PRSSA receives nine awards at PRSSA National Conference 2015
11/19/2015
Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at Louisiana State University (LSU) received nine awards at the PRSSA National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 6 to Nov. 10. The awards included three Teahan Awards, the Star Chapter Award, second place in the National Organ Donation Awareness Competition (NODAC) and four individual awards.
“Our young professionals are talented and dedicated,” PRSSA at LSU Faculty Adviser Sadie Wilks said. “They worked tirelessly to earn those awards, and they deserve every bit of the recognition. PRSSA at LSU has a tradition of excellence, and these students reflect the high standards we expect at Manship.”
PRSSA at LSU received the awards at the opening session on Saturday morning of the conference and at the “Night Among the Stars” Awards Ceremony on Monday evening. This is the greatest number of awards the Chapter has received at a PRSSA National Conference.
Chapter Awards
The Teahan Awards are the highest honors at PRSSA National Conference. The awards
are given in honor of Chris Teahan, the founder of PRSSA. This year, PRSSA at LSU
received Teahan Awards for community service, chapter website and diversity.
PRSSA at LSU received the Star Chapter Award by completing at least eight of ten
essential criteria. The Star Chapter Award distinguishes chapters that excel in programming
and Public Relations Student Society of America relationship building. The requirements
for this award include completing a community service initiative, strengthening the
relationship with a local PRSA chapter and other achievements. In spring 2015, a group
of eight Manship School of Mass Communication students executed a campaign to spread
awareness of organ donation across campus, leading to this year’s second place NODAC
Award.
“When my class won the first place award last year, the students and I were ecstatic,” LSU Professor Jinx Broussard said. “This year’s second place award is further confirmation of the strength of our public relations area and the talented and hard-working students I and my colleagues have the privilege of teaching every day. The campaigns the students have been conducting for the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) for the past four years have raised awareness of the need for organ donation and have registered hundreds of donors.”
Spring 2015 graduating seniors Courtney McGuffee, Bradley Williams, Maddie Duhon, Sean-Patrick King, Francesca Brewer, Rebecca Herring, Ellen Wagner, and Ariana Carter created and implemented the campaign.
Individual Awards
Manship School senior JoLena Broussard was presented with two scholarships. She received the Marcia Silverman Minority Student Award and the Stephen D. Pisinski Memorial Scholarship. Broussard also received the National Gold Key Award for her leadership and academic achievement in the field of public relations.
Current PRSSA at LSU President Tara Hebert received the National President’s Citation for her leadership and contributions to PRSSA at the local and national level.
PRSSA National Conference is a professional development and networking event for students in the public relations field. Over 1,000 students attended from universities nationwide. Of these students, 12 attend LSU.
PRSSA at LSU is a pre-professional organization that allows members to network and gain insight from leading professionals around Louisiana. It is one of more than 300 chapters of PRSSA National. For more information about the organization, visit www.prssalsu.com.