Award recognizes leadership and lifelong commitment to advancing the public relations profession
MILWAUKEE (June 25, 2025) — The Midwest District of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) awarded W. Patrick McSweeney, APR, Fellow PRSA its Platinum Award, the district’s highest individual honor.
Presented at the PRSA Midwest District Conference in Milwaukee, the Platinum Award celebrates outstanding leadership, service to PRSA, and achievements that advance the public relations profession. The PRSA Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter’s nomination cited McSweeney’s “tireless enthusiasm for service to PRSA, its members, his colleagues, students, and his community, as well as his commitment to ethics and fairness, which makes him a role model for practitioners.”
“Receiving this recognition from my peers is the greatest honor,” said McSweeney. “Being an active member of PRSA has provided me so many opportunities over the years that have propelled my career, shaped me as a professional, and forged friendships across the country and around the world.”
After working at several small and midsize agencies for 20 years, McSweeney became a solo practitioner in 2017. He serves as a strategist and counselor to C-suite and executives — providing crisis communication planning, message development, media training, and media relations for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Over a 35-year career, he has served as spokesperson for a Florida government agency and represented Fortune 500 companies, working with well-known brands in the automotive, tech, retail, and travel sectors.
A PRSA member since 1989, McSweeney earned his Accreditation in Public Relations in 2011 and was inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows in 2016. He has held leadership roles at every level of the organization—including president of the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter in 2018, two-time president of the North Florida Chapter (1995 and 2013), and chair of the Midwest District in 2024. He has won dozens of awards for his work for clients and received several chapter-level honors, including the Dorothy Thomas Black Award (Southeastern Wisconsin, 2021) and the Ray Bullard Award (North Florida, 2012) both of which mirror the national Gold Anvil Award in honoring lifetime achievement and service to the profession. In 2005, the North Florida Chapter also recognized him with its “Building Bridges in the Community” Award for his outstanding volunteerism.
A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, McSweeney has served on the PRSA’s National DEI Committee since 2020 and was co-chair in 2023. In 2016, while serving as program chair for the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter, he led the launch of the chapter’s first Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Their mission was to grow membership among Black, Hispanic, and other underrepresented groups—and to position PRSA communicators as leaders in conversations around race and equity following high-profile incidents of police violence in Milwaukee and beyond. Thanks to these efforts, the chapter was honored as PRSA’s top chapter for D&I programming in both 2018 and 2019.
Beyond PRSA, McSweeney has made significant contributions as an educator and mentor. He has taught public relations and media courses at Marquette University and the University of North Florida, and mentored dozens of students and young professionals throughout his career.
He donates his time and expertise to his church and several nonprofits, including Humboldt Park Friends (HPF) and Convergence Resource Center (CRC). HPF works to improve access to and enhance the 73-acre Humboldt Park in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. CRC is a faith-based nonprofit supporting justice-involved women and survivors of human trafficking. He leads CRC’s public relations and co-leads a men’s campaign to raise awareness and advocacy opposing human trafficking. As part of the Platinum Award honor, the PRSA Midwest District made a $500 donation on McSweeney’s behalf to CRC.
Previous Platinum Award recipients include Jacqueline Clark, APR, Fellow PRSA of the Greater Kansas City chapter and Jim Lukaszewski, APR, Fellow PRSA of the Minnesota chapter (2024), Margaret Ann Hennen, APR, Fellow PRSA of the Minnesota chapter (2023), Debra Peterson, APR, Fellow PRSA of the Greater Kansas City chapter (2022), David Schoeneck, APR of the Minnesota Chapter (2015), Debbie Harvey, APR of the Chicago Chapter (2014) and David Hakensen, APR, Fellow PRSA of the Minnesota Chapter (2013).
About PRSA Midwest District
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) empowers its members to succeed at every stage of their careers through a wide breadth of professional development, networking, and leadership opportunities. PRSA’s Midwest District is one of 10 regional districts and is comprised of 11 Chapters: Central Illinois, Chicago, Greater Kansas City, Iowa, Madison, Mid-America, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northeastern Wisconsin, Southeastern Wisconsin and Southwest Missouri. The Midwest District’s goal is to support Chapters and their members by offering professional and leadership development at a regional level that complements national and local programs. For more information, visit www.prsamdc.org.
