The Voce Nation returns from holiday bliss today after a week off to rest, relax and reflect on, well, whatever. For some folks it was time to reflect on family, for others it was food and for a select few it was bad football bets — but for all of us it was one thing: sleep. The important thing here is that we were given the *time* to shift down, re-connect with our interests and re-energize for the new year. Thanks again Mama Voce.

Today we return to the PR mix, refreshed, fired up and itching to kick-start 2006. And to help with that, we all began the day reading PR Week’s “Who to Watch” story (sub req’d) which names Voce among its four “Agencies to Watch in 2006:”

Launched in 1999, Voce managed to survive the downturn by focusing on a consultative model, particularly so that it could hang on to senior staff. Now on the growth track for the past two years, Voce has positioned itself according to its specialties, including one called Digital Advocacy. Working with such clients as Network Appliance and Yahoo, the firm is making its name as one that is truly steeped in new media, and not merely because the entire firm blogs. This year should be the time when Voce, led by president Richard Cline, starts to raise its profile and prove its mettle beyond its extremely loyal and rapturous client base. After all, this is the company that helped Yahoo launch its first foray into the blogosphere. That’s the kind of credibility that many firms launching new-media offerings can only dream of.

2006 is going to be amazing, here we come…