Awards & Scholarships
THE LIBERTY AWARDS
The Liberty Awards program recognizes the outstanding efforts made by firms and individuals with a passion for the AEC industry. With categories highlighting marketing, communications, and career achievements, it’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our industry’s BOLD, BRILLIANT, and BEST.
Eligibility and Submission Requirements for 2025 Coming Soon...
THE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AWARDS
Corporate Identity
If your firm has recently undergone a rebranding or taken on a new identity, this category is for you! For rebranding entries, submit a before-and-after sampling of materials. For new identity entries, submit a sampling of materials that convey your firm’s new corporate identity. If available, the corporate identity manual or graphics standards should be included.
Past Winners:
2024 STV (Award of Excellence) | The Berman Group (Merit Award)
2023 Turner & Townsend (Award of Excellence)
2022 Urban Atelier Group (Award of Excellence)
2021 The Vividmark (Award of Excellence) | Thornton Tomasetti (Merit Award)
2020 The Vividmark (Award of Excellence)
2019 Entro | CVEDesign (Merit Award)
2018 FXCollaborative (Award of Excellence) | GreenbergFarrow (Merit Award)
2017 Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (1st Place) | Cerami & Associates (2nd Place) | Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers (Honorable Mention)
2016 LERA Consulting Structural Engineers
2015 The Berman Group
Website
Your firm’s online presence is one of its most important marketing tools. Show off an external, public website that promotes your firm or an internal website launched for the purpose of internal communications. Please include a website link in your application.
Past Winners:
2024 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence) | Turner & Townsend (Merit Award)
2023 WB Engineering (Award of Excellence), The Vividmark (Merit Award)
2022 BCCI Construction & STO Building Group (Award of Excellence)
2021 Dattner (Award of Excellence) | Thornton Tomasetti (Merit Award)
2020 Lilker Associates (Award of Excellence) | STO Building Group (Merit Award)
2019 VHB (Award of Excellence) | MDLX (Merit Award)
2018 The Berman Group (Award of Excellence) | Langan (Merit Award)
2017 HLB Lighting Design (1st Place) | Shen Milsom & Wilke (2nd Place) | PKSB Architects (Honorable Mention)
2016 Arup
2015 Fieldlens
Promotional Campaign
We are looking for a comprehensive, multi-tactic campaign that took place over an extended period to promote a specific company message, event, program, or project. The campaign must include a combination of media – print, digital, or multimedia – and implementation strategies. Include a PDF of the promotional plan describing the campaign’s focus and objectives. If media relations were part of the campaign, submit a PDF of the features developed and a list of results.
Past Winners:
2024 STV (Award of Excellence), WB Engineers+Consultants (Merit Award)
2023 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence), AKFR (Merit Award)
2022 Nexus Creative Design (Award of Excellence)
2021 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence) | Kathleen Mangan Communications (Merit Award)
2020 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence) | The Berman Group (Merit Award)
2019 EYP (Award of Excellence) | CetraRuddy (Merit Award)
2018 Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (Award of Excellence) | HLB Lighting Design (Merit Award)
2017 Buro Happold Engineering (1st Place) | LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (2nd Place) | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (Honorable Mention)
Holiday Piece (rename to Special Announcement)
Does your firm love to spread the holiday cheer? If so, submit a holiday piece you’re especially proud of! The piece should have been produced for one-time use to promote a generally recognized holiday, such as a holiday card, video, party invitation, client gift, and more.
Past Winners:
2023 First Environment (Award of Excellence)|WB Engineering (Merit Award)
2022 WB Engineers+Consultants (Award of Excellence)
2021 EverGreene Architectural Arts (Award of Excellence) | WB Engineers + Consultants (Merit Award)
2020 Lilker Associates (Award of Excellence) | WB Engineers + Consultants (Merit Award)
2019 Entro | CVEDesign (Award of Excellence)
2018 HLB Lighting Design (Award of Excellence) | The Berman Group (Merit Award)
2017 HLB Lighting Design (1st Place) | FXCollaborative (2nd Place) | LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (Honorable Mention)
2016 HLB Lighting Design
2015 EYP
Social Media
Social butterflies? Highlight your firm’s social media platforms, blog, podcast … any marketing effort that utilizes online tools to provide a platform for thought leadership, collaboration, and user interaction. Submission is not limited to one platform. Include a link to your social media platforms; for blogs and podcasts, provide at least three postings/episodes for review.
Past Winners:
2024 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence)
2023 Structure Tone (Award of Excellence) | Urban Atelier Group (Merit Award)
2022 EverGreene Architectural Arts (Award of Excellence)
2021 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence)
2020 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence)
2019 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence) | AKRF (Merit Award)
2016 HLB Lighting Design
2015 SOM
Newsletter
If your firm produces a newsletter to distribute news either internally or externally, submit your publication! Include a PDF with the three most recent issues of the newsletter. Note: magazines may enter this category if they have a client or external audience.
