The Junior Auxiliary (JA) of Hope was recently recognized on a national level when they were awarded the Public Relations Service Award at the National Association of Junior Auxiliary (NAJA) Annual Education Conference in Mobile, Alabama. The purpose of the Public Relations Service Award is to recognize chapters who have made an outstanding example of public relations in promoting a specific service project and/or their chapter through the media.

The Hope JA has expanded their presence in public relations by accomplishing feats such as growing the public Facebook page by 10 percent, created a Facebook group to reconnect with lifetime and associate members, and appearing in local and regional media publications. All these endeavors are to assure that the surrounding communities are aware of JA activities like the well-know Annual Spaghetti Supper, whose over $10,000 in proceeds this last year went to multiple scholarships for students in the area.

Accepting on behalf of the chapter were members Aley Mendoza and Linsey Heard-Kirkpatrick. Mendoza said being able to accept the award and attend the national conference was a proud and exciting moment, but emphasized that this award is all due to the hard work of Holli Dunson Boyett, Public Relations Chair for the Hope JA. "I accepted the award since Holli couldn't be there. This award is all because of her," Mendoza said. "Holli is a great public relations chair and a wonderful asset to our chapter. We are proud and very grateful for all the hard work she has put into the chapter."

Boyett said she was thrilled that the Hope JA was honored by NAJA. “It’s exciting for the chapter to be recognized on a national level for the work we have done communicating with our current and past members, as well as Hope and the surrounding communities," Boyett said. "We make a point to be intentional about getting the word out about our events and services.“

More info about Junior Auxiliary of Hope, now a national award-winning chapter of NAJA, and announcements of services can be found on the Hope JA Facebook page.