Contact: Debra Dennis
214-378-1819;
ddennis@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — April 25, 2017
(DALLAS) — Staff members on the digital communications team and the media relations team for the Dallas County Community College District recently won top national and state honors for their work in marketing, news and crisis communications.
The digital communications team earned top honors in the annual Education Digital Marketing Awards, which is a national competition, winning the coveted Gold Award for its employee recruitment webpage.
“It’s really great for the team to be recognized for their excellent work and collaboration with content owners. We are thrilled to be honored with these awards,” said Georgeann Moss, who is the district’s director of digital communications.
The DCCCD digital communications team members are: Jonathan Blundell, rich media manager; April Ellis, web managing editor; Marielle McGregor, senior digital editor; Luis Merino, rich media developer/producer; Eddie Middlebrook, senior digital editor; and Rick Rosen, senior digital editor.
The group also brought home other honors for several marketing campaigns, including a Silver Award for its Goldman Sachs
10,000 Small Businesses program entry; a Bronze Award for their nursing program microsite; and a Certificate of Merit for the Living Wage microsite.
The awards are presented by Higher Education Marketing Report, the leading marketing publication for higher education marketers. More than 1,000 entries were placed from colleges, universities and secondary schools.
DCCCD media relations team members won recognition for their crisis communications response and recovery efforts following the Dallas police shooting on July 7, 2016, which ended on the campus of El Centro College. The news staff received a Bronze Paragon Award in the communications success category for their entry titled “Response and Recovery: The Dallas Shooting.” The Paragon Awards program is a national competition sponsored by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations, which is affiliated with the American Association of Community Colleges.
The news team also received a Silver Accolades Award from CASE District IV in the institutional identity programs category for their entry also titled “Response and Recovery: The Dallas Shooting” and another Silver Accolades Award in the news writing category for the story titled “Skills Gap in Cybersecurity Creates Job Opportunities for DCCCD Students” by Cesar Canizales, the district’s news communication manager.
The other news team members are Debra Dennis, news writer, and Ann Hatch, district director of media relations. The El Centro College marketing office also was included in the award recognition received for crisis communications work done following the Dallas police shooting.
Hatch said, “Our team — all former journalists — works hard to provide accurate news, share stories about our successful students and employees, and also respond professionally during a crisis. The Dallas shooting last year tested all of the knowledge and skills we possessed to get through the toughest situation we have ever faced. I’m proud of our team and the work that we do.”
CASE District IV — one of seven U.S. districts and other international regions that comprise the Council for Advancement and Support of Education — covers a five-state region which includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The annual competition honors higher education employees in institutional advancement for their outstanding work.
For more information, contact Debra Dennis, news writer in the office of public and governmental affairs, at
ddennis@dcccd.edu or at 214-378-1851.
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