2021 Reflections and a Look Ahead to 2022

From Our IABC Nashville President, Kerry Burke: 
 
IABC Friends and Colleagues,
 
As we gear up for the holidays and spend time with loved ones, this time of year is a welcome opportunity for reflection.

2021 has been quite the year. And the past two years have been challenging, to say the least. Through the highs and lows, the members of our IABC Nashville family have risen to the occasion with thoughtfulness, professionalism, and support for one another.

I am immensely grateful for IABC and the professional and personal opportunities this organization offers. Serving as Nashville’s chapter president has helped me grow in many ways – as a leader, communicator, and as a person – and I am thankful for our members, friends and board members who have supported this growth.

I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together this year. We facilitated five top-notch professional development sessions, celebrated our communications peers through our awards program, hosted valuable in-person networking events, and received IABC Chapter Management Awards for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Chapter Events. None of this would be possible without our dedicated and passionate board of directors, and I’d like to extend a huge thank you to our board members for all their contributions this year.

It has been an honor to serve alongside this wonderful group of people, and I’m excited to see the momentum continue in 2022.

As we look to transition into the new year, we also transition our IABC Nashville board (see our announcement of new officers below). Please join me in congratulating and welcoming our 2022 IABC Nashville board of directors. I am absolutely thrilled to pass the presidential torch to Kristin Appelman in 2022! Kristin, Marketing Manager at Concept Technology and longtime IABC Nashville board member, is a natural collaborator, leader, and overall rock star, and I can’t wait to see what we will accomplish under her leadership.

Thank you, all, for being an important part of the IABC Nashville family. Enjoy the holiday and new year with friends and family, and I look forward to connecting again in the new year.

To read more of Kerry’s letter and the rest of the 2022 news, check out our most recent newsletter

Kerry Burke
2021 President, IABC Nashville

Update: Celebrating our Music City Gold Pen Award winners

A message from IABC Nashville President Kerry Burke:

As you may be aware, we sadly had to postpone our virtual Music City Gold Pen Awards ceremony last week due to cyber security issues. This was an extremely unfortunate occurrence, and does not reflect our organization, nor does it take away from the accomplishments of the award winners. I’m proud of our board’s quick response in getting out timely communication and outreach, and we are eager to move forward and celebrate Music City’s top communicators.

To properly honor the outstanding accomplishments of our award winners, we are shifting our virtual celebration from a live Zoom event to a social media campaign Monday, September 20. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, as we share individual posts recognizing our community’s award-winning communicators and their entries. Please join us in celebrating our winners by liking, commenting, and sharing with your networks. These winners deserve all the praise in the world, so help let’s spread the word and cheer them on!

As members of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), an organization with an emphasis on learning, we would like to turn our misfortune into a learning and teaching opportunity. We will focus our next professional development event on video conferencing, cybersecurity, and ways to keep your presentations and organizations safe. We will also hear from experts in these fields. Please keep an eye out for details coming soon.

I’ll end by touching on one of the many lessons I am taking away from this experience – that when unexpected challenges arise, people can show up in the kindest ways. Our chapter leadership has received many messages and phone calls over the past few days – not criticizing or blaming, but offering support, compassion, and encouragement. This is a testament to our IABC organization and the support we have for one another in good times and in bad.

Thank you to our communications community for your understanding, kindness, and support. We look forward to “seeing” you soon.

 

2021 Music City Gold Pen Awards Recap

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Congratulations to our 2021 Music City Gold Pen Awards Winners!

 


IABC Nashville is proud to recognize the professional achievements of these individuals and organizations. We look forward to celebrating their work together in the coming months. Please join us in honoring these winners:

Award of Merit Winners:

