Weidinger Public Relations received four Awards of Excellence at the Public Relations Society of America, Sierra Nevada Chapter’s 24th annual Silver Spikes program.

The South Shore agency won the category “Internet Based Communication” recognizing social media efforts for growth of the Lake Tahoe Visitor Authority’s social media website. WPR acquired the LTVA Facebook page with 61,000 fans and increased the fan base by more than 23 percent to 79,000 within one year (data as of September 30, 2010). The page has continued to grow and is now boasting 83,900-plus fans.

The WPR team takes pics after the awards at a booth full of costumes. Phil Weidinger, (l-r) Marissa Schriver, Jenn Boyd, Julie Koster .

WPR’s American Century Championship entry for the category of “Ongoing Programs with Budget over $25,000” received an Award of Excellence. The success of the celebrity golf tournament’s PR efforts stemmed from collaboration between WPR and Vizion Group of Philadelphia.

WPR also received acknowledgment in the “Special Events & Observances with Budget over $25,000” category for the annual Golf the High Sierra Media Tour.

The fourth Award of Excellence was in the category “Ongoing Programs, all-inclusive budget of $25,000 or less” for the firm’s campaign focused on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad.