TORONTO -The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) announced that Roots Co-founders Michael Budman and Don Green have been selected as the recipients of the 2005/06 Award of Excellence in PR and Communication. It is the greatest honour a CEO or business leader can receive from the professional association of communicators in Canada.The 14th annual Award will be presented at a special luncheon ceremony at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto on January 19, 2006. 

In making its announcement, the CPRS said: “Michael Budman and Don Green have always believed passionately in the power and importance of communications and public relations in building and successfully running Roots Canada. They have shown leadership in everything from corporate social responsibility and community relations to promotions and special events.  If rock stars, famous athletes and actors all line up at Roots, it is because these two leaders have taken this Canadian brand to a place of which others only dream.”

The CPRS Award of Excellence in Public Relations and Communications was established in 1991 to demonstrate that a successful CEO or top business executive must be an excellent communicator as well as a strong financial and administrative manager.

In selecting a winner, the jury evaluates business leaders based on their actions over the past year in various areas. These include creating a vision for their company and communicating it effectively to their team; Having a department in place for helping communicate the vision and make it a reality; Once the vision is created, it’s also critical that the candidates be seen to exemplify the vision through their actions and behaviour, in both a professional and personal capacity; They must be one of the senior spokepersons for the company and be available to grant interviews to the media when needed; They must support a proactive employee relations program including two-way communication between them and employees.

Past winners of the Award of Excellence include some of Canada's top business people and have cut across almost all segments of the economy from retail to banking, from public service to automotive. Past recipients include:

• Piers Handling, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival
• Julian Fantino, Chief of the Toronto Police Force
• Charles Baillie, Chair, TD Bank Financial Group
• Dominic D'Alessandro, President and CEO, Manulife Financial
• Bobbie Gaunt, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company of Canada
• Allan Stark, President and CEO, American Express Company Canada
• John Cassaday, President and CEO, CTV

For further information, contact:
Robert Sarner
Director of Communication and Public Affairs
416-781-3574 ext 4280
E-mail : rsarner@roots.com

To order tickets for the special luncheon/award ceremony on January 19, 2006, please contact:Lois Marsh at (416) 360-1988, by email at marshl@marsh-executive.com or at www.cprstoronto.com.

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