  • Erin Horne, Katie Christ & Katie Adkisson, REED Public Relations
    Award of Merit for entry “Chabad of Nashville Presents ‘An Evening with Holocaust Survivor Ben Stern'” in the Nonprofit Communications category 
  • David Jon Walker on behalf of District 6760 of Rotary International
    Award of Merit for entry “Rotary District 6760 Holiday Social Media Campaign 2020” in the Social Media Programs category 
  • David Jon Walker on behalf of The Conference of National Black Churches 
    Award of Merit for entry “VOTE Georgia Campaign” in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Management and Communication category  
  • Paul Ladd, World Christian Broadcasting
    Award of Merit for entry “Picasso at the Frist” in the Audio/Visual category 
  • Heather Hunter & Julie Davis, Brookdale Senior Living
    Award of Merit for entry “Pandemic CEO Visibility Campaign” in the Leadership Communications category 
  • David Jon Walker on behalf of District 6760 of Rotary International
    Award of Merit for entry “Rotary District 6760 Holiday Magazine 2020” in the Publications category 
  • David Jon Walker
    Award of Merit for entry “Black COVID Crisis Campaign” in the Social Media Programs category 
  • David Jon Walker on behalf of Biden x Design
    Award of Merit for entry “The Truth Shall Restore Dignity” in the Communications for the Web category 
  • Genma Holmes on behalf of The Ohio State University College of Nursing Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women Children and Youth
    Award of Merit for entry “Season of Gratitude” in the Social Media Programs category 
  • Genma Holmes on behalf of the Parthenon Chapter of The Links Incorporated
    Award of Merit for entry “Spooktastic Weekend of Treats” in the Social Media Programs category 

Award of Excellence Winners:

  • David Jon Walker on behalf of District 6760 of Rotary International
    Awards of Excellence for entry “Rotary District 6760 Holiday Magazine 2020” in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Management and Communication category 
  • Heather Hunter & Julie Davis with Brookdale Senior Living
    Award of Excellence for entry “How the Nation’s Largest Senior Living Company Responded to the Global Pandemic” in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Management and Communication category 
  • Lauren Reed, Katie Adkisson, Erin Horne, Rachel Davis & Katie Christ, REED Public Relations 
    Awards of Excellence for entry “Campbell Street Services Crisis Communications” in both the Issues Management and Crisis Communication category and the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Management and Communication category 
  • Lauren Reed, Katie Adkisson, Brooke Semke & Tayhlor Blackwell, REED Public Relations
    Award of Excellence and Best of Show for entry “Waddell & Associates Speaks to National Audience with Pandemic-Era Financial Advice” in the Communication Training and Education category 
  • Lauren Reed, Rachel Davis, Macey Cleary, REED Public Relations,
    Award of Excellence for entry “Yelp Boosts Nashville’s Small Business Community” in the Marketing, Advertising and Brand Communication category 
  • Tameka Winston on behalf of the Nashville ATHENA Awards Program
    Award of Excellence for entry “2021 Nashville ATHENA Awards Program” in the Communications Skills category
  • Genma Holmes on behalf of District 6760 of Rotary International
    Awards of Excellence for entry “Rotary District 6760 Magazine October Issue” in both the Publications and COVID-19 Response and Recovery Management and Communication category categories 
  • Genma Holmes on behalf of District 6760 of Rotary International,
    Award of Excellence for entry “Rotary District 6760 Magazine September Issue” in the Publications category 
  • Genma Holmes on behalf of District 6760 of Rotary International
    Award of Excellence for entry “Rotary District 6760 Magazine Veterans Issue” in the Publications category 
  • David Jon Walker on behalf of District 6760 of Rotary International 
    Award of Excellence for entry “Rotary District 6760 Holiday Social Media Campaign 2020” in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Management and Communication category category  
  • Genma Holmes with The Ohio State University
    Award of Excellence for entry “International Women’s Day” in the Social Media Program category 
  • Genma Holmes on behalf of District 6760 of Rotary International
    Award of Excellence for entry “Salute to Veterans” in the Social Media Programs category 
  • Lauren Reed, Katie Adkisson, Jenny Barker, Rachel Davis, Macey Cleary, Erin Horne, Tayhlor Blackwell & Brooke Semke, REED Public Relations,
    Award of Excellence for entry “REED PR Dials Up Giving Initiatives with COVID-19 Hotline” in the Communication Training and Education category 

Special thanks to our partner IABC chapters for judging our awards entries:

  • IABC Atlanta
  • IABC Central Oklahoma
  • IABC Dallas
  • IABC Houston
  • IABC South Carolina
  • IABC Southern Region

Our 2021 Music City Gold Pen Awards are sponsored by:

 
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Write to Win: 2021 Edition

Secrets to Writing Award Submissions That Get You Recognized 

It’s officially awards season and if you’re among those talented, savvy communicators who’s put in the time and yielded award-winning results, you should be recognized for it…and it starts with your award submission. 

