Clark College department earns honors

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Clark College has earned a 2011 Spotlight Award from the Portland Metro Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) during its annual awards ceremony on Oct. 27.

The college was honored in the "event or observance" category for the 2011 State of the College address.

Barbara Kerr, executive director of Communications and Marketing, who submitted the Spotlight Award entry, accepted the award on behalf of the college.

Clark College President Robert Knight and Clark College Foundation President/CEO Lisa Gibert also attended the ceremony, which was held at the Tiger Woods Center at NIKE headquarters in Beaverton, OR.

The award entry reflected the contributions of Knight, Clark’s Communications and Marketing Department, Special Projects and Activities Manager Michelle Golder, Stage Manager Mark Owsley and Clark-Vancouver Television (CVTV).

The PRSA awards, described by one speaker as the "top communications award" in the region, are given annually for excellence.

Judges may choose to give no award, an award of merit, or the Spotlight Award, representing top honors. Other 2011 Spotlight Award winners included Portland General Electric, Legacy Health, and entries from the region’s top public relations firms including CMD, Edelman, Hubbell and Nereus. The 2011 entries were judged by accredited public relations professionals in Buffalo, NY.



During the past three years, the college has achieved an impressive record at the Spotlight Awards, submitting six entries and receiving four Spotlight Awards and two awards of merit. The college has been honored for its 75th anniversary celebration, the successful opening of Clark College at Columbia Tech Center, and the 2009 and 2011 State of the College addresses.

On Oct. 17, Clark’s Communications and Marketing Department received three awards at the District 7 conference of the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR). Clark earned a gold medallion in the media success category for the 2011 State of the College address. The college received bronze medallions in the newsletter category for Clark 24/7 and in the promotional video category for the 2010 Penguin Nation Holiday Sing-along.

The medallion awards reflected work done by Chris Concannon, Hannah Feldman Erickson, Barbara Kerr, Pat McDonald and Jenny Shadley.

Communications Specialist Hannah Feldman Erickson and Director of Marketing Brian Scott accepted the awards at the NCMPR conference, which was held in Tacoma.

NCMPR is the association of communicators at two-year colleges. It has more than 1,500 members at nearly 600 colleges across the United States, Canada and other countries. NCMPR District 7 includes colleges in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Yukon.