JBU students, faculty member, alumna receive national communication honors

Seven JBU students, a faculty member and an alumna were among 300 communicators recognized June 6 in a virtual ceremony honoring winners in the 2020 National Communications Contest sponsored by the National Federation of Press Women. Winners in the national competition first competed in contests within their state, and firstplace entries then advanced to the national communications contest.

Catherine Nolte, managing editor of the student newspaper, The Threefold Advocate, received three first-place awards for her work. Her entries all were within the collegiate/education division. Her firsts

were in design (print or electronic) for “The Life of Christ in Words and Images,” writing — news for “Brexit delayed for a third time, pushed to January 2020,” and writing — opinion, editorial, reviews for “Mental illness is not a sin.”

A team of six communication students — Rachel Ball, Claire Brownlee, Hannah Lawrence, Jessica Oldenettel, Natalie Rogers and

Andrea Sosso — received second place in the collegiate/education division for public relations campaign. The students prepared a social media/communication plan for Saving Grace, a Rogers-based nonprofit organization. The campaign was their final project in a fall Public Relations Writing and Technology class.

Debbie Miller, a faculty member and faculty adviser

for the Threefold, received first place in the collegiate/ education category for faculty adviser of a student publication, station or site. She received honorable mentions for specialty articles — personal essay and communications programs

and campaigns — community, institutional or internal relations. The latter award was for work she did while employed at Ozark Guidance, a community behavioral health provider.

Jamie (Brunk) Smith, a 2000 graduate of JBU,

placed first in web and social media — blogs, corporate or for-profit for “The Day Facebook Died (and why it shouldn’t have been your website in the first place).”

All awards are for work completed during 2019.