The Oxford School District’s communications department received several accolades from the Mississippi School Public Relations Association (MSPRA), including one of their own earning Communicator of the Year.

During the MSPRA Awards of Excellence program held in Jackson last month, Heather Lenard took home one of the top honors as the 2019 Communicator of the Year. The annual awards program recognizes superior public relations programs and honors outstanding professionals in the field of school communications.

The other top award given out during the ceremony is the Gold Medallion, which was also awarded to OSD for their Portrait of a Graduate program.

“It is an honor to be recognized among many school districts in Mississippi for our work in strategic communications,” Lenard said. “It takes all of our district staff to keep information flowing to all stakeholders, and together, I think we do an amazing job.”

Along with taking home the communicator of the year award, Lenard also won first place for her story “Central High School Honored Brick by Brick” and for the school district’s electronic newsletter titled Charger Central. Lenard, who joined OSD in March of last year, was awarded second place for the “District of Innovation” publication she put out with Lauren Hitchcock.

Hitchcock, who is the district’s webmaster and graphic designer, was awarded second place for her work on Oxford Middle School’s website.

The district’s social media campaign, titled “Harvey’s Homeruns,” took home second place in the category. The initiative includes posts in which OSD superintendent Brian Harvey awards a baseball to members of the district’s faculty or staff in recognition for their hard work and accomplishments.