An initiative aimed at elevating support of education in Maury County has won public relations awards in Nashville and Knoxville for the second year in a row. The Grow Maury Initiative, which is led by the Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance in partnership with Maury County Public Schools and Mary Beth West Communications, received multiple honors from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) chapters in both cities.
Mary Beth West Communications (MBWC) received four Awards of Excellence from the Knoxville Volunteer Chapter in the Public Service Announcements, Integrated Communications, Public Service Partnerships and Community Relations categories. MBWC received one Award of Merit for its Maury County work in the Print Brochures category.
The public relations agency also received multiple honors from the PRSA Nashville Chapter in its Parthenon Awards program, including three Awards of Excellence in the Nonprofit Communications, Public Service and Public Relations Company categories. The agency won Awards of Merit in the Market Research category (an honor MBWC shares with Knoxville-based Bryant Research) and in the Community Relations category.
The Grow Maury Initiative seeks to elevate education as a community priority in Maury County by hosting special events, showcasing educational accomplishments, inviting experts to provide thought leadership and rallying the community behind students and teachers.
As part of the initiative, the Maury Alliance partnered with Maury County Public Schools to host a kickoff event, major panel summits with state and local experts and a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) student summit. The school system also launched DIPLOMA, a 1:1 digital technology initiative that will eventually put technological devices in the hands of every Maury County Public Schools student.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam praised Maury County’s educational progress during a speech on March 3. Haslam recognized the “phenomenal” 32 percent increase in college readiness scores, “impressive” one-point ACT score increase and pointed to the county an example of educational growth that his administration has encouraged across the state.
In addition to the recognition MBWC received for its Maury County work, the agency also received three Awards of Excellence in Nashville and two Awards of Quality in Knoxville for the #SmokiesStrong Fire-Recovery Editorial Cartoon Campaign.
Each year, PRSA’s awards programs provide local marketing and public relations practitioners with an opportunity to have their strategic communications campaigns and products peer-reviewed for best-practices and judged for overall quality by professionals located outside their geographic market. Criteria include outstanding achievement in executing research, planning, budget allocation, execution and evaluation of public relations strategies, campaigns and tactics.
More information can be located about PRSA via its national website, prsa.org, Nashville Chapter website, prsanashville.org, or via its Volunteer Chapter website, volunteerprsa.org.