Greene County Tech Repeats As Communication Day Sweepstakes Winner
JONESBORO – Greene County Tech High School repeated as the top overall sweepstakes award winner at the 80th annual Communication Day for Arkansas and Missouri high school students Saturday at Arkansas State University. The academies at Jonesboro High School placed second, Cabot High School came in third and Armorel High School took fourth.
Prior to the afternoon awards ceremony, A-State Chancellor Kelly Damphousse presented a proclamation from Gov. Asa Hutchinson designating March 3 as Communication Day. Other notable attendees included College of Liberal Arts & Communication Dean Dr. Carl Cates and Associate Dean Dr. Gina Hogue.
A total of 139 students from 13 different high schools competed in 28 different contests in areas of broadcast and print journalism, public relations, advertising, social media, narrative filmmaking, photojournalism, sports, debate, extemporaneous speaking and more. The 2017 competition featured 102 students.
Students competed for first, second, third and honorable mention prizes. The school accumulating the highest number of points for the day, Greene County Tech, won the sweepstakes plaque.
Representatives of the Departments of Media and Communication that jointly organized the event provided tours of the facilities and met with prospective future A-State students. Communication Department Chair Dr. Marceline Hayes noted the contributions of 35 student volunteers who ran the competitions.
“We are thrilled to host the 80th annual Communication Day showcasing our programs in communication studies, advertising, public relations and social media,” she said. “The dedication of A-State students who volunteer to manage our competitions is amazing. Watching the high school students perform in our events is encouraging and impressive.”
Media Department Chair Dr. Osabuohien Amienyi said he was impressed with the turnout.
“It was great to see the best and brightest high school students interested in various aspects of media come to campus to participate in various competitions,” Amienyi said. “This is an annual event that faculty and students in my department take seriously. We always look forward to seeing these bright young minds express their creativity.”
A-State’s departments of Media and Communication offer a number of programs in multimedia journalism, creative media production, strategic communication and communication studies to prepare students for professional and academic careers.
For further information, contact Dr. Michael Bowman at 870-972-3429 or via email at mbowman@AState.edu. Follow A-State Communication Day Facebook page (@astatejbday) for future updates.