Past Winners:
2024 KPF (Award of Excellence) & MdeAS Architects (Award of Excellence)
2023 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence) | Urban Atelier Group (Merit Award)
2022 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence)
2021 Cerami & Associates (Award of Excellence) | AKRF (Merit Award)
2020 Syska Hennessy (Award of Excellence) | STO Building Group (Merit Award)
2019 STO Building Group (Award of Excellence)
2017 HLB Lighting Design (1st Place) | Buro Happold Engineering (2nd Place) | LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (Honorable Mention)
Project Pursuit Marketing
If your company went above and beyond to win a specific project, let us know how you did it! We are looking for items developed for the pursuit, including qualification packages, proposals, presentations, interview tools, leave-behinds, or other pieces that contributed to the effort. Note: you may omit information deemed proprietary. Please include a note of where you have omitted information.
Past Winners:
2021 Herter Design Group (Award of Excellence)
2019 LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (Award of Excellence)
Direct-Mail Campaign
Did your firm produce a successful direct-mail program? Explain how you used a targeted campaign (e.g., letters, pamphlets, postcards, emails, announcements) to reach a specific audience. Submit each piece in the series of mailings. If the campaign was conducted via email, include a link to view the original digital components online.
Past Winners:
2023 MdeAS Architects (Award of Excellence)
2021 Kathleen Mangan Communications (Award of Excellence) | Langan (Merit Award)
2018 Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (Award of Excellence)
Video
Did you create a video worthy of award season recognition? Share the final product, whether it was created for a client-specific pursuit, external communication, or internal messaging. As part of your submission, include a link to view the video online in its original format.
Past Winners:
2024 KPF (Award of Excellence) | STO Building Group (Merit Award)
2023 MdeAS Architects (Award of Excellence) | The Up Studio (Merit Award)
2022 AKRF Inc. (Award of Excellence)
2021 Dattner (Award of Excellence) | Kathleen Mangan Communications (Merit Award)
2020 Pavarini McGovern (Award of Excellence) | AKRF (Merit Award)
2019 Dattner Architects (Award of Excellence) | Howard L Zimmerman Architects (Award of Merit)
THE PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Vanguard of the Year
This award salutes a senior-level professional who actively promotes the strategic vision and values of their company and fosters a culture that encourages all staff, administrative or technical, to contribute to the firm’s marketing, business development, and public relations efforts. To be eligible for this award, the candidate must be a mid- to high-level professional with the authority to make decisions for the firm and have at least 15 years of industry experience (three of them at their current firm). The candidate must also be an SMPS New York member in good standing. Please note, current SMPS New York board members are not eligible to enter.
Past Winners:
2024 Katherine James, CPSM, LEED GA
2023 Jason Vesuvio
2022 Chris Pedecine
2021 Rebecca Leonardis
2020 Julie Pampuch
2019 Robin Carathanasis
2018 David Golab
2017 Sarah Nolan Hoff
Marketer of the Year
This award salutes a professional whose leadership, input, and marketing achievements have contributed to their firm’s success. To be eligible for this award, the candidate must be a mid- to senior-level marketer who demonstrates a passion for out-of-the-box thinking, creativity, and communication skills. The candidate must have between 5 and 15 years of industry experience and be an SMPS New York member in good standing. Please note, current SMPS New York board members are not eligible to enter.
Past Winners:
2024 Marisa Maguire
2023 Ivoire Lloyd
2022 Natalie Dargham
2021 Jennifer Mannino
2020 Jeffrey Taub
2019 Keith Kennedy
2018 Matthew Barlow
2017 Carrie Villani
Rising Star
This award salutes a marketer who has shown dedication to the chapter through committee involvement and has the potential to become one of the industry’s shining stars. To be eligible for this award, the candidate must have less than five years of industry experience and be an SMPS New York member in good standing. Please note, current SMPS New York board members are not eligible to enter.
Past Winners:
2024 Melissa Krenek-Whitman
2021 Cristiana Formica
2020 Cassandra Yzaguirre
2019 Carlyle Lobo
2018 Elizabeth Bellsey
2017 Genesis Vasquez
Mary Findlen Professional Development Scholarship
This award supports SMPS New York’s mission to promote the continued advancement of new talent within our industry. The scholarship is open to mid-level marketing, communications, and business development professionals with approximately 3 to 7 years of experience. Candidates must also have a minimum of one year of SMPS New York membership.
The scholarship recipient will receive full registration to the SMPS Amplify Conference, including conference registration, round-trip transportation, and three nights’ hotel accommodations. Please note, current SMPS New York board members are not eligible to enter.
