We only “pitch” what we consider viable stories to the news media and never complain if we fail to achieve “hits.”

But in late April, we were on a roll, thanks to our clients and a host of reporters and editors who agreed that our advisories warranted coverage. And in some cases, the placements were beyond our wildest imaginations.

Take Dock Dogs, an annual competition in Virginia Beach where well-trained canines run and jump off a makeshift “dock” in a parking lot across from Care-a-Lot on Diamond Springs Road. They (and their owners) vie to see which can leap the highest or longest. A Virginian-Pilot photographer captured some wonderful photos and one of them made both pages 1 and 3 of the Saturday paper (above the fold). There was also a story on WTKR TV 3 and in the Daily Press.

One of the amazing photos from the DockDogs competition.

Earlier we were thrilled with the attention generated in the Pilot and on all three TV stations for “College I’m In!”, a rousing local celebration of a nationwide event called National Signing Day. Some 1,500 high school seniors from six school districts gathered at the Ted Constant Center at ODU to rock with Z104 dj Shaggy and hear moving testimonials from young people who are now in higher education, thanks in part to financial counseling and assistance from Access College Foundation, our client. RCG conceived “College I’m In!”, and Access CEO/President Bonnie Sutton and her team went all out to make it a memorable 90 minutes for the happy students who were forwarding pictures to a special hashtag all day. All three local TV stations, WAVY, WTKR and WVEC, covered the event.

On April 29, we were thrilled when two TV stations and the Pilot sent reporters or videographers/photographers to Green Run High School for the first Mission of Mercy (MOM) event ever in Virginia Beach. That day dozens of dentists, hygienists, dental assistants and students and other volunteers gave up a day to treat hundreds of indigent residents who needed exams, cleanings, crowns, dentures, extractions, root canals or other procedures. MOM is coordinated by the foundation of the Virginia Dental Association, our statewide client.

We also have been in the media quite a bit, including that week, on behalf of Wheelabrator Incorporated, which is battling to continue processing all of the region’s trash into electricity and steam, the latter to heat buildings at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. Joel Rubin was quoted in Pilot reporter Johanna Somers’ story.

And finally we were thrilled to see an editorial in the Pilot, reminding local residents to go to www.givelocal757.org on May 3 and contribute to a host of non-profits from across the region. We furnished pro-bono PR assistance to the Hampton Roads, Peninsula and Southeast Virginia Community Foundations who put on Give Local 757. That included recruiting two great media sponsors, WVEC TV and Sinclair Communications, which has several radio stations in the market.

Every week is not as productive as that one, but we never stop trying to “make it happen” in Hampton Roads.