If I don't blow my own horn ... who will?

The following is a unpaid commercial rift with ego-enriched facts.


George S. Smith of Cabot was recently named the 2010 Public Relations Person of the Year by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

Smith, director of communication services for Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS), a global leading developer and manufacturer of precision positioning equipment, joined TPS in 2005.

Topcon is the largest company in the world focused exclusively on positioning control and machine control products, software and applications for the survey, civil engineering and construction industries.

AEM, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has offices in Washington, D.C., Canada, Europe and China and provides services to almost 1,000 members in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility industries.

A longtime Arkansas newspaper editor and publisher, Smith is a former vice president of Alltel Corporation, having served as vice president of media services for five year. TPS operates its marketing services operation from a Cabot office.

Smith was selected for the award by Publications in Construction and Agriculture (PICA), an AEM subgroup. PICA selects the annual winner of the award as an “outstanding example of best practices in media relations.”

The criteria used in the selection process include reliability, accuracy of content, quality of information provided, trustworthiness, integrity and level of experience about their company, products and industry.

Lawrence Buser, editorial director for Baum Publications’ nine trade magazines in the U.S. and Canada, presented Smith the award at the AEM’s annual trade show exhibitors education meeting in Las Vegas, May 18-19.

Buser said, “There is no one working with the AEM trade publications who is more responsive than Topcon’s George Smith. Without exception, he instinctively knows what individual publications want and need, and provides timely and relevant information that is educational and informative to our readers.”

Smith said, “To be honored by one’s peers is special; to be honored by people to whom one provides service is extra-special. Receiving this award is very humbling, and focuses the high level of importance that Topcon places on media relations.”

Smith praised Dennis House, vice president of media services, and Staci Fitzgerald, TPS communications specialist, both Cabot residents, for their commitment to ensuring Topcon is providing “worthwhile information in a timely manner to trade publications that cover the industries TPS serves.”

In the three-plus years Smith has been directing external communications efforts for TPS, the annual number of application and jobsite stories about the company in global trade publications has increased from 32 in 14 different publications in 2006 to more than 160 in 45 publications in 2009.