Concordia wins Gold and Silver awards at national competition
Marta Samuel, GrDip 10, holds her team’s gold and silver prizes awarded by CCAE.
Concordia’s Advancement Communications received top honours — gold and silver awards — from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) this month.
CCAE Prix d’Excellence honoured achievements in higher education with bronze, silver and gold prizes at a national conference in Kanata, ON, from June 4 to 6, 2019.
Advancement Communications, which reports to University Communications Services, received a Gold Prix D’Excellence for Best Printed Brochure, Newsletter or Flyer. The prize recognized the 2018 issue of Momentum, Concordia’s annual donor and student newsletter.
Launched in 2016, Momentum includes interviews with student bursary and scholarship recipients, as well as stories of philanthropists who support the university.
Momentum includes photography and design by Trevor Browne, stories by Marta Samuel, Joseph Leger, Luke Quin and Daniel Bartlett. The publication was edited Louise Morgan and Howard Bokser.
“It is rewarding to have the work of our team recognized at the national level,” says project manager, Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins, director of Advancement Communications. “I congratulate everyone who helped raise the bar with this publication. I hope our readers were inspired by this publication, which promotes the impact of the Campaign for Concordia: Next-Gen. Now.”
Silver prize for community effort
The CCAE also awarded Advancement Communications with a Silver Prix d’Excellence in the category of Best Community Outreach Initiative.
The award recognized the 2018 Concordia EPIC Used Book Fair — a triumph in campus volunteerism, student-giving and sustainability.
From October 28 to 30, 2018, the pop-up shop run entirely by volunteers set records in every measure of success, including raising a total of $31,831 for students. The 2018 edition represented a doubling in proceeds raised since 2016 — and a tripling in proceeds since 2015.
The book fair’s transformation began in 2015 as volunteers promoted its philanthropic side — how buying second-hand books supports first-rate students.
In an era when most used-book operations are downsizing or shutting down, the Concordia EPIC Used Book Fair offers a model for how they may thrive.
“We take great pride in being recognized for our university’s support of our community,” says Luke Quin, who oversaw the collaboration of 60 volunteers who donated time to the success of the Concordia EPIC Used Book Fair. “The Prix d’Excellence are a reminder of the incredible things that are happening at Concordia in support of our 9 Strategic Directions,” adds Quin.
