith award?

by Suzanne Boys, 2026 Cincinnati PRSA Chapter President 

Here we are in the dog-days of summer, and yet our November awards banquet is right around the corner. Alright, so the banquet isn’t right around the corner, but the deadline to submit an entry is.

The entry portal is now open, and here are dates to keep in mind.

Early entry deadline: Friday, August 28
Regular entry deadline:  Monday, September 14
Late Entry Deadline: Friday, September 18
Finalists announced: Wednesday, October 21

If you are new to the Blacksmith awards, let me share a little overview. (You can explore more on our website.) The Blacksmith Awards honor excellent work from the region’s public relations community. The awards are open to all PR professionals in the Greater Cincinnati area, and work conducted by out-of-town organizations for in-town clients is eligible. Entrants must submit original work or work they supervised directly. Entries must be for work produced/managed in the Greater Cincinnati area from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. There are several entry categories, all grouped under Tactics, Campaign, and Professional/Team.

So why should you submit an entry? Here are my top three reasons.

1) Submitting an entry allows you to reflect on your own work. Submitting an entry is an invitation to reconstruct and analyze your work. As busy professionals, we don’t always take the time to fully evaluate our work. But evaluation is an invaluable learning practice. Submitting an awards entry is an invitation to pause, synthesize, and reflect. And that, much like doing the APR panel presentation, can be an opportunity for personal learning and career growth.

2) Submitting an entry equips you for career conversations. Most of us need to account for our work throughout the year. Submitting a Blacksmith entry invites you to summarize your work in a way that can be translated for other important audiences. What value do you add? What impact does your work have? What is the ROI of your efforts? Crafting an award entry helps you answer each of those questions with confidence. Once your entry is submitted, you have language ready for important conversations – from an annual review with your boss to pitching your services to a prospective client.

3) Submitting an entry connects you with a community of professionals. People enter the profession through many pathways. We are former journalists, current educators, media personalities, marketers and more. Submitting a Blacksmith entry is a wonderful way to share your work with our area’s diverse PR community. And whether you win or not, you will get to celebrate with a banquet room full of people who see you, who get what you do, and who value your work.

I hope this encourages you to submit your work for a Blacksmith award. Especially if you have never entered, take this as a personal invitation from me. Enter. What do you have to lose?

Lexi McCoy

Co-Chair