You celebrate everyone else’s wins. Now it’s your turn.
Posted by [email protected] on Jul. 2, 2026 / Subscribe 0
By Malinda Mason Miller, president-elect, PRSA Dallas
Let’s be honest. Communications professionals are very good at celebrating everyone else.
We write the talking points, polish the executive quotes, prep the spokespeople, chase the metrics, coordinate the photos, calm the last-minute nerves and somehow still remember where the step-and-repeat is supposed to go. Then, when it comes time to spotlight our own work, many of us suddenly become very humble, very busy or very convinced that “it was just part of the job.”
This is your friendly reminder from PRSA Dallas: Your work is not “just part of the job.” It is strategy, creativity, leadership, relationship-building, credibility protecting and measurable impact. And the Pegasus Awards exist to recognize exactly that.
Each year, the PRSA Dallas Pegasus Awards honor outstanding public relations and strategic communications efforts across North Texas. The call for entries typically opens in August for work produced between August of the preceding year and July of the current year, making now the perfect time to look back at the campaigns, projects and “how did we pull that off?” moments that deserve a closer look.
The awards are open to members, non-members and students, and each entry receives a constructive critique from an independent panel of judges from another PRSA chapter.
For many communicators balancing client needs, internal expectations, team leadership, mentoring, deadlines and the occasional “can you make this go viral?” request, award submissions can feel like one more thing on the list. But Pegasus entries are more than a chance to take home a trophy. They are an opportunity to pause, gather the proof points and tell the full story of work that too often happens behind the scenes.
Christopher Ruth, APR, vice president of communications at Buckner International, puts it this way:
“The ROI of submitting to the Pegasus Awards goes well beyond a trophy. I love challenging younger PR practitioners to look beyond their tactics and connect the dots of their work with organizational challenges and outcomes that move the needle. An award entry provides the perfect opportunity to work with members of my team within the tight parameters of a one to two-page submission focused on RPIE. While it’s great if they win an award, I simply love helping them through the process, pushing them to think more strategically, and watching as they realize the true impact of their work on our organization and stakeholders.”
That is the real magic of the process. The Pegasus Awards are built around RPIE: research, planning, implementation and evaluation. In other words, they ask us to do what great communicators already do every day – understand the challenge, define the audience, build a smart plan, execute with intention and measure what changed because of the work.
Submitting can also be a powerful professional development exercise. It gives newer practitioners a framework for thinking beyond the tactic. It gives experienced leaders a chance to mentor. It gives teams permission to step back from the day-to-day swirl and say, “Wait, this was actually pretty impressive.”
And yes, it gives you a reason to use the word “measurable” with a little extra sparkle.
Jo Trizila of TrizCom Public Relations agrees that the value goes far beyond the winner’s circle:
“For us, submitting for the Pegasus Awards each year is about more than winning. It’s an opportunity to benchmark our work against some of the best communications professionals in the industry and to celebrate the results we achieve for our clients.”
Since 2017, TrizCom Public Relations has earned six Pegasus Awards and three Best of Show honors.
“While we’re proud of the recognition, the real value comes from the discipline of documenting strategy, execution and measurable outcomes,” Trizila said. “The submission process challenges us to reflect on what worked, what could be improved and how we continue raising the bar for our clients.”
That reflection matters. Whether you work in an agency, corporate communications, nonprofit, government, education or as an independent counselor, your best work deserves to be documented. It also deserves to be celebrated by peers who understand the strategy behind the story placement, the diplomacy behind the internal rollout, the creativity behind the campaign and the patience behind every approval chain.
And if you are waiting for someone else to nominate you, consider this your sign to nominate yourself, your team or that colleague who somehow makes crisis communications look calm.
PR pros are often excellent advocates for clients, leaders and causes; the Pegasus Awards are a moment to advocate for the value of your own expertise, too.
“Awards don't define great public relations, but they do provide a meaningful way to recognize excellence, innovation and results,” Trizila said. “That's why we continue to participate year after year.”
So, pull the campaign recap. Revisit the metrics. Text your teammate and ask, “Do we still have that screenshot?” Find the objective you wrote six months ago and connect it to what actually happened.
You may discover that your “small project” was a smart, strategic win. You may also discover that your team has more Pegasus-worthy work than you realized.
When the call for entries opens on Tuesday, July 28, please submit your great work. The early-bird pricing is only $110. That’s a pretty fair price when it comes to proving your team’s worth – and giving them a much-needed “attaboy.”
Not because you need a trophy to validate your work, but because the process will help you sharpen your thinking, celebrate your team and show the North Texas communications community (not to mention the bosses in the “C Suite”) what excellence looks like.
And if a Pegasus happens to fly home with you? Well, that is an added bonus.
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