Believe it or not, sometimes the difference between a winner and just another award entry isn’t the quality of the project, but the quality of the entry itself. 

That can lead to all sorts of doubts. We get it, and we’re here to help you out. We hosted a rockstar panel of judges, past winners, participants and experts who shared the benefits of entering (and winning!) a Music City Gold Pen Award, key “dos and don’ts” to create a winning entry and how to tell a compelling story without ditching the analytics. They also offered an inside look at awards entries from a judge’s perspective.

Missed the session? Download our 8 Most Important Takeaways or click below to watch the recording on-demand. Don’t forget to submit your MCPGA application by June 24!

For more information, visit our Awards page >>

Thank you to our panelists:

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April Professional Development

Digital Marketing Unplugged: Embracing New Strategies in a New Normal

Join our panel of experts for a discussion on making the shift to embrace new online data, and reach our audience in a compelling way.

About this Event
There’s no doubt that the pandemic has accelerated the speed at which many brands and companies are “going digital.” There’s a new, heavy reliance on technology to stay connected, and the challenge for us as marketers and communicators is to use this new reliance to our advantage.

The data is out there and our panel of expert digital marketers are here to share some of the best ways to navigate through it all, apply it to winning strategies, and embrace our new normal.

You’ll learn:

  • Effective email marketing that catches people’s time and attention
  • Rapid fire social media content strategies and hacks
  • SEO & data analytics to stay ahead of Google trends

About the Panelists:

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Christopher Lester

Christopher Lester is the founder of C4ward Strategies in Nashville, TN where he helps companies align their digital brand experience across the sales process. He’s passionate about the consumer and crafting marketing that feels more human. He’s a lover of the underdog, hot dogs, and a sweet dog named Rosie.

Christopher spent the last couple of decades geeking out about all things digital with a special appreciation for email marketing. He’s helped brands like Sylvan Learning Centers, The Nashville Predators, Public Library of Science, Niche Media and the YMCA tell their story in the digital space and craft emails that people want to read. He served as the Vice President of Sales at Emma Email Marketing where he was responsible for strategic brand growth, new customer acquisition and in-market development.

In 2020, mid-pandemic, Christopher launched an apparel line called Clifton+Leopold. Clifton+Leopold was born from his lifelong appreciation of classic men’s accessories and the desire to make them more diverse and reflective of the world today. With his eclectic background and a love of style influenced by ‘80s pop musicians, Christopher is leading a team of artisans handcrafting textiles with a cerebral approach. www.CliftonandLeopold.com

 

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Isaac Ray Norris

Isaac is a digital native who specializes in cross-platform storytelling, digital marketing, and social advertising. After a career in publishing and ad agency life, he founded Norris Media—a boutique digital marketing consulting and social media agency. Outside of his 9-to-5, he’s also a writer and journalist who covers stories across the Southeast in culture, food, style, and more.

 

 

 

 

 

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Knight Stivender

Knight Stivender has 20-plus years of experience using data and analytics to help businesses increase market share and build engagement and loyalty among stakeholders. As director of integrated marketing and data analytics for MP&F, she consults on accounts with a need for data-based marketing strategy – including digital advertising, email marketing, experiential marketing, and SEO/content strategy. She has led account teams for ADS Security, Log Still Distillery, United Way of Middle Tennessee, Solstice Senior Living, Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Prior to her role at MP&F, Knight was part of The Tennessean news team deemed a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the Nashville floods in 2010. She was awarded the Gannett company’s Innovator of the Year recognition in 2015 for her work to integrate content, communities and live events to help build a new generation of news consumers. Knight graduated from the University of Tennessee and was named Alumna of the Year in 2016.

 

GET TICKETS NOW!

 

$5 for IABC Members and $15 for non-members. Events are free for current students.

In an effort to continue to provide quality, engaging virtual professional development programming each month, our member rate for monthly events is increasing to $5. This will grant you exclusive access to the recorded presentation after the event. We recognize the last year has been trying for many of our members and friends, and this increase may be unattainable for some. If you feel this cost will prevent you from participating in our professional development events, please contact us. We appreciate your commitment to our chapter during the last year as we transitioned to a virtual environment and we look forward to returning to in-person events as soon as we are able.

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