STCC, HCC Take Home Awards for Marketing
Team Efforts
STCC’s Marketing and Communications team includes, from left, Jim Danko, Nicola Ludwig, and Eli Freund.
Two local community colleges took home awards at the District 1 Conference of the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR), held Oct. 23-25 in Baltimore.
Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) won Medallion Awards in three categories: Microsite/Landing Page (bronze); Social Media Post or Story A (bronze); and TV/Video Paid Advertisement (single) (silver).
Meanwhile, Holyoke Community College (HCC) won the top two Medallion Awards in the category of Excellence in Writing – Short Form, for stories up to 800 words.
NCMPR, which supports marketing and public-relations professionals at community and technical colleges, holds the District Medallion Awards annually in the fall. These awards are regarded as a benchmark for excellence in communications and marketing in higher education.
STCC Wins for Design and Communication
Competing against colleges across the Northeast (District 1), STCC’s marketing team was recognized for design and communication. Peers from other districts in the U.S. judged the entries.
“I am proud of the talented STCC Marketing and Communications team for being recognized for their terrific work,” said Karen Walker, assistant vice president of Advancement, who oversees the Marketing and Communications team. “This achievement underscores the department’s excellence in promoting STCC’s mission, student success stories, and innovative programs, while also showcasing its impactful communication strategies.”
The STCC Marketing and Communications Department’s recent success at the NCMPR awards is a testament to its dedication to delivering high-quality, effective communication that resonates with students, families, and the community, said Eli Freund, director of Marketing and Communications at STCC.
“We are thrilled to receive these awards, which reflect the hard work and creativity of our team,” he added. “Our mission is to inspire and inform through the stories of our students and the impactful programs STCC offers, and it’s an honor to be recognized by our peers in higher-education marketing.”
The NCMPR District 1 awards affirm STCC’s role as a leader in community-college marketing and communication, showcasing the institution’s commitment to supporting student success and connecting with the community, he noted.
The team includes Freund, Assistant Director of Communications Jim Danko, and Digital and Social Media Manager Nicola Ludwig.
HCC Honored for Writing Excellence
HCC won the top two Medallion Awards in the category of Excellence in Writing – Short Form, for stories up to 800 words. Taking gold was “Name That Tune,” a short profile of HCC math major Tom Dulac ’23, now a student at Westfield State University. In 2023, Dulac won a national award for musical composition that he submitted under the pseudonym ‘Zac Dune.’
Taking silver was “Ready to Go,” a commencement profile about Tatiana McKnight ’23, who suffered from agoraphobia as a teenager. Encouraged by her grandmother, the Puerto Rican educator and author Sonia Nieto, McKnight enrolled at HCC, where she excelled, using her experience as a springboard for transfer to Mount Holyoke College.
HCC Media Relations Manager Chris Yurko and Multimedia Specialist Louis Burgos with the college’s gold and silver Medallion awards.
Both stories were written by HCC Media Relations Manager Chris Yurko. “Name That Tune” was published in the Alumni Out & About section of the spring 2024 issue of HCC’s award-winning college magazine, the Connection, and “Ready to Go” in the Spotlight section of the HCC website in July 2023.
“It always feels good to be recognized by one’s colleagues, but it gives me even greater joy to be able to bring attention to the great work being done at the college and the remarkable achievements of our students,” said Yurko, who is also editor-in-chief of the Connection, which received a national Paragon award from NCMPR in 2023.
Recognized Across a Broad Territory
NCMPR represents marketing and public-relations professionals at community and technical colleges in the U.S. and beyond. The NCMPR Medallion Awards recognize outstanding achievement in design and communication in each of NCMPR’s seven districts.
STCC and HCC resides in District 1, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec.
