Awards & Scholarships

St. Vrain Superintendent Don Haddad earns Communicator of the Year award

Christy McGee awarded APR scholarship, Jason Hackett earns professional development scholarship

CoSPRA is proud to announce the recipients of this year's Communicator of the Year award, Professional Development Scholarship and Accreditation (APR) Candidate Scholarship.

Communicator of the Year

Superintendent Don Haddad of the St. Vrain Valley School District earned CoSPRA's Communicator of the Year award for 2009-2010. CoSPRA President Jennifer Reeve, APR made a surprise presentation at the district's March 10 board meeting. Read the the article in the Longmont Times-Call.

Haddad's Administrative Leadership Team nominated him for the award. Here are some reasons why he's earned our organization's most prestigious award:

1. Haddad has committed to open, two-way communication efforts that are sincere, sustained and diversified.

2. Haddad reorganized the leadership cabinet, raising the communication manager position to a director level position reporting directly to him.

3. Haddad embraces new communications strategies and tactics for reaching out to stakeholders. On Feb. 3, 70 district stakeholders gathered for a live cable cast television program addressing the K-12 funding cuts resulting from the state budget deficit. The program also included phone call-ins, live blogging and questions and comments via Twitter.

This is just a sample of Haddad's commitment to best practices in communications. We're honored to have him as a guest speaker at our Thursday, April 29 Spring Meeting from noon - 2:30 p.m. at Adams 12 Five Star Schools.

Professional Development Scholarship

Member Jason Hackett, communication specialist for Weld County School District 6, has earned the Professional Development Scholarship. Jason has demonstrated a strong commitment to continually improve his skills to benefit CoSPRA and the public education community.

As the scholarship winner, CoSPRA is awarding Jason with a registration to the 2010 NSPRA Seminar in Charlotte, North Carolina from July 11-14 (Valued at $675).

Accreditation (APR) Candidate Scholarship

Member Christy McGee, communications specialist for Mesa County Valley School District 51, has earned the inaugural Accreditation (APR) Candidate Scholarship. In seeking Accreditation, Christy has committed to improving her knowledge, skills and abilities in public relations to benefit the organization she works for, other CoSPRA members and the entire community of public relations professionals.

As the scholarship winner, CoSPRA is awarding Christy with $275 to put toward her application fee for Accreditation.

Congratulations to all of CoSPRA's award recipients and a special thanks to those who served on the Awards Committee: Brad Stauffer, APR; Janelle Albertson, APR; and Roger Fiedler, APR.

CoSPRA Member Awards/
Communicator of the Year Nominations
Deadline for Entries: January 19, 2010

CoSPRA Communicator of the Year

As the most prestigious and enduring award of CoSPRA, the Communicator of the Year Award recognizes the public relations best practices of people and organizations whose work supports Colorado public education.
Eligibility: CoSPRA members may nominate an individual or organization. Nominees are not required to be CoSPRA members.
Award: The Communicator of the Year receives a plaque and recognition at the CoSPRA Spring meeting. In addition, CoSPRA will send a press release announcing the award recipient to local media.

Communicator of the Year Nomination Form

CoSPRA Professional Development Scholarship

The Professional Development Scholarship recognizes a CoSPRA member who demonstrates a strong commitment to continually improve his/her skills to benefit his/her organization and the public education community.
Eligibility: Any CoSPRA member is eligible for this award. All entries are self-nominations. Preference will be given to those who have not previously attended an NSPRA Seminar.
Award: The award recipient will receive one registration to the 2010 NSPRA Seminar in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 11-14 (Valued at $675).

Professional Development Scholarship Form

CoSPRA Accreditation (APR) Candidate Scholarship

The Accreditation (APR) Candidate Scholarship recognizes a CoSPRA member who demonstrates a strong commitment to continually improve his or her knowledge, skills and abilities in public relations to benefit the organization he/she works for, other CoSPRA members and the greater public education community. Learn more about seeking your APR at www.praccreditation.org
Eligibility: Any CoSPRA member with five years or more experience in public relations or a related field is eligible for this scholarship. All entries are self-nominations.
Award: The scholarship recipient will receive $275 toward the application fee for Accreditation.

Accreditation (APR) Candidate Scholarship Form

2010 Cospra Communications Excellence
Awards Program

2009 CoSPRA Communications Excellence Award Winners

Thank you to all COSPRA members who participated in the awards process, which demonstrates the talent and commitment COSPRA members bring to their craft and to Colorado public education.