PRAM honors SSRC annual report with state public relations award

The SSRC communications team received an Award of Excellence at the Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM) state conference for their work on the 2021 SSRC Annual Report.

The 30-page report includes feature stories and design elements highlighting the center’s new and ongoing work for the year. Although each Mississippi State University department compiles an annual report to list the unit’s research and progress throughout the year, Emile Creel, communication coordinator, chose to enhance the SSRC’s 2021 Annual Report by adding a creative touch with photos, infographics, and greater detail.

“We got really good feedback from the judging committee on how the report was put together, the stories that were in it, and the way we organized the material. These awards are  just another way to show that it was a successful report,” Creel said.

The PRAM Awards are judged by professionals who recognize outstanding work in the field of public relations in both the public and private sectors. Award-winning entries are judged based off process, results, and creativity within a variety of categories. 

The 2021 Annual Report, which is shared in print and online with SSRC visitors and collaborators, was first recognized with at the Bulldog PRism Awards at the local level last December.

“We’ve seen that the report reached different groups through analytics from people that have shared it on social media or looked at it on the website, but it’s nice to have its merits recognized from fellow public relations professionals, too,” Creel said. 

Working alongside Creel on the report was Communication Intern Bethany Deuel, a senior from Hoover, AL. Deuel assisted Creel with the proofreading, formatting, and other design tasks. Her main role in the report was researching and writing a four-page feature story on the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program.

“That was the first piece I’d written with multiple sources,” Deuel said. “It helped me learn how to take different viewpoints and ideas and form them into a cohesive story. I wanted to ask questions that would prompt meaningful answers, not just ask stuff that I could have researched on my own.”

While the annual report always takes months to put together, the hard work is consistently rewarded. The report is distributed 100s of times through emails and print copies to those connected with the center’s work, and the SSRC communications team has a history of winning both local and state awards.

“We were excited to win the Award of Excellence this year and further promote the research of the SSRC. Ultimately, I hope that everyone reading this report—an award judge or visitor to the SSRC—recognizes the outstanding work of our faculty and staff,” Creel said.