Wallie and Golden Tusk Awards are given annually at the CHPRMS Annual Conference to recognize excellence in healthcare public relations and marketing. Members compete in more than a dozen categories and a panel of marketing communications professionals from other states chooses the winners. As the region’s premier healthcare marketing and public relations society, we proudly count among our membership some of the Southeast’s most talented marketing and public relations professionals. As such, it is our great honor and privilege to host the awards competition that spotlights the very fine work they produce.

Eligibility

The competition is open to hospitals, health systems, medical practices, specialty clinics, senior care organizations, other healthcare facilities such as rehabilitation and behavioral health, insurers, consumer health societies, pharmaceutical or medical equipment manufacturers, non-profits, ad agencies and creative firms located anywhere in the Southeast. There is a reduced fee for CHPRMS members. 

CHPRMS members who are not healthcare providers (e.g., advertising agencies, research, creative or interactive firms, etc.) are welcome to submit entries for clients that are not CHPRMS members without having to pay the non-member fee. There is no longer a requirement that your client be a CHPRMS member. 

To be eligible for judging, the program or project must have run in the market between January 2025 and July 2026.

Entry fees must be received within two weeks of the deadline date.

When Will Awards Be Presented

Awards will be presented at a semi-formal event on the Thursday evening of our annual conference. Come prepared to eat, drink and celebrate our award winners! There will be a $150 shipping cost if you are unable to pick up your award(s). 

CHPRMS 2026 53rd Annual Conference: Connected By Purpose will be held November 11 - 13 at The Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, SC.

Why Wallie?

Though the society was founded in 1973, the idea of recognizing healthcare organizations for their outstanding marketing and communications efforts was not implemented until 1978. The theme of the inaugural competition was "Through the Looking Glass" based on the novel by Lewis Carroll. In this novel, Alice sits in her armchair at home, drowsily watching her pet kitten, Kitty, as she unravels a ball of string. She snatches Kitty up and begins telling her about “Looking-Glass House,” an imaginary world on the other side of the mirror where everything is backward. During her visit, Alice encounters Tweedledee and Tweedledumb who share the story of "The Walrus and the Carpenter." Hence, the birth of CHRPMS mascot, Wallie and the Wallie Awards.

Several years into the annual recognition, it was decided that multi-media campaigns should be recognized separately from individual and one-time collateral pieces. This is when the Golden Tusk Awards made their debut.