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HomeAchieversBelmont Public Relations Society Receives National Honors

Belmont Public Relations Society Receives National Honors

PRSSA_2013_awardBelmont public relations majors received national accolades at the recent Public Relations Student Society of America National Conference in Philadelphia. Belmont PRSSA received a Star Chapter Award, recognizing excellence in 10 areas including community service, ethics advocacy and leadership.

Two Belmont students received individual awards. Andy Cole, immediate past president of Belmont PRSSA, received a PRSSA National Gold Key Award for outstanding leadership and professional promise. Cole and Katie Mulrain, Belmont PRSSA vice president, received a PRSSA President’s Citation for contributions to the local student chapter.

Eight student leaders and two faculty members from the department of public relations attended the conference. Students attending were Cole, Mulrain, Makenzie Albracht, Arielle Schrader, Catie Benenson, Mary Anna Davis, Alex Heavner and Victoria Lewis. Faculty attending were Dr. Bonnie Riechert, associate professor and chair of the department of public relations, and Dr. Kevin Trowbridge, assistant professor in the department.

Riechert and Cole spoke on a panel on hosting regional conferences, sharing experiences from the PRSSA Region 5 Conference hosted here in March 2012, for which the chapter received the 2012 Outstanding Regional Conference Award.

“Our public relations students are engaged in cutting-edge trends and developments in the industry,” said Riechert, who has served as PRSSA faculty advisor since 2006. “Our student leaders are carrying on the standard of excellent student leadership that is a tradition in our department.”

PRSSA is made up of more than 10,000 students and advisers organized into 332 chapters in the United States and one in Argentina.  It is the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communications. PRSSA is supported by parent organization, the Public Relations Society of America, which offers professional development, networking opportunities and leadership in ethics. The Belmont Chapter of PRSSA is sponsored by Nashville PRSA. (image – PRSSA_2013_award.jpg)

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