SUFFOLK-based Genesis PR led the list of winners at the 2012 East Anglia PRide Awards, run by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Genesis, based at Holbrook, near Ipswich, was awarded the Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy title and also picked up five other gold awards, including those for Consumer Relations and Measurement & Evaluation, both in recognition of work carried out for Ford Retail.

Its other gold awards were for the best Not-for-Profit campaign and the Best Event, both for the Social Worker of the Year Awards, and for Integrated Communications, for Live Well Suffolk.

Genesis PR director Penny Arbuthnot said: “We continually push boundaries and go the extra mile for our clients and to do so well at this year’s PRide Awards is a fantastic accolade for the whole team and testimony to the value and results we deliver for our clients.”

Another big winner at the awards was Essex County Council which picked up three golds, in the Outstanding In-House Public Relations Team, Public Sector and Community Relations categories, with team member Michael Page also receiving the award for Outstanding Young Communicator.

Three gold awards went to Peterborough-based Kidney Research UK, in the Healthcare, Best Use of Media Relations and Best Campaign Under �10,000 categories.

And there was a double win for Quay West Communications, based in Coggeshall, which won the Best Use of Social Media category and the Best Digital Campaign award.

Colchester-based Mosaic Publicity won the External Publication category, in partnership with Havebury Housing for its Havebury News publication, while the Internal Publication award went to the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Gorleston-on-Sea, for Making Waves.

Other winners included Jungle Public Relations from Yaxham, near Norwich (Outstanding Small Consultancy), Norfolk County Council (Regional Campaign of the Year) and Terry Nicklin of Cambridge-based Keynote PR (Best Freelance Practioner).

Around 100 of the region’s leading public relations practitioners attended the annual awards ceremony, which was held at the West Wing, Ickworth.

The event was sponsored regionally by Green Square Communications and High Position, and supported by national PRide sponsors Precise, PRWeek, and Specialist Speakers.

Rachel Paddick, chair of the CIPR East Anglia group, told guests: “Year on year, PRide Awards entries become more innovative and opportunities have clearly been harnessed to deliver tangible impact against challenging objectives. And with all this opportunity at our feet, we’ve got better at cutting through the noise to justify the worth of communications more than ever.

“Whether you are an award winner or not, the PRide Awards unite us in excellence and we should all be proud of our achievements; congratulations to all,” she added.