South Hamilton, MA According to Rhino Public Relations (Rhino PR), a specialty public relations and marketing agency, president and CEO Susan Shelby, FSMPS, CPSM, has received the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Boston Chapter 2016 Marketing Professional of the Year Award. Presented at the annual SMPS Boston Awards Gala on June 9, the Marketing Professional of the Year Award honors an A/E/C marketing professional who has significantly contributed to the success of his/her firm and actively participates as a member in the SMPS Boston Chapter.

Susan Shelby (right) of Rhino Public Relations receives the SMPS Boston Chapter 2016 Marketing Professional of the Year Award

Chuck Raymond, CPSM, marketing manager at Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. and a Rhino PR client, nominated Shelby for the SMPS Boston Marketing Professional of the Year Award. In his nomination, Raymond wrote: “If there is one member of SMPS Boston who truly deserves to be bestowed with the Marketing Professional of the Year award, it is Susan Shelby. Susan’s passion for SMPS and all that it can offer is always plainly evident. She never hesitates to give of her time and other resources to the benefit of SMPS Boston and its members, and we are all the better for it. In my opinion, this type of award is long overdue.”

SMPS is a community of more than 6,000 marketing and business development professionals working to secure profitable business relationships for their A/E/C companies, and SMPS Boston is one of the largest and most active chapters. Since joining the A/E/C industry and SMPS Boston in 2001, Susan has served in numerous leadership capabilities on a local, regional, and national level. For the SMPS Boston Chapter, she has worked on several committees, the board of directors, and in the role of president-elect, president, and past-president. She co-chaired the 2005 Northeast Regional Conference in Northampton, Mass., and served as communications director for the 2014 Northeast Regional Conference in Atlantic City. She is currently a member of the Striving for Excellence and Chapter President of the Year Committee for SMPS National.

Susan has presented extensively on PR and marketing topics for many industry organizations, including national and regional SMPS conferences. Susan was named a Fellow of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (FSMPS) in 2012, a distinction that represents the highest level of experience and leadership in marketing within the design and building industry.

With more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and public relations, Susan founded Rhino Public Relations in 2004 to bring a higher level of public relations services to the A/E/C industry. Her successful model of integrating PR and marketing with a strategic plan, and focusing on impacting companies’ bottom lines, has delivered measurable results for Rhino PR’s clients. In 2012, Susan was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by CREW Network (formerly NEWiRE).

In addition to Susan’s professional award, Rhino PR and Arup, a multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm with a reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable designs, together received a 2016 first place SMPS Boston award for their media relations campaign for the Echelman public art sculpture installed over the Rose Kennedy Greenway last year.

Rhino PR is a full-service public relations and integrated marketing communications practice focused on meeting the unique needs of professional services firms. The agency’s customized, personal approach has delivered success for some of the most well-known and respected professional services firms in the Greater Boston area, which the firm is honored to count as longstanding and trusted clients.