By Pam Caraway, MarComm Awards Chair, Syngenta
You know you are a master of communications, maybe your boss recognizes it, too. But our MarComm program now gives members a path toward proving your mastery to others with an official designation.
A tiered Master of Communications element is now part of the AAEA – Agricultural Communicators Network MarComm Awards program. Those who enter the program in 2020 take the first step toward earning their Master of Communications award.
The Master of Communications follows a path similar to the master’s level awards for writing and photography: communicators who enter the MarComm Awards program can earn points toward advancing through 6 levels of the program. The points are earned by placing in first, second or third in a category, or by garnering judge’s merits for awards program entries that did not place in a category.
Adding this aspect to our highly credible awards program gives our members the opportunity to bolster their professional resumes at Level 5 with a line that says “Agricultural Communicators Network Master of Communications”. While on the path to the Master’s designation, those who earn merits will earn certificates recognizing the level they earned and can include those notations on resumes as well. Qualification at Level 1 is simply a single judge’s merit. The requirements incrementally increase to eight judge’s merits in at least eight different categories or winning a place in three categories or receiving the Communicator of the Year Award (starting in 2021) and three judge’s merits in three different categories.
Ultimately, members who earn judge’s merits in 10 of the 11 categories are recognized at Level 6 as Communicators of Merit.
The path to Master of Communications begins with points earned in the 2020 program. The program is open now, with a nominal $35 fee per entry. The person designated to earn points must be a member in good standing to earn points in the Master’s program. The agency or organization that sponsored the work and the client, where so designated, also will be recognized in the same fashion as in previous years. The deadline for entries is May 8.
Members who earn a Master’s level through 2020 entries will be recognized at the Agricultural Media Summit during the awards program.