ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—Ouachita Baptist University’s Office of Communications and Marketing won a national first prize for “A Ouachita Christmas Special 2021” at the Baptist Communicators Association’s (BCA) 2022 W.C. Fields Awards.  

“I’m so proud of the creativity and resourcefulness of our team and how dedicated they are to pull off this project, which not only celebrates a season that is sacred to our faith but also showcases the incredible talent of the Ouachita community,” said Brooke Zimny, assistant to the president for communications & marketing at Ouachita.  

“What began as a passion project in 2020 to connect Ouachitonians in a difficult time has become what we hope is a new tradition that fellow Tigers and community members look forward to each year,” she added. 

The prize was awarded in the “Video: Other” category within the Audio-Visual Communication Division of the awards. It was Ouachita’s sole entry in this year’s competition. Other institutions that earned awards in that category include the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists and California Baptist University. Awards were presented during BCA’s annual workshop, held this year in New Orleans, La. 

Judges said, “Beautiful content and production!” and “This production was fun, engaging and attention-grabbing while also communicating the reason behind the season.” 

“I’m so honored that this project and our team’s hard work was recognized nationally,” said Tyler Rosenthal, assistant director of communications & marketing at Ouachita. Rosenthal served as on-screen host for the production and led creative direction for the project. “We received a lot of positive feedback from viewers who watched and enjoyed the production, but it is very affirming for our creativity and innovation to now be honored on the national level, competing against larger, peer institutions.” 

BCA was established in 1953 as a network and professional development organization for communications professionals at primarily Southern Baptist agencies. Members represent such institutions as the North American Mission Board, GuideStone Financial Resources, state and national Baptist newspapers and magazines, state Baptist conventions and universities like Baylor University, Union University and Samford University.  

In addition to Rosenthal and Zimny, other staff members in the Office of Communications and Marketing include Ashley Carozza, graphic design coordinator; Kiki Schleiff Cherry, marketing manager for graduate and online education; Will Johnson, web developer; Felley Lawson, editorial coordinator; and Tiffany Pickett, communications project manager. 

For more information on BCA, visit www.baptistcommunicators.org.