SWBOCES comms team nets 19 national school PR awards

The Southern Westchester BOCES School Communications team has bested its own record in the National School Public Relations Association's 2023 Publications and Digital Media Excellence Awards, taking home 19 awards overall, including eight first-place honors.

Public Relations Specialist Alicia Smith and Graphic Illustrator Jeffry Braun led the way with three first-place Awards of Excellence apiece. Just a year ago the team set a previous record with 14 awards, including three first-place prizes.

The award winners were announced June 16 and will be recognized in person at the NSPRA annual conference in St. Louis July 16-19. All contest entries were judged against those from similar organizations from across the country on their overall excellence and comparative quality. 

"This team continues to demonstrate the excellence that Southern Westchester BOCES strives for in its work supporting our schools and BOCES programs," Director of Communications Brian Howard stated. "Breaking our own recent record for honors, set just a year ago, was incredibly gratifying, especially because of the diversity of categories for which the team was honored, showcasing our broad array of expertise in the services we provide."

The 19 awards came in seven different categories. A newly created Video Production service was launched a year ago. The team received four awards for its video work in the latest contest results. Besides the eight first-place awards, the team also won six second-place Awards of Merit and four third-place Honorable Mentions. 

Public Relations Specialist Alicia Smith won three Awards of Excellence, all in the Excellence in Writing category. Her winning entries included pieces on SWBOCES Career Tech students interning at Yonkers Honda, a new art space at Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School in Blind Brook, and the Alexander Hamilton High School drama club's performance of Beauty and the Beast. Ms. Smith was also honored with an Award of Merit for her production of the Pocantico Hills Schools' Highlights newsletter.   

Graphic Illustrator Jeffry Braun was honored with three Awards of Excellence for the Blind Brook Schools' Open House postcard (Marketing Publication category), the Ossining Union Free School District's O-gram e-newsletter; and the LHRIC Services Guide (Special Purpose Publication category). Mr. Braun was also honored with an Honorable Mention for the Southern Westchester BOCES Center for Career Services' Tools of the Trade newsletter. 

Director of Communications Brian Howard received two Awards of Excellence, one for the Southern Westchester BOCES Center for Career Services' Careers Central e-newsletter, and one for Excellence in Writing for the feature profile Faculty Spotlight: Jon Arras, Architecture & Interior Design—New addition to CTE faculty hits his stride.  Mr. Howard also received Honorable Mentions for his social media campaign in support of the the Southern Westchester BOCES Teacher Aide Rapid Hiring Event, and in the video category for his entry, Meet Former SWBOCES Students Who Became Employees.

Public Relations Specialist Anthony DiNoto was honored with an Award of Excellence for his video, That’s a wrap: SWBOCES CTE students collaborate with real-world client. Mr. DiNoto also received two Awards of Merit, also in the video category, for the district overview he created for the Mount Pleasant Cottage Union Free School District, and for the Superintendent's Spotlight he produced for Pocantico Hills Central School. 

Public Relations Specialist Natalia Baage,  received three Awards of Merit in the Newsletter category for Valhalla Voyages, and in the social media category for the Horace Greeley High School sports Instagram and the Valhalla Schools Facebook page. Ms. Baage also received an Honorable Mention in social media for her Chappaqua Athletics "Engine Spotlights."

NSPRA is the leader in school communication with a mission to advance education through responsible communication. NSPRA’s Publications and Digital Media Awards recognize outstanding education publications and marketing/informational materials (print and electronic), video/TV/radio programs, social media and websites. The submissions are adjudicated by veteran educational communications professionals across the country who have long-standing expertise in the categories they judge.