College Communicators Continue Winning Ways
PARAMUS, N.J. – The Office of Public Relations and Marketing at Bergen Community College has eclipsed its own record for excellence in strategic communication, winning an institution-record four National Council in Marketing and Public Relations Medallion Awards - a bellwether recognition for community college communicators.
Awarded through NCMPR, an affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges, the Medallion program features entries from the more than 650 colleges in the Northeast and Canada in the organization’s “district one.” Bergen has earned 17 Medallion Awards in the last nine years, including three in 2023 - the College’s previous high watermark. The department also won a NCMPR Paragon Award, which recognizes excellence across the entire country, for the first time last year.
“Bergen has become a stalwart at NCMPR awards programs over the last decade,” Executive Director of Public Relations Larry Hlavenka, Ed.D., said. “Though we don’t set out to win awards, we have an incredible communication team that executes a comprehensive communication strategy that tells Bergen’s story in unique and creative ways. Nonetheless, it’s rewarding to see our work recognized as exemplary among our peers.”
Bergen earned Medallions in four categories, with first-place gold honors in two areas (postcard and poster) and third-place bronze in the other pair (newsletter and postcard).
The poster award recognized a splashed-paint multicolor piece promoting an on-campus performance: the Paul Marshall Scholarship Concert: The Roots of Pop and Rock, Vol. 1. Meanwhile, a whimsically designed postcard for the Bergenstages theatre troupe took home the other gold honor. The Inside Bergen Community College newsletter and a Giving Tuesday postcard for the Bergen Community College Foundation earned the bronze awards. The newsletter Medallion represents Bergen’s sixth in the category, with entries previously winning in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2023.
A panel of independent judges from both academia and industry evaluated submissions from eligible colleges in the northeastern U.S. and Canada before announcing the winners at the NCMPR District 1 conference that took place in Baltimore, Maryland in October.
NCMPR also selected Bergen’s communication team to participate in a “takeover” of the organization’s official social media channels in December. As part of the initiative, Bergen’s team developed unique content that provided NCMPR followers from across the country with a window into the award-winning team at the state’s No. 1 college for associate degree graduates.
Vice President of External Affairs Suzanne Wetzel oversees the College’s overall public relations and marketing strategy alongside Executive Director of Public Relations Larry Hlavenka, Ed.D.; Director of Marketing Kristy Italiano; Assistant Director of Public Relations Jessica Fargnoli, Ed.D.; Manager of New Media Services Tom DePrenda; Graphic/Web Designer Cristina Grisales; Web Developer Frank Hablawi; Public Information Assistant Presley DePugh; and Customer Service Associate Nancy McAllister.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
Photo Caption: The Paul Marshall Concert poster won a gold NCMPR Medallion award for Bergen Community College.