Past Winners:
2024 Nataline Molina
2019 Ali Panditrao
2018 Nathan Reyna
2016 Erika Capek
2015 Kourtenay Mott
Volunteer of the Year
The SMPS-NY Volunteer of the Year Award honors the extraordinary dedication and impact of our chapter’s volunteers. Named in memory of board member Pam Nugent, this award celebrates her enduring legacy of generosity, collaboration, and passion for advancing our community. Each recipient reflects the spirit of service and leadership that Pam so beautifully exemplified, leaving a lasting mark on SMPS-NY.
Past Winner:
2024 Ivoire Lloyd
Humanitarian of the Year
The recipient of the Humanitarian Award exemplifies a spirit of generosity toward SMPS members and the larger community resulting in notable impact in the past year. Eligible candidates are mid- to senior-level marketers with at least five years of experience in the industry and a track record of service.
Past Winner:
2018 Katherine DeMercurio
President’s Cup
This trophy is awarded by the SMPS New York Chapter President to a member who has demonstrated outstanding service and dedication to the chapter through volunteerism, enthusiasm, and overall championship of the chapter’s initiatives.
Past Winners:
2024 Nathan Reyna
2023 Katherine DeMercurio
2022 Atena Vladu
2021 Deborah Rosenberg
2020 Sharyn Yorio
2019 Jessica Schrader
2018 Sarah Nolan Hoff
2017 Michael McCann
2016 Alexis Newman
2015 Patricia Neumann & Martha Huguet
2014 Alicia Koledin
2013 Lauren Hlavenka D’Urso
CHAPTER AWARDS
- 2025 Chapter President of the Year – Olivia S. Farquharson, CDMP, PCM, 2023-2024 SMPS-NY President
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2021 Chapter President of the Year – Kat DeMercurio, 2019-2020 SMPS-NY President
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2020 Striving for Excellence – Outstanding, Extra Large Chapter
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2019 Chapter Program Awards – Outstanding, Special Event Program
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2017 Chapter Communications Awards – Outstanding, Social Media
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2015 Striving for Excellence – Outstanding, Extra Large Chapter
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2006 Education Program Award – Winner
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2005 Website Award – Outstanding
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2002 Striving For Excellence – First-Prize, Large Chapter
Awards & Scholarships
SMPS-NY and Columbia University Present AccesssAEC Development Honorarium
The Society for Marketing Professionals Services New York Chapter (SMPS-NY) is thrilled to announce a partnership with Columbia University’s CU Grow Vendor Development Program. The AccessAEC Development Honorarium is a program that will pair XBE firms with the chapter’s educational resources to improve branding, marketing, and external communications capabilities. XBE firms are for-profit organizations owned, operated, and controlled by a member of socially or economically disadvantaged minority groups.
Applications for this program have closed as of Friday, November 18, 2022. Winners will be notified and announced shortly.
AccessAEC recipients will receive the following, including but not limited to:
- A one-year individual membership to the Society for Marketing Professionals Services (SMPS) and automatic chapter affiliation with SMPS New York,
- One virtual meet-and-greet for each scholarship recipient and their firm with the current SMPS New York Executive Committee, New York Chapter Director of DEI, and one representative from Columbia University’s CU Grow Program.
- A quarterly membership meeting with a designated member of the SMPS New York Chapter Advisory Council (CAC), which comprises past chapter presidents and senior leaders in the industry.
- Grant recipients will be automatically appointed to an SMPS New York committee of their choosing.
Application Requirements: Applicants should be full-time employees of MWLBE and/or SDVOB companies working in the design, construction, real estate, and related industries or graduates of the CU Grow: Vendor Development Program. Firms should be able to demonstrate proof of certification through the official city, state, or federal governing agencies or as graduates of the CU Grow Program. Applicant businesses should have a minimum of three years in continual operation and revenue of no less than $1 million and no more than $100 million per year. Grant program benefits will run for the current SMPS New York chapter year (September 1, 2022, through August 31, 2023), though membership benefits will run for one calendar year from the date of registration with SMPS HQ.
SMPS New York (SMPS-NY) is a dynamic, welcoming community where like-minded professionals share ideas, best practices, and business development opportunities. Serving the Greater New York City Metropolitan area, we host several dozen events each year, from networking opportunities and educational programs to client panels with key industry leaders. These enhance the corporate reputation and individual careers of our members and supporters. In addition, we have established affiliate committees in Long Island, New Jersey, and Westchester Hudson Valley to provide additional support for our members. Visit www.smpsny.org for more information.
The CU Grow: Vendor Development Program is the core of a multi-dimensional approach to assisting minority-, women- and local-owned (MWL) vendors in the built environment to expand their existing business portfolio and contracts with large clients. Visit our website to learn more: cugrow.columbia.edu
