MSPRA Awards 2013

JACKSON — Mississippi’s public schools work in myriad ways to communicate with their local communities, and on Thursday, 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 Sandi Beason, public information officer in the Clinton Public School District and president of the Mississippi School Public Relations Association.

During the awards dinner Thursday evening at the Fairview Inn, 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, the Communicator of the Year award, was presented to Sandi Beason, Public Information Officer for the Clinton Public School District. Beason has served as the 2012-2013 president of MSPRA 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 is Debbie Anglin, for her work on the Pascagoula School District’s Family Interactive Center.

MSPRA’s first Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Peggy Hampton. Hampton is retired from the Jackson Public Schools where she served as Director of Communications. Hampton has been very active in MSPRA and earned many awards.

Other Awards of Excellence winners include:

   •   Lisa Eveleigh, Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District
   ◦   First Place, Annual Reports
   ◦   First Place, Electronic Newsletters
       ◦   First Place, Marketing Material
   •   Monique Gilmore, McComb School District
   ◦   First Place, Calendars
   ◦   Third Place, Electronic Newsletters
   ◦   Second Place, Identity/Image Package
   ◦   Second Place-Tie, Marketing Material
   ◦   Second Place-Tie, Special Purpose Publications
   ◦   First Place, Audio/Visual Programs & Presentations
   •   Margaret Tynes, Petal School District
   ◦   Second Place, Calendars
   ◦   First Place, Special Purpose Publications
   ◦   Second Place-Tie, Excellence in Writing
   •   Carol Jones, Rankin County School District
   ◦   Third Place, Calendars
   •   Katherine Nelson, Desoto County Schools
   ◦   Second Place, Electronic Newsletters
   ◦   Third Place, Internet
   ◦   Third Place, Multimedia Projects
   ◦   Second Place-Tie, Print Newsletters & Newspapers
      ◦   Second Place-Tie, Audio/Visual Programs & Presentations
   •   Melanie Shannon, New Albany Schools
   ◦   First Place-Tie, Handbooks
   ◦   First Place-Tie, Internet
   •   Lauren Hitchcock, Oxford School District
   ◦   First Place-Tie, Handbooks
   •   Kim Jobe, Corinth School District
   ◦   Third Place, Handbooks
       ◦   First Place-Tie, Internet
   ◦   Honorable Mention, Excellence in Photography
   •   Gail Daigneault, Grenada School District
   ◦   First Place, Identity/Image Package
   •   Robbie Buchanan, Grenada School District
   ◦   First Place-Tie, Multimedia Projects
      ◦   First Place, Print Newsletters & Newspapers
   •   Sandi Beason, Clinton Public School District
    ◦   First Place-Tie, Multimedia Projects
      ◦   Second Place, Excellence in Photography
   ◦   Honorable Mention, Excellence in Photography
    ◦   First Place, Excellence in Writing
      ◦   Second Place-Tie, Excellence in Writing
      ◦   Second Place-Tie, Marketing Material
   •   Sandy Halliwell, Clinton Public School District
        ◦   First Place, Finance Publications & Presentations
   •   Leigh Anne Biggs, Long Beach School District
   ◦   First Place, Excellence in Photography
   •   Debbie Anglin, Pascagoula School District
   ◦   Second Place-Tie, Print Newsletters & Newspapers
   ◦   Third Place, Excellence in Photography
   ◦   Honorable Mention, Excellence in Photography
   ◦   Second Place-Tie, Special Purpose Publications
   •   Josh Parker, Newton Municipal School District
   ◦   Second Place-Tie, Audio/Visual Programs & Presentations

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Sandi Beason, PIO for Clinton Public School District, is the Mississippi Schools PR Association’s Communicator of the Year

MSPRA2

Debbie Anglin, the Director of Communications for the Pascagoula School District, won the Mississippi Schools PR Association’s 2012-13 Gold Medallion Award for her Family Interactive Center public relations campaign.

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Peggy Hampton, right, the recipient of the MSPRA Lifetime Achievement Award with Sherwin Johnson, Director of Communications with Jackson Public Schools