Four members of the Health Science Center External Affairs staff were recognized for excellence in communications by the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
The honorees included:
•
Nancy Arispe, who received one of the chapter’s highest awards — the 2007 Public Relations Professional of the Year Award.
•
Natalie Gutierrez, director of publications and editor of
The Mission magazine, and
Jennifer Bernu-Bittle, creative director and the magazine’s designer, who together received the bronze award for a recent redesign of the publication.
•
Will Sansom, director of news and information, who received an honorable mention award for an op-ed article written with President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., regarding the tragic result of drunk driving.
“We are very proud of our External Affairs team,” said Mary Etlinger DeLay, chief of staff and chief communications officer at the Health Science Center. “They do a great job using all the tools available to inform faculty, staff and the public about the good work we are doing at the Health Science Center.
“It is especially gratifying to see Nancy receive the Public Relations Professional of the Year award,” DeLay added. “While she has only been at the Health Science Center for six months, I have known Nancy for a long time and worked with her at St. Mary’s University. She brings a special touch to all of her work.”
ArispeArispe, who joined the Health Science Center in September, has worked in fund raising and communications for more than 30 years, including her alma mater, St. Mary’s University, and the Alamo Area Council of Governments.
Some of her most impressive work, however, was as creative and communications director for United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, where she produced the annual campaign videos, TV spots, outdoor billboards and printed materials, all while handling the news and information duties.
“In her highly successful tenure with United Way, Nancy was actively involved in helping raise more than $400 million to meet human care needs throughout the community,” said Bob McCullough, director of corporate communications and community relations for CPS Energy, who nominated Arispe for the award. “The 2006 campaign that she helped plan and orchestrate before moving to the Health Science Center netted a record $39.8 million.”
Arispe said, “I share this PRSA recognition with the remarkably talented and dedicated External Affairs team of our Health Science Center. It is truly a privilege to work for and with people who I so deeply respect and from whom I learn each and every day. I am so proud to be a part of our endeavor to communicate our university’s strivings, successes and immense contributions to the communities we serve directly and others across our nation and world.”
Magazine teamworkGutierrez has won more than 40 awards for writing and public relations tactics over her 14-year career in the field of communications, including an international award for converting the
HSC News to an online publication. She also is a Presidential Employee Excellence in Service Award winner.
Bernu-Bittle, who also won a Presidential Employee Excellence in Service Award, has won numerous awards for design, including an international award with the External Affairs team for an earlier redesign she headed for
The Mission.
SansomSansom has won more than three dozen writing awards in 16 years on campus. Dr. Cigarroa’s commentary, published in the
San Antonio Express-News, discussed the tragic loss of faculty neurosurgeon Roman Hlatky, M.D., in a motor vehicle accident. Dr. Hlatky was killed on Sept. 20, 2006, by an alleged drunk driver.
