The Kellogg Community College Marketing and Communications Department has won eight prestigious Paragon Awards from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations for the department’s efforts to promote the College during the 2023 academic year.
The NCMPR Paragon Awards are international awards recognizing outstanding achievement in design and communication at community and technical colleges in the United States and Canada. The awards competition is the only one of its kind and honors excellence exclusively among marketing and public relations professionals at two-year colleges.
The NCMPR this year received more than 1,500 entries from 210 organizations; KCC’s eight awards were the most honors awarded to a single organization in the Paragon Awards this year.
Award recipients were announced March 15 during an awards ceremony at the NCMPR National Conference at The Westin hotel in Seattle. The NCMPR announced KCC had won awards in the following categories:
- Academic Catalog or Class Schedule: KCC won the second-place Silver Paragon Award for the 2023 Bruin Youth Programming summer camps schedule and the third-place Bronze Paragon Award for the Spring 2023 Lifelong Learning schedule. Both projects were produced in collaboration with the College’s Lifelong Learning Department.
- Annual Report: KCC won the third-place Bronze Paragon Award for the December 2022 edition of BruIN magazine, which doubled as the College’s Annual Report, produced in collaboration with the College’s KCC Foundation. This is the third consecutive year KCC has won a Paragon Award in the Annual Report category.
- Flyer (Single or Series): KCC won the second-place Silver Paragon Award for a tuition-comparison rack card, showing the significant cost savings the average student realizes by starting their education at KCC compared to a four-year school.
- Logo Design: KCC won the third-place Bronze Paragon Award for a logo for Bruins & Brews, a coffee-centered Student Life initiative, designed by Graphic Design Specialist Mackenzie Griffith.
- Novelty: KCC won the second-place Silver Paragon Award for custom color-changing spoon giveaways produced for last summer’s Cereal Festival in downtown Battle Creek.
- Print Ad (Single or Series): KCC won the first-place Gold Paragon Award for a series of full-page, full-color “Experience KCC” ads that appeared in the Battle Creek Shopper News in August 2022. This is the second consecutive year KCC won the Gold Paragon Award in the Print Ad category.
- Social Media Post: KCC won the second-place Silver Paragon Award for a “Where are you now?” Facebook text post published last fall, aimed at increasing alumni engagement.
Also recognized at the conference was Media Design Manager Cab Rininger, who was one of just seven finalists nationwide for national Communicator of the Year honors. Rininger was named the NCMPR’s District 3 Communicator of the Year this past fall.
Marketing Director Simon Thalmann said the Marketing and Communications team is “honored to again be recognized at the highest levels for our work advocating for the College and our students.”
“These awards serve as a continued validation of the level of quality and excellence our internal clients and the wider community have come to expect from our high-performing team of design, print and marketing and communications professionals,” Thalmann said. “We’re privileged to be a part of such a strong team of tireless professionals who consistently put out exceptional work, including many individuals and departments from across the College whose collaborative efforts have contributed to our collective success as part of the Bruin family.”
KCC’s Marketing and Communications Department provides a variety of in-house strategy development, marketing management, graphic design and print services under the leadership of Eric Greene, vice president for communications and advancement. The marketing team has won a total of 21 Paragon Awards since 2012, as well as 73 Medallion Awards – regional honors bestowed by the NCMPR – over the same time period.
Department employees include Mackenzie Griffith, graphic design process specialist; June Lewis, print and document services process specialist; Mike Loader, print and document services specialist; Cab Rininger, media design manager; Krissy Stolz, marketing and communications specialist; and Simon Thalmann, marketing director. The department also employs part-time student workers as an opportunity for KCC students to learn valuable, on-the-job marketing, communication and design skills.
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