VIE – People + Places magazine, published by Cornerstone Marketing & Advertising, Inc., was recently honored with both an Image Award and the coveted Grand Image Award from the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA). An Image Award is bestowed upon the highest-scoring entry in each of the competition’s four divisions of categories. VIE’s award was presented in the Printed Tools of Public Relations division. The Grand Image Award, which VIE also received, is given to the best Image Award–winning entry from three of the divisions: Printed Tools of Public Relations, Audio/Visual Tools of Public Relations and Student Projects in Public Relations. 

“We are honored to receive these prestigious awards and praise from our peers in the public relations industry,” said Lisa Burwell, owner and publisher of VIE. “The staff of VIE, the editor-in-chief, Gerald Burwell, and I have worked tirelessly to make the dream of this publication a reality and it is refreshing to see our hard work recognized. However, the highest accolades we have received come from people in the community who have experienced the positive effects that we strive to produce with our magazine.”

We all need to get away sometimes and summer is the perfect time to plan your escape. If you’re looking to treat that special someone in your life to a romantic weekend this summer, consider indulging in the legendary luxury of Harrah’s New Orleans Hotel with their Summer Lovin’ Package. This includes lavish accommodations at the award-winning Harrah’s Hotel, a bottle of Champagne, one dozen chocolate covered strawberries and a pair of Harrah’s signature lightweight waffle weave bathrobes starting at just $228.

The AAA Four-Diamond award-winning Harrah’s Hotel is located in the heart of downtown New Orleans, just steps away from the world-famous French Quarter. Rooms feature deluxe beds with Simmons® Beautyrest® pillow-top mattresses, high-definition flat screen televisions, a Boston Acoustics® CD/clock radio with mp3 input, wireless internet and spectacular views of the New Orleans skyline and/or the Mississippi River.

This special is available April 13 - Aug. 31, 2009, based on availability.

We like to celebrate the good things we hear about in our community and news of a thriving business in these times is well-worth celebrating! 

Beach Properties of Florida, a local real estate company founded by Hunter Harman, Price Rainer, and John David Sullivan in 2007,  is opening a second office location in WaterColor  located in the front offices of the SunTrust Bank building in WaterColor Crossing. Beach Properties of Florida’s main office location remains at the Grayton Beach office on  Clayton Lane.

“Our agency has experienced incredible growth over the past year in both increased sales and new agents joining our team,” said co-owner and broker Hunter Harman.  “Many of our agents focus primarily on the areas of WaterColor, Seaside, WaterSound, Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach so we felt it was essential to establish a physical presence closer to these communities.  We are excited about this new expansion and what it means for our agency and our local real estate market.”

Upon completion, the office will house a ‘Community Discovery Center’ featuring flat screen TVs, informational guides, and area maps to acquaint buyers and sellers with the area in an intimate, comfortable setting.  Customers will be able to view properties, communities and aerial maps in order to fully compare and experience prospective properties. The Community Discovery center will be unique to the Beach Properties of Florida WaterColor office.

[Photos by Aaron Sutton]

The grand-prize winner of VIE’s Spring 2009 VIEcation Give-Away has been chosen and the winner is… Lanessa Watson from Tallahassee, Florida! Congratulations Lanessa!  She won a two-night stay for four in a two-bedroom suite overlooking the Gulf of Mexico at beautiful Portofino Island in Pensacola, Florida! 

Keep an eye on VIEcation.com to learn about other great prizes offer in the Summer issue.

Today, VIE had the privilege of visiting Carmen Patterson’s two fifth grade classes at Destin Middle School at the invitation of Leah McGill, Education Director for the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation. Lisa Burwell spoke to the students about the process of creating a magazine and told them the story of VIE as the students flipped through past issues. We found that these students were very bright, intuitive and kind and their teachers were very warm and welcoming. We really enjoyed meeting them and listening to their insightful questions and ideas. 

In fact, these kids are so great that we decided to create a contest for them. In previous issues, VIE has published a feature which is always written by a child called “I Can Make A Difference by…” Students from each class who wish to participate  in the contest will each write an article for this featured section about ways that they can make a difference in the world. The top three winners will have their stories published in the fall issue of the magazine! Winners will be announced on June 3.