The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi earned two APEX Awards of Excellence in the twenty-second annual recognition of superior publications work by professional communicators.

Phi Kappa Phi’s new “Great Minds Think Alike” promotional effort was one of only seven entrants to win in the Marketing Campaigns & Programs category. Begun in August 2009, Great Minds Think Alike features thumbnail sketches and photos of noteworthy members including novelist David Baldacci, astronaut Wendy Lawrence and Ohio State University head football coach Jim Tressel. The ads have appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, in school newspapers at campus chapters, in Phi Kappa Phi Forum, and on the Society Web site, among other places. In addition, color posters featuring the Great Minds can be found on the campuses of Phi Kappa Phi member institutions nationwide.

“The Great Minds Think Alike campaign was created in large part to showcase the multidisciplinary nature of the Society,” said Traci Navarre, Director of Marketing and Member Benefits and the brainchild of the project. “Phi Kappa Phi members are doing excellent work in nearly every field imaginable, and featuring some of our high-profile members seemed a natural way to illustrate that range of expertise.”

For the second year in a row, Phi Kappa Phi Forum picked up an APEX Award for Publication Excellence for Magazine & Journal Writing, this time for its spring 2010 edition, themed “Spring Is in the Air.” One of about two dozen winners, it included scholarly articles about the annual spring return of cliff swallows, why taxes fall on April 15, how NCAA basketball’s “March Madness” resonates beyond the court, and the imperative of protecting America’s wildflowers, plus columns on related topics such as spring allergies and the workplace for spring college graduates. (The APEX Award-winning spring 2009 edition, entitled “Starting with Beginnings,” looked at various types of formations from evolutionism to dance.)

“We strive for a learned and varied roster of contributors who write with not only authority but also grace, and the spring edition is yet another demonstration of that achievement,” said Editor Peter Szatmary, whose first edition as the magazine’s leader was the spring 2009 issue. “Phi Kappa Phi Forum is, indeed, a multidisciplinary quarterly that enlightens, challenges and entertains its diverse readers.”  

Apex Awards recognize accomplishments in editorial content, graphic design and overall impact of magazines, newsletters, newspapers, annual reports, brochures, manuals, Web materials and other mass-communication products. More than 3,700 entries were submitted for the 2010 contest, including 1,132 in 127 Awards of Excellence categories. Upwards of 600 magazines, more than 700 writing entries, and nearly 200 marketing campaigns competed. Judges included various professionals from Writing That Works: The Business Communications Report.

— Staff report