06/14/2012 | by Carisa Chappell
The winners of NAREIT's 2012 Investor CARE Awards were announced on June 13 in New York at REITWeek 2012: NAREIT's Investor Forum. It marked the 12th year that NAREIT has handed out the annual awards, which honor excellence in communications and reporting to shareholders. Companies were recognized for their annual reports and websites.

The Gold Award in the "Annual Report - Management Discussion and Analysis" category went to Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO). The Silver Award was awarded to Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM). Two companies tied for the Bronze Award, Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT) and Health Care REIT Inc. (NYSE: HCN).

"I sincerely believe the words in an annual report are as important as the numbers which go into it," said Joseph Macnow, executive vice president of Vornado Realty.

In the "Annual Report - Presentation and Design" category, Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) received the Gold Award. The Silver Award went to Westfield Group (NYSE: WDC), and AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB), won the Bronze Award.

"We put our heart and soul into the annual report and are glad it was recognized," said Andrew Blocher, Federal Realty CFO and senior vice president.

The Gold Award in the "Website" category went to Brookfield Office Properties (NYSE: BPO). The Silver Award went to Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR), while Federal Realty received the Bronze Award.

"Brookfield is proud to receive the Investor CARE Award from NAREIT for our website, which is one of the primary ways we communicate with our shareholders and other stakeholders," Melissa Coley, Brookfield's vice president for investor relations and communications, told REIT.com. "We strive to ensure that information about our company, properties and investment initiatives are comprehensive, accessible and cleanly designed."

The NAREIT CARE Awards are judged by an independent panel of REIT securities analysts and portfolio managers. This year's judges included: Paul Adornato, managing director and senior REIT analyst, BMO Capital Markets; David AuBuchon, director, Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc.; Ralph Block, CEO, Essential REIT Publishing Co.; The Chilton Capital Management REIT Team, Bruce Garrison, managing director, Matthew Werner, portfolio manager/analyst, Ben Atkins, analyst; Nathan Isbee, vice president and analyst, Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.;  Lazard Asset Management LLC, Jay Leupp, managing director, Guatam Garg, vice president; The Tuckerman Group/SSgA, Amos Rogers III, managing director, Sophia Banar, portfolio manager, Tristan Cunha, portfolio manager; University of Denver - Franklin Business School of Real Estate and Construction Management; Glen Mueller, professor and his spring REIT class; Keven Lindemann, director - real estate group, SNL Financial LLC; RBC Capital Markets REIT Team; and Texas A&M University - Mays Business School's Cydney Donnell, executive professor, associate department head of finance and director of real estate programs, and Matt Ledlie, graduate assistant.