Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) members from across the state received honors from the association for their outstanding work in education communications earning Gold Star, Silver Star, Bronze Star and Best of Category awards. The awards were announced at TSPRA’s annual Star Awards Celebration held February 24, 2016 during the Associations’s 54th annual conference.
Each year, TSPRA recognizes communicators in school districts, education foundations, education associations and organizations for their work in print and electronic media categories. There are 44 main categories covering various media such as newsletters, programs, posters, reports, writing, image/identity packages, photography, graphics, video, electronic presentations, mobile apps, campaigns and websites.
This year, 1159 entries were received. The entries are divided into three divisions based on the number of students the district, foundation or organizations serves fewer than 10,000 students; 10,000 to 30,000 students; and over 30,000 students (Galena Park ISD falls into the 10,000 to 30,000 student category). Independent judges not affiliated with TSPRA evaluate and score each entry based on its own merit. Bronze, Silver and Gold Stars are awarded based on set criteria. Finally, the judges review their highest scoring Gold Star winners and select a Best of Category for each division in each of the 44 categories.
Jonathan Frey, Coordinator for Media and Community Relations for Galena park ISD, earned 11 gold medals and 2 silver medals in four categories: Sports Photo; Photo Other Subjects; External Newsletter; and Video Special Interest. Two of the photos that earned gold medals earned Best of Category.
“We’re proud of the work he does. He takes lots of photos at many of our major events. He’s the voice people hear on many of our call outs. He creates videos and our GPS newspaper. He really enjoys what he does and it shows,” said Crystal Murray, Assistant Superintendent for Community Relations.