By Holly Desrosier
Craven Community College (Craven CC) received two first-place Medallion Awards from the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR), which were announced during the 2020 NCMPR virtual District 2 fall conference on Oct. 22, 2020.
The college received gold in the categories of Interior Signage/Displays and Excellence in Writing.
“Our community had some tremendous stories to tell over the past year,” said Craig Ramey, Craven CC director of communications. “Our team is humbled and honored to win first place for the second year in a row during the NCMPR district awards.”
The Interior Signage/Displays submission highlighted the eye-catching wall design inside the Volt Center, the college’s workforce development training facility located at 205 First Street. The signage features four photos of trades workers, the college’s logo, the Volt Center’s tagline of “Hands-On Learning. Powerful Results” and the logos of the Volt Center’s corporate sponsors. The modular corporate sponsorship wall currently includes Hatteras, Moen, American Red Cross, National Housing Endowment, City of New Bern, Chatsworth Products, B/S/H/, Home Builders Association, Schlaadt, Craven County Schools, Craven 100 Alliance and Craven County, with plenty of room for additional sponsors.
The Excellence in Writing entry, titled “Weathering the Storm,” detailed the college’s experiences leading up to and following the destruction of Hurricane Florence. The article documents the many steps the college took to assist faculty, staff and students, as well as the community at large. The judges offered the following remarks: “This was a very thoughtful, well-written story with many specific examples that would interest stakeholders, donors and elected officials. Great quality of writing, with memorable stories about ways Craven CC helped its students and faculty. Way to go.” The article originally appeared in the 2019 Craven CC Magazine and can be found at www.cravencc.edu/news/weathering-the-storm.
The Volt Center interior signage and “Weathering the Storm” campaigns were the result of collaborative efforts between Craven CC’s marketing and communications team, consisting of Craig Ramey, director of communications; Meredith Laskovics, marketing specialist; and Holly Desrosier, communications specialist.
The NCMPR Medallion Awards recognize outstanding achievement in design and communication at community and technical colleges in each of NCMPR’s seven districts. The regional competition is exclusive to marketing and public relations professionals at two-year colleges. Craven CC is part of District 2, which consists of two-year colleges in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and The Bahamas.
Craven CC has also been selected as a finalist in the category of Promotional Video-Short Form for NCMPR’s Paragon awards, which is the organization’s national competition.
NCMPR is an organization that represents the marketing and public relations professionals at community and technical colleges across the nation. Their mission is to provide professional development opportunities, advocate on behalf of the profession and the institutions it serves and recognize professional excellence.
This article was originally published in the New Bern Sun Journal on January 20, 2021.