Now that 2018 is over, it’s time to reflect on all the hard work you did throughout the year. Did you launch a new website or develop a strategy to educate employees about a new program? Was your company newsletter or magazine full of engaging stories? Did your team create an amazing video to support your goals or have a social media campaign that went viral?

You’ve already done the hard work. Now it’s time to be recognized for it.

Our Bronze Quill Awards recognize outstanding employee communications, public relations, media relations, community relations, government affairs and marketing communication efforts. View the full list of categories here, then prepare your work plan and sample communications.

EXTENDED DEADLINE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22

• IABC members: $50 per entry
• Non-members: $60 per entry
• Non-profit and students: $40 per entry

Once again, we will recognize three exceptional communicators. Review the descriptions below and consider nominating someone for a special award.

• Communicator of the Year: Honors a member of the community for his or her contributions to the community through communications. This person is not a communicator by profession — but by passion.
• Professional of the Year: Recognizes the outstanding achievements of an IABC member in his or her career, profession and community.
• Rising Star: We will once again recognize a dynamic, young professional who has demonstrated outstanding ability and strong leadership within the communications profession.

Winners will be announced at our awards ceremony on Thursday, April 25, at the Central Library in downtown Tulsa.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Bronze Quill is a fun, professional event that gives sponsors exposure to the Tulsa-area’s top communicators from varying industries.

For questions, sponsorship information or to nominate an individual for one of these awards, email awards@iabctulsa.com or call Ashley Cleveland at 918-947-7251.

IABC/Tulsa celebrated outstanding communications and recognized top local communications professionals on April 19, at the annual Bronze Quill Awards Ceremony. The event, attended by over 100 local professionals, was held at the Central Library in downtown Tulsa.

The event honored dozens of professionals in the communications field. Five special awards, 18 Awards of Excellence, 20 Awards of Merit and seven anniversary plaques were handed out throughout the evening.

Kimberly Johnson, CEO of the Tulsa City-County Library, was named the 2018 Communicator of the Year for her tremendous efforts to showcase the amazing work the Tulsa Library system does for the communities it serves.

Megan Patterson, Manager of Investor Relations at ONEOK, received the John Hartman Professional of the Year award. Megan was recognized by her peers as an outstanding communications professional and an exemplary leader.

The Leon Bolen Service Award, which honors an IABC member’s volunteerism and support of IABC’s organizational goals, was awarded to Kim Kuehler, Advertising Sales Manager for the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust, for her continued generosity and efforts to support our chapter.

This year, IABC/Tulsa added a new award to recognize a dynamic, young communications professional. The Rising Star Award was presented to Noël Hunt, Client Manager and Digital Marketing Strategist at Byers Creative, for her drive, community support and dedication to integrity of the profession.

The “Best of Show” Award, presented to the 2018 entry with the highest total score, was awarded to Ashley Cleveland and the communications team from ONE Gas for their entry, Safety: More Than Just a Value.

Also new this year, we celebrated several of the chapter’s long-tenured members by recognizing those with more than 20 years of membership. This year, plaques were presented to Kerry Malone (28 years), Kendra Thompson (27 years), Steve Higgins (25 years), Susie Wellendorf (24 years), Joe Epperley (23 years), Tracy Harlow (20 years) and Phillip Harris (20 years).

In total, 38 Bronze Quill awards were awarded to local communications professionals for exceptional work completed during 2016-2018.

Awards of Excellence were presented to:

• Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses for “Anadisgoi Magazine”
• Ashley Cleveland and the ONE Gas Communications team for “Safety: More Than Just a Value”
• Leslie Agee of Helmerich & Payne for “Linde Oktoberfest Tulsa”
• Stephanie Higgins, Becky Carver, Dusty Darr and Jacob Yokum of ONEOK for “Mustang Pipeline Project”
• Keith Isbell of Williams for “Gulf Trace: B as in Big”
• Becky Carver and Information Security from ONEOK for “SecuritySense 2017”
• Nicole Nascenzi, Rob Hatley, Sara Delgado and Outreach Experts from Williams for “Employee Action Center.” This entry won two Awards of Excellence – one in the government relations category and one for employee engagement.
• Catharine Brierre and ONEOK Investor Relations for “Investor Relations Monthly”
• The Tulsa City-County Library Public Relations Office for “Tulsa Library 2017 Annual Report”
• Stephanie Higgins, Becky Carver, Brittany Anicetti, Jason Wright and Erica May of ONEOK for “ONE in Responsibility”
• Cherokee Nation Businesses for “Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People”
• Becky Carver and Megan Patterson of ONEOK for “2016 ONEOK Annual Report”
• Tulsa International Airport for “PIKEPASS to Parking+”
• Erin Holland and Brittany Anicetti of ONEOK for “Work at ONEOK”
• Ginger Renshaw and Jennifer Rector of ONE Gas for “ONE Gas Values – Ted Talk Open”
• Heather Gowin and Kendra Thompson of Cancer Treatment Centers of America for “Prostate Pep Talk”
• Resolute PR for “ImpactTulsa Annual Report Video”

Awards of Merit were presented to:

• Brittany Anicetti, Erin Holland, Erica May, Kathy Murphy and Jason Ashley Wright of ONEOK for “ONEOK’s 2018 United Way Campaign”
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma for “Proud to be Blue Campaign”
• Jennifer Rector, Ashley Cleveland and Hayley Westwood of ONE Gas for “Making Connections: 2016 ONE Gas Annual Report”
• Erica May of ONEOK for “Open Enrollment Guide”
• Cherokee Nation Businesses for “Cherokee Nation Economic Impact Report”
• Becky Carver, Brittany Anicetti and Information Technology from ONEOK for “ClickIT”
• Abigail Loveall and Russell Shaffer of Walmart for “2017 CDI Report”
• Ginger Renshaw and ONE Gas Communications for “ONE Gas Safe Digging Videos”
• Resolute PR for “Ogans Circle”
• Jason Ashley Wright, Brittany Anicetti, Becky Carver and Stephanie Higgins of ONEOK for “ONEOK Quarterly: Weathering the Storm”
• Cherokee Nation Businesses for “Where the Casino Money Goes”
• Michael McCulloh of ONE Gas for “Meet Your Co-Workers Series”
• Stephanie Higgins, Becky Carver, Brittany Anicetti, Jason Wright and Erica May of ONEOK for “ONE in Responsibility”
• Nicole Nascenzi, Sara Delgado and Saxum for “Williams Corporate Social Responsibility Website”
• Erin Holland of ONEOK for “Mentors Matter”
• The ONE Gas Communications and IT teams for “Making IT Easy – Video Conferencing”
• Raven Lining Systems for “Small Town, Big Results!”
• Michael McCulloh and Ginger Renshaw of ONE Gas for “Journey to Citizenship”
• Kiley Roberson from the Tulsa City-County Library for “Summer Reading Promotional Ad”
• Michael McCulloh of ONE Gas for “#WellnessWednesday”

Sponsors of the IABC/Tulsa 2018 Bronze Quill Awards included Cherokee Nation Businesses, ONEOK, Williams, ONE Gas, Byers Creative, Miller Photography, Nothing’s Left Brewing Company and Ridgeback Studio.

Visit our Facebook page to see more photos from the event.