Seven of Radford’s graphic design majors racked up a total of 11 wins in the student
categories of the Western Virginia Advertising Awards, or “the Addys,” held at the
Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center on March 2.
Sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AFF) Roanoke chapter, the competition
recognizes advertising excellence and creativity across the full spectrum of media
platforms.
Students had to create packaging, logos, labels, branding and other forms of physical
advertising and 3-D designs for products of their choosing, or for Lipton tea and
Burpee Seeds and Plants, or Kilt Gilt Scottish Ale, a fictional beer that remains
a design staple for Radford.
Radford’s winners were:
- Senior Brittiany Rorrer – Student Gold (Burpee) and two Student Silvers (Selu Farm
branding logos; a 2024 calendar)
- Cade Carter ’23 – Student Gold (Lady Gaga artRave concert poster) and Student Silver
(RU BFA Graphic Design show poster)
- Senior Kiera Adens – Two Student Silvers (Lipton, Kilt Gilt)
- Senior Ahna Huff – Student Silver (Lipton)
- Junior Jenna Repass – Student Silver (Cactus Club food truck design)
- Junior McKinna Huffman – Student Silver (Juno & Co. dog treats)
- Sophomore Wendy Marshall – Student Silver (Graphic Art Exhibition poster)
Senior Brittiany Rorrer took home a student gold award for her Burpee Seeds and Plants
packaging design.
This year’s competition included 67 student submissions, with entries from George
Mason, James Madison and Liberty universities as well as Virginia Tech.
Radford’s 11 wins gave it the highest total for participating colleges and universities.
“We certainly don’t judge the quality of our program or the quality of our students
by winning awards,” said Professor of Graphic Design Ken Smith.
“But it’s good for them to know they’re being judged in some fashion against their
peers, not just at Radford but regionally. And when they do well, when they win anything,
that’s a positive reflection on both them and our program.”
Brittiany Rorrer, who netted three awards this year, called the experience of going
to the Addys “amazing.”
“You do all this work, all these projects over weeks and months and maybe even a year
or so, and when you get to go to the Addys, you get to meet people in your field from
Southwest Virginia, and you get to go up onstage … it’s the perfect accolade,” Rorrer
said.
Cade Carter ’23 received a student silver Addy award for his poster for the RU BFA
Graphic Design show.
The students who took gold and silver award wins are now eligible to compete at the
District 3 level later this month. If selected there, they will advance to the national
tier of the competition.
The judges also considered 134 professional entries from agencies and firms, and Highlanders
had a strong presence in that section as well.
This year’s winners included David Hodge ’83, with Anstey-Hodge, and Peggy Underwood
’88, with Pratt Industries.
Michael Goodson ’15, working with intern and Radford student winner Jenna Repass to
create Virginia Tech Dining Services’ Chili Challenge 2023 package, received this
year’s Howard Packett Award for Creative Excellence, which is the AFF Roanoke’s Best
in Show prize. That campaign also won a gold Addy.
“It is immensely beneficial for our current students to witness alumni from our program
achieving success in various career roles, whether as founders of agencies or as managers
and directors of corporate design departments,” Radford Assistant Professor of Graphic
Design John O’Connor said after the event.
“Attending the ADDY awards ceremony allows student winners to interact with these
accomplished professionals, fostering valuable networking opportunities that often
lead to job placements and internships.”
