June 26, 2010
MU Public Relations Students Win Awards In Three Categories
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Public relations students in Marshall University’s W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications have won awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) West Virginia Chapter.
Attending the group’s Crystal Awards Gala in Charleston June 16 were Terry Hapney, assistant professor of public relations in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications (SOJMC) at MU; Jessica Wintz; Sandy York, MU SOJMC; Katie Harper; Tiffany Bajus; Angela Sundstrom; Dr. Corley Dennison, dean of the SOJMC at MU; Whitney Parsley; and Jessi Weddington.
The awards, which were judged by the San Francisco chapter of PRSA, are in three separate categories.
The Marshall students were honored for their work in creating campaigns for Empty Bowls, a national campaign to end hunger in communities throughout the U.S.; Helping Hungry Hearts, a fundraising project for the Huntington Area Food Bank; and Cotton: From Blue to Green Denim, a campaign to collect denim to be recycled into insulation for homes, including some for Hurricane Katrina relief in the Gulf Coast.
“It is quite an honor to be recognized in this manner by PRSA,” said Hapney, who is also adviser to Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at Marshall. “Several of my students were involved in all three campaigns. Together the students played very important roles in raising well over $20,000 for the Huntington Area Food Bank (HAFB) and (helping) insulate Habitat for Humanity homes.”
The students won the Crystal Award for an Integrated Communications Campaign for the Empty Bowls Project, an Honorable Mention in Community Relations for their work on the Helping Hungry Hearts campaign, and an Honorable Mention, Special Events, for the denim drive.
This year the School of Journalism’s newly created public relations/advertising agency, OutLoud Creative, worked on the Empty Bowls campaign, which teams public relations students with students in the College of Fine Arts to promote the sale of handcrafted soup bowls created by members of the Keramos Student Potters’ Guild.
“Several MU public relations students were integral to the success of this campaign, which raised money to benefit the Huntington Area Food Bank,” Hapney said. “Tens of thousands of people in the Tri-State area go hungry each month. Through this campaign School of Journalism and College of Fine Arts students are able to help 91,000 of those in our area struggling to put food on their tables each month.”
This Empty Bowls campaign was a finalist for the West Virginia campaign of the year, Hapney added.
A public relations campaign management class at Marshall took on the task of creating a new fundraising project called Helping Hungry Hearts, working “from the ground up,” according to Hapney.
Students researched, planned, communicated, and evaluated a new campaign for the client – the Huntington Area Food Bank (HAFB). They created the Helping Hungry Hearts (HHH) agency composed of members of the class and set about organizing fundraising events. They held the Outrunning Hunger 5K Run/Walk throughout downtown Huntington, a spaghetti dinner, a raffle and the Change-4-Change penny drive in local elementary schools and on Marshall’s Huntington campus.
“Over $10,000 was raised from this campaign, allowing the HAFB to purchase over 70,000 pounds of food to help feed the 91,000 people in the Tri-State area who look to the HAFB for help each month.” Hapney said.
The Cotton: From Blue to Green Denim Drive was conducted by the Marshall chapter of PRSSA. The project was part of a denim collection drive that was launched across eight college campuses in fall 2009. The MU chapter teamed up with Cotton Incorporated and the Huntington Area Habitat for Humanity to promote the effort, which resulted in denim being recycled into insulation for homes.
Sundstrom, president of the Marshall Chapter of the PRSSA, said, “Working on these campaigns was not only a great opportunity to gain experience in the field of public relations but also an amazing way to give back to our communities. The PR program at Marshall University has prepared me for so much more than simply starting a career. Through the work I have done on these campaigns, I now have an appreciation for helping others and giving back, something that will stay with me for a lifetime.”
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MU Public Relations Students Win Awards In Three Categories
 |
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Public relations students in Marshall University’s W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications have won awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) West Virginia Chapter.
Attending the group’s Crystal Awards Gala in Charleston June 16 were Terry Hapney, assistant professor of public relations in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications (SOJMC) at MU; Jessica Wintz; Sandy York, MU SOJMC; Katie Harper; Tiffany Bajus; Angela Sundstrom; Dr. Corley Dennison, dean of the SOJMC at MU; Whitney Parsley; and Jessi Weddington.
The awards, which were judged by the San Francisco chapter of PRSA, are in three separate categories.
The Marshall students were honored for their work in creating campaigns for Empty Bowls, a national campaign to end hunger in communities throughout the U.S.; Helping Hungry Hearts, a fundraising project for the Huntington Area Food Bank; and Cotton: From Blue to Green Denim, a campaign to collect denim to be recycled into insulation for homes, including some for Hurricane Katrina relief in the Gulf Coast.
“It is quite an honor to be recognized in this manner by PRSA,” said Hapney, who is also adviser to Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at Marshall. “Several of my students were involved in all three campaigns. Together the students played very important roles in raising well over $20,000 for the Huntington Area Food Bank (HAFB) and (helping) insulate Habitat for Humanity homes.”
The students won the Crystal Award for an Integrated Communications Campaign for the Empty Bowls Project, an Honorable Mention in Community Relations for their work on the Helping Hungry Hearts campaign, and an Honorable Mention, Special Events, for the denim drive.
This year the School of Journalism’s newly created public relations/advertising agency, OutLoud Creative, worked on the Empty Bowls campaign, which teams public relations students with students in the College of Fine Arts to promote the sale of handcrafted soup bowls created by members of the Keramos Student Potters’ Guild.
“Several MU public relations students were integral to the success of this campaign, which raised money to benefit the Huntington Area Food Bank,” Hapney said. “Tens of thousands of people in the Tri-State area go hungry each month. Through this campaign School of Journalism and College of Fine Arts students are able to help 91,000 of those in our area struggling to put food on their tables each month.”
This Empty Bowls campaign was a finalist for the West Virginia campaign of the year, Hapney added.
A public relations campaign management class at Marshall took on the task of creating a new fundraising project called Helping Hungry Hearts, working “from the ground up,” according to Hapney.
Students researched, planned, communicated, and evaluated a new campaign for the client – the Huntington Area Food Bank (HAFB). They created the Helping Hungry Hearts (HHH) agency composed of members of the class and set about organizing fundraising events. They held the Outrunning Hunger 5K Run/Walk throughout downtown Huntington, a spaghetti dinner, a raffle and the Change-4-Change penny drive in local elementary schools and on Marshall’s Huntington campus.
“Over $10,000 was raised from this campaign, allowing the HAFB to purchase over 70,000 pounds of food to help feed the 91,000 people in the Tri-State area who look to the HAFB for help each month.” Hapney said.
The Cotton: From Blue to Green Denim Drive was conducted by the Marshall chapter of PRSSA. The project was part of a denim collection drive that was launched across eight college campuses in fall 2009. The MU chapter teamed up with Cotton Incorporated and the Huntington Area Habitat for Humanity to promote the effort, which resulted in denim being recycled into insulation for homes.
Sundstrom, president of the Marshall Chapter of the PRSSA, said, “Working on these campaigns was not only a great opportunity to gain experience in the field of public relations but also an amazing way to give back to our communities. The PR program at Marshall University has prepared me for so much more than simply starting a career. Through the work I have done on these campaigns, I now have an appreciation for helping others and giving back, something that will stay with me for a lifetime.”
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