If you haven’t already heard the news, Portfolio Center won the Radio-Mercury Student Award, an awesome honor for writing (and, incidentally, our second year in a row to take it) — snagged by our own Zack McDonald and Elizabeth Perlman. Because Zack is currently interning at Stone Yamashita in San Francisco, and Elizabeth is also on the West Coast, interviewing for jobs, they couldn’t attend the ceremony. I flew up for the awards luncheon on June 8, held at the exquisite Cipriani Midtown in New York City.

I thought you might like to see some photos of the event, along with a peek behind-the-scenes. The Radio-Mercury Awards are radio’s most generous awards competition, granting over $150,000 in prizes annually, including a $100,000 Grand Prize. Sponsors include ABC Networks, Arbitron, CBS Radio, Katz, the Radio Advertising Bureau, the Susquehanna Networks, Westwood One, and Clear Channel.

In the Professional arena, Portfolio Center alum and writer Nik Bristow accepted a $5000 award on behalf of Fitzgerald and Co. for his 30-second spot entitled “Doctors” for Piedmont Hospital, and alum Erik Fahrenkopf, now at Deutsch Advertising, was on the Divito-Verdi agency team who won the $100,000 grand prize.

Here are some pics:

Me with the Trophy

Acceptance Speech (written on my plane ticket in the cab on the way to luncheon—blog for another day)

Working off my plane ticket notes

Nik, hamming it up

Grand Prize Winners John Clement, Barbara Michelson, and Dan Giachetti, from Devito/Verdi

Cumulus of Grand Junction finalist Dave Christi, $5,000 General Prize Winner Nik Bristow with guest Ali Kliegman, and myself

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