We are thrilled to have been named professional association of the year 2018 at this year's memcom awards, which took place last week in London. The awards cover professional bodies and membership associations and the RSS was one of many professional organisations shortlisted for its various awards.
We were also delighted to win ‘best campaign on a shoestring’; best young comms executive and were highly commended in the ‘best newcomer’ category.
The best overall professional organisation category was not one that could be entered for, but was judged across all organisations that were involved in the awards.
The judges commented very positively on our winning entries, as follows:
On 'Best Campaign on a Shoestring' for our campaign to end pre-release access to statistics: 'There is no highly commended in this category since there was one outstanding entry, head and shoulders above the rest. The judges liked the clear, simple objective – to stop government spokespeople putting a spin on official statistics by denying them pre-release access. This society mobilised its members to work towards ending this abuse of statistics and, as a result, very significant public benefit was achieved.'
On 'Best Newcomer', RSS membership recruitment manager Rosie Sweeney: 'Our highly commended award goes to a woman who helped increase the number of paying members by 30% in her first year and was hugely successful in recruiting corporate membership and e-students.'
On 'Young Membership, Marketing or Communications Executive of the Year', RSS press and public affairs manager Mags Wiley: 'Through increasing media coverage, developing better links with key stakeholders and staging several very successful events, our winner had a tangible impact on the Society’s effectiveness at delivering for its members, demonstrating excellent results and strong testimonials.'
We are very proud that we have been recognised in this way as a leader amongst professional bodies. We hope it reflects the commitment that RSS staff and fellows have for the organisation and we would like to thank you all for your support.
Photo above shows (l-r): Nicola Emmerson, director of membership and professional affairs, Rosie Sweeney, membership recruitment manager and Iain Wilton, director of policy and public affairs, at the memcom awards ceremony.