Arvest Bank was recognized twice at the annual ARcom Award ceremony in Little Rock on Thursday night.
The ceremony is hosted by the Arkansas chapters of the Public Relations Society of America and the International Association of Business Communicators, and is designed to recognize exceptional public relations programs. Arvest won a Prism Award in the category of Public Service, as well as the Bob Sells Best of Show Award, both for its annual Million Meals campaign.
Accepting the awards on behalf of Arvest were – left to right – Ginger Daril and Caroline Minor of Sells Agency, Arvest marketing manager Caroline Reddish, president and CEO of Arvest Bank for central, northeast and southwest Arkansas Jim Cargill, and Mike Sells.
The Public Service category consists of entrants that run programs promoting societal good, in which the sponsoring organization’s principal motivation is altruistic or philanthropic. Sells, founder of Sells Agency, was a veteran public relations professional whose contributions to the industry were recognized across Arkansas and the nation.
Arvest has conducted its Million Meals campaign for the past nine years in an effort to help feed the hungry across the bank’s four-state footprint. During that time, Arvest – with the help of its customers, community members and associates – has raised a total of 16-plus million meals, including more than $2.8 million in funds given directly to the banks dozens of local food partners. In the 2019 campaign, Arvest raised more than 2.4 million meals.
More than 80 entries were submitted for consideration in 40 categories. The entries were judged by members of the West Virginia chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.