Congrats to this year's ADDY winners

The Tri-State Advertising & Marketing Professionals once again honored exemplary advertising during its annual American Advertising Awards, also known as the ADDYs. The region's professionals and students received recognition for their expertise, with Southeast Missouri State University and rustmedia leading the pack.

Held at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau on Feb. 24, the ADDYs paid tribute to "51 professional entries and 10 student entries, with gold, silver and bronze distinctions. It included three professional Best of Show gold awards and one student Best of Show award," as the Southeast Missourian reported. It was no small task whittling the entries down to the winners, as "129 print, digital and multimedia entries created, published or aired in the Cape Girardeau, Paducah, Kentucky, and Harrisburg, Illinois, markets between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2016" poured in.

Southeast, especially, deserves accolades for its seven gold awards, among which was Best of Show in the digital division for its "Talking Booth" video. A Southeast group project called "Parengo Coffee Packaging" took home the student Best of Show.

Kudos, too, for the five gold awards rustmedia earned, including two Best of Show honors: one in the print division for "Downtown Cape Branding" and another for "Life Without" in the cross-platform division.

Element 74 president, Chris Edmonds, received the Silver Medal Award. The decades-old honor is given to those who have made "outstanding contributions to advertising and have been active in furthering the industry's standards, creative excellence and responsibility in areas of social concern," a release explained. We are impressed with Edmonds not only for his work in advertising, but for his work across the globe. "He also does international ministry work in Swaziland, Africa, and Haiti." Under his leadership, Element 74 took home three silver and five bronze awards.

The award winners are too numerous to name, but all should be as proud of their accomplishments as we are. We know firsthand the dedication and creativity it takes to produce compelling advertising. Not only that, but we also know how important such advertising is in today's culture. We, therefore, offer applause and appreciation for those who were celebrated at the ADDYs and for all who are engaged in this meaningful work. Congratulations!