The senior course Public Relations: Case Studies and Campaigns will be wrapping up for the spring semester, and that means students are less than two weeks away from an Ebeling PRize Winner.
The competition occurs once per semester and serves as the capstone course. Students spend the semester preparing a full public relations campaign from start to finish, and it ends with one of the student group campaigns winning a judged competition known as the Ebeling PRize.
“It’s a fierce competition,” public relations professor Maha Bashri said. “The students really get involved in it, and they really enjoy it. It is a very intense process, especially during the end.”
The Ebeling PRize is named for Chuck Ebeling, an alumnus and former vice president of communications at McDonald’s, and was created in 2004. The project entails the creation of a public relations campaign that serves both a commercial and a not-for-profit organization.
According to Bashri, the Ebeling Prize is modeled after the Silver Anvil, one of the public relations industry’s most distinguished awards.
Winners receive $500 each and a letter of recommendations from Ebeling. Along with their clients, student winners also attend a formal luncheon hosted by Ebeling and the Department of Communication.
“This competition really helps students get jobs,” Bashri said. “Obviously, the recommendation helps, but they can also use their campaigns in their portfolio.”
Four teams are competing for the prize this semester. Their campaigns will be dealing with issues of autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, ‘food deserts’ and the common core education initiative. Some of the organizations involved are Sylvan Learning Center, Project PTSD, Easter Seals and Renaissance Park Community Garden.
According to Bashri, the competition has a number of success stories associated with it.
“My favorite story happened four years ago,” Bashri said. “A student won the competition and then used the campaign she created to get a job at the Denver Art Museum. She then entered that same campaign into the Silver Anvil competition and won that too. It cannot get any better than that.”
Last semesters’ winners were senior public relations majors Erika Kubik, Taylor Stephens, Samantha Pallini and Anna Wilks for their work with three Washington businesses on their event “Cooking Up Community.” The event was a business showcase and family fair hosted on the one-year anniversary of the 2013 tornado devastation.
This semester’s winners will be announced May 11, and the luncheon will be held May 15.
