Annapolis-based Image Power received a “Best in Maryland’ award from the Maryland Chapter of Public Relations Society of America for its work on “The Nation’s First Civil Rights Foot Soldiers Memorial”, a memorial  to gain national recognition for the 250,000 citizens who risked personal harm to attend the 1963 march on Washington.

Image Power’s PR campaign was conducted on behalf of the MLK Jr. Committee, an Annapolis-based non-profit organization founded in 1988. The March on Washington Foot Soldiers Memorial — a 2 ½ ton granite memorial with names of over 500 march participants —honors the people who brought international attention to the civil rights struggle for African Americans.

According to a release, “Image Power President Marc Apter, APR, is one of those foot soldiers. Apter is a public relations professional with experience that encompasses number of national and local civil rights projects, including the 20th and 30th anniversary marches on Washington. He initiated the MLK Jr. Prayer Breakfast at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and operated a series of race relations study circles that won awards from the International Association of Business Communicators.”

In the photo, Apter, APR (center), accepts awards from David Harrison, co-chair of this year’s Public Relations Society of America “Best In Maryland” program. Apter and Laurie Hayes, account executive, worked on campaign.

“My father, David Apter, ran the PR for the 1963 March, also on a pro bono basis,” Apter said. “It was an honor to work on this campaign to promote a memorial to him and so many others who risked the threat of personal harm to stand up for a cause in which they believed so strongly.”

[Photo Credit: Harry Bosk]