The Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) Communications Department received five Gold Awards of Excellence and one Silver Award of Excellence. The awards were presented during a Georgia School Public Relations Association (GSPRA) award ceremony in January.
A Gold Award of Excellence, which is the highest honor, was awarded in the image/identity package category for the district’s rebranding of the logo. The GSCS logo had not been updated in 10+ years. The new logo is a clean and clear representation of our district. It incorporates the colors of our two comprehensive high schools and utilizes the same font as our city and county logos showing collaboration to benefit the future of our community through education. The new logo has helped the district achieve the goal of creating a distinctive brand. Judges commented, “The new logo is clean with fresh new colors and was executed well.”
In the Videography/Electronic media category, The GSCS Portrait of a Graduate Video Series was awarded gold. The video series highlighted Class of 2022 graduates to inspire younger students to graduate. The series allowed graduates to tell their educational journey, share their future plans and give advice to younger students. Judges commented, “Nice idea and executed very well. This is a great example of showcasing student success.”
The 2021 GSCS Education Celebration was awarded a gold award in the category of Special Event. The Goal of the Education Celebration is to bring all 1500+ staff together for a high-energy, inspirational, motivational kick-off to the school year. The event also provides an opportunity to thank community sponsors who collaborated with local industry, Norcom Inc., to provide over $300,000 in free school supplies for our teachers and students. The event included: a welcome message from Superintendent Keith Simmons, recognition of the 2021-22 GSCS Teachers of the Year and 2021 GSCS Classified Employees of the Year, a magic show by Magician Tommy Johns (former Atlanta Entertainer of the Year) and a remarkable keynote speaker, three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and hometown hero, Wyomia Tyus. The event was a success and helped prepare staff for a great school year.
The 2022-2023 GSCS District Calendar and the quarterly community e-newsletter, The GSCS Community Communicator, also received gold awards. Judges commented, “These are great resources for families.”
GSCS received a Silver Award of Excellence in the category of Special Purpose Publication with the GSCS Roadmap to Success Brochure. This brochure was designed to communicate to all stakeholders the district’s new vision, mission, objectives, goals, priorities and five-year strategic plan. It also highlighted recent district successes.
GSCS Superintendent Keith Simmons stated, "Winning six state-wide awards is a dynamic accomplishment for our communications department! I am proud of them and those they collaborated with to prepare award-winning content to share with our community. This department is doing a great job in developing our distinctive brand by telling our story and the story of our people. I am pleased that GSPRA saw the value of the work being done here in Griffin-Spalding."
The GSPRA Annual Publications, Photography and Electronic Media Contest acknowledges school public relations professionals that have demonstrated exceptional communications skills by producing outstanding publications, photography, and electronic media. Publications are judged on design, skill and meeting the overall PR goals and objectives.
The GSPRA contest was judged by the members of the North Carolina School Public Relations Association (NCSPRA). All winning entries were produced during the 2021-22 school year.