News Release: Catholic Conference Receives Four PACE Awards for PR Excellence

(Lansing, Mich.) — The Central Michigan Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (CMPRSA) presented Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) with four awards during the 2018 PACE Awards on Thursday evening, April 12. This year’s celebration, held at The Cadillac Room in Lansing’s REO Town, recognized mid-Michigan’s best public relations and communications tactics and campaigns produced during 2017.

“These awards are a testament to the hard work carried out by MCC staff every day in pursuit of the common good in Michigan,” said David Maluchnik, MCC Vice President of Communications. “MCC is pleased to accept these awards with profound humility and extends its cordial appreciation to the judges and many fine agencies that also submitted entries.”

CMPRSA granted the Pinnacle Award, its highest honor for excellence in public relations, to Michigan Catholic Conference in three categories: annual reports, newsletters, and video programs. The Pinnacle Awards recognize the following MCC projects:

• Nine Freedom to Serve television commercials and three short films, which share the real-life stories of those who serve others within Catholic schools, health care centers, and charitable agencies. These films were produced in collaboration with Jim Hanon of the firm Minus Red.
• Advocacy Report on the 98th Michigan Legislature, which catalogues the outcome of legislative issues of interest to MCC during the 2015–2016 state legislative session.
• Three FOCUS publications — Confronting Michigan’s Opioid Crisis, Freedom to Serve, and Promoting a Respect for Life — which explore through the lens of public policy substance abuse, religious freedom, and the dignity of the human person. MCC’s FOCUS publication is distributed quarterly to the three branches of state government, statewide media outlets, and Catholic parishes and schools.

Michigan Catholic Conference also received an Excellence Award for its Freedom to Serve website, www.CatholicsServe.com. This site houses the commercials and short films that explore the Catholic Church’s impact and commitment to serving Michigan’s most vulnerable citizens and students in local communities across the state.

Annually, the CMPRSA PACE Awards are mid-Michigan's highest honor of public relations activities, awarding exemplary professional skill, creativity, and resourcefulness in communication tactics or campaigns. Over the past two decades, more than 300 non-profit organizations, corporations, and public and private agencies in Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Ingham, Jackson, Livingston and Shiawassee counties have been recognized. Submissions are judged by a national PRSA chapter based on quality of research, planning, execution, and evaluation.

Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in this state.

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