Recipients of this MSPRA’s 2013-14 Awards of Excellence include (seated, from left): Debbie Anglin, Pascagoula School District; Stephanie Packer, Moss Point School District; Linda Buford-Burks, Mississippi School Boards Association; Kelly Graeber, Oxford School District; (standing, from left) Dr. Phil Burchfield, Clinton Public School District; Katherine Nelson, DeSoto County School District; Sandi Beason, Clinton Public School District; Leigh Anne Biggs, Long Beach School District; Margaret Tynes, Petal School District; Robbie Buchanan and Gail Daignault, Grenada School District; Melanie Shannon, New Albany School District; and Jasn Smith, Hattiesburg School District.

Recipients of this MSPRA’s 2013-14 Awards of Excellence include (seated, from left): Debbie Anglin, Pascagoula School District; Stephanie Packer, Moss Point School District; Linda Buford-Burks, Mississippi School Boards Association; Kelly Graeber, Oxford School District; (standing, from left) Dr. Phil Burchfield, Clinton Public School District; Katherine Nelson, DeSoto County School District; Sandi Beason, Clinton Public School District; Leigh Anne Biggs, Long Beach School District; Margaret Tynes, Petal School District; Robbie Buchanan and Gail Daignault, Grenada School District; Melanie Shannon, New Albany School District; and Jasn Smith, Hattiesburg School District.

 

Mississippi’s public schools work in multiple ways to communicate with their local communities, and during the Mississippi School Public Relations Association (MSPRA) Awards Dinner, some of those efforts were recognized.

“We have so many great programs and people in our schools, and this is one way to honor their hard work in the area of communications,” said Melanie Shannon, public information officer in the New Albany School District and MSPRA president.

School districts and school public relations professionals across the state were honored for their publications, marketing efforts and online communications. The recognitions are part of MSPRA’s annual Awards of Excellence program.

The highest honor given at the event, Communicator of the Year, was presented to Stephanie Packer, director of communications for the Moss Point School District. Packer oversees internal and external communications in the Moss Point schools and has earned numerous MSPRA awards.

The second-highest honor given is the Gold Medallion Award, which recognizes outstanding PR campaigns. The recipient of this year’s Gold Medallion award is Debbie Anglin, public information officer in the Pascagoula School District, for her work with the Family Interactive Centers.

Other Awards of Excellence winners include:

• Clinton Public School District, Sandi Beason, PIO

–          First place and third place, Coordinated School Health

–          First place, Excellence in Writing

• DeSoto County Schools, Katherine Nelson, director of communications

–          First place, Electronic Newsletter

–          First place, Marketing Materials

–          Second place, Coordinated School Health

–          First place and second place, Audio/Visual/PSAs

• Grenada School District, Gail Daignault, director of communications

–          First place, Print Newsletter/Newspaper

–          First place, Identity/Image Package

–          Third place, Marketing Materials

• Gulfport School District, Velma Johnson, community relations

–          Third place, Handbooks

–          First place, Audio/Visual/PSAs

• Hattiesburg School District, Jasn Smith, PIO

–          Second place, Calendars

–          First place, Handbooks

–          Second place, Print Newsletter/Newspaper

–          First place, Special Purpose Publications

–          First place and third place, Excellence in Photography

• Long Beach School District, Leigh Anne Biggs, PIO

–          Second place, Excellence in Photography

• McComb School District, Monique Gilmore, PIO

–          First place, Calendars

–          Second place, Internet/Intranet

• Moss Point School District, Stephanie Packer, director of communications

–          Second place, Electronic Newsletters

–          Second place, Identity/Image Package

• New Albany School District, Melanie Shannon, PIO

–          Second place, Marketing Materials

–          Second place, Excellence in Writing

–          First place, Internet/Intranet

• Oxford School District, Kelly Graeber, PIO

–          First, second and third place, Multimedia Projects

• Petal School District, Margaret Tynes, PIO

–          Second place, Handbooks

–          Second and third place, Special Purpose Publications