Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College was honored with Gold and Silver awards for excellence in public relations, marketing, and communication in the 2015 National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 5 Medallion Awards competition.
The Gold Medallion of Excellence first place award recognized the college’s new web site that was launched in 2015. The Silver Medallion of Excellence second place award recognized the 30-second television ad titled “The Journey” that has aired on local broadcast and cable television networks during 2015.
“The primary purpose of our marketing and communication projects always has been to convey messages about who we are, what we do, and the range of opportunities and benefits we offer to our students and the communities we serve,” said Tom Urbanski, Director of Public Information at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. “While we don’t develop and produce projects to win awards, it is nice to have your final products and efforts recognized by your peers and marketing professionals.”
The Gold Medallion of Excellence award-winning college web site is located at www.fdltcc.edu. FDLTCC Public Information Director Tom Urbanski worked with the staff at Faster Solutions in Duluth to create the new web site and managed the creative development, with additional technical support from FDLTCC Information Technology staff Loran Wappes and Brad Bohlmann. The new site features a responsive design, new site architecture, one-click navigation, