Chicago’s vast community of public relations professionals filed into the Harold Washington Library on Wednesday, October 4, and made their way up to the luxe Winter Garden for the 65th Annual Golden Trumpet Awards. Organized by the Publicity Club of Chicago, the Golden Trumpet Awards is one of the most prestigious award ceremonies in the Midwest, and recognizes the hard work of over 60 organizations for their various campaigns in communications, marketing, and public relations.
The evening kicked off with opening remarks from former Columbia College Chicago faculty member, Jane Canepa, who has been a lifetime member of the Publicity Club of Chicago. Canepa shared that a handful of her previous students from Columbia were in attendance, and that some were being honored with awards.
Among the Columbia College Chicago community in attendance was Raven Hibbler, who graduated from the school in 2016 after majoring in public relations and minoring in journalism, and is a current board member for the PCC.
“I got involved with the Publicity Club of Chicago right out of college,” she said. “Jane [Canepa] would just invite me to different events. I remember we had a Mediapalooza at Navy Pier, and that was my first introduction to everything PCC, and I thought it was so cool.”
Hibbler became a board member last year after being invited by the club. “Last year, Jane nominated me for “30 Under 30” and then I connected with DeRondal [Bevly] who’s the president of PCC, and then a few months later they were like, ‘Hey we want you to be on our board,’” she added.
Hibbler is also the current director of marketing and communication at Tapestry 360 Health. She worked on Tapestry 360’s rebrand campaign, “Unveiling Tapestry 360 Health (Integrated Civic Communications),” and submitted it to the PCC for consideration. After being judged by her fellow board members, Hibbler was informed that her campaign won a Golden Trumpet award.
This year’s ceremony was Hibbler’s second time attending the awards after being honored last year as one of the club’s esteemed “30 Under 30.”
“It’s just a great moment to recognize all of the work that has been done,” she said. “It’s kind of a nice family reunion — [getting to] see people who you haven’t seen in a year.”
Also in attendance was Tapestry 360 CEO Nicole Willis, and Hibbler’s mother Kimberly Coleman to celebrate the achievement.
Coleman said she’s known her daughter was destined for great achievements since Raven was three. “Tonight has been wonderful, I’m always up for any event my daughter has,” she said. “Knowing that she came to Chicago to go to Columbia College and to see all of her achievements and awards, it’s a blessing, and I look forward to many more.”
“Columbia paid off because she has a lot of awards,” Coleman added with a chuckle.
The evening continued with plenty of chatter, drinks, and laughs as a three-course dinner was served. Former Columbia College Chicago faculty member and PCC Vice President Anne Marie Mitchell kicked off the announcements of this year’s award recipients, alongside PCC’s treasurer Kimberley Rudd. Later in the evening, Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman received the Lifetime Achievement award.
The significance of receiving an award for Tapestry 360’s campaign was not lost on Hibbler, who recognized how much she’s accomplished in the short time since her graduation from Columbia College Chicago.
“What I would say to my college self tonight would be, ‘don’t stress, trust God, never make myself small in any situation, and to always be myself,’” she said.
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