UW-RF Home > University Communications Home > This Month's News Releases

University Communications

For more information contact mark.a.kinders@uwrf.edu or brenda.k.bredahl@uwrf.edu.

UWRF Newsletter Recognized With Communications Award

JUNE 29, 2007--Falcon Daily, the electronic newsletter for faculty and staff at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, has been recognized with a Hermes Creative Gold Award, presented through the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

More than 3,500 entries were submitted in the 2007 competition from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, public relations firms, design shops, production companies and freelancers.

Hermes Creative Awards is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (www.amcpros.com). The international organization consists of several thousand marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, media production and free-lance professionals.

Winners are selected from 136 categories in seven forms of media and communication efforts: advertising, publications, marketing/branding, integrated marketing, public relations/communications, electronic media and pro-bono.

Falcon Daily was launched a year ago as a means to collect administrative, faculty and staff communications into a single source. Published each morning during the school year, it includes institutional announcements, governance meeting information and human resources notices. It features headlines from Wisconsin, regional and national media about public higher education. Other editorial content includes a column, "Did You Know," about a unique aspect of the University, as well as a feature photo.

A related communication tool to Falcon Daily is an electronic bulletin board that includes legal notices, grants, class cancellations and other information.

Falcon Daily is a production of the UWRF Office of University Communications. Deb Toftness of River Falls serves as editor; Jens Gunelson of River Falls provides photography; regular contributors are Brenda Bredahl and Jim Thies, both of Hudson ; Mike Woolsey, who works in the UWRF publications office and is a River Falls resident, designed the technology infrastructure; and Mark Kinders of River Falls is executive editor.

"This is a well-deserved recognition for the many staff who work on this publication each day," said Kinders, director of University Communications. "The concept and execution for Falcon Daily as an electronic internal newsletter is ahead of its time. Sorting through the volume and complexity of the information that must be shared across campus, directing compartmentalized data only to those who truly need it while avoiding information clutter, and then packaging it all into a compelling communication tool has been a challenge.

"This award recognizes that we met and exceeded our objectives. It's a real compliment to those who have worked on Falcon Daily to have an international panel of judges attest to their skills as professional communicators in resolving these challenges."

Among other Gold Award winners are the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University, the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the California Lottery, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, PBS, The American Legion, The Humane Society of the United States, the Wilderness Society, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the American Automobile Association, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Mastercard Worldwide, RE/MAX International, American Airlines, Sylvan Learning Centers, Ceridian, and the Minnesota State Fair.

This is the second award for Falcon Daily, which was recognized with an International Communicators Award of Distinction in 2006.

-30-

Last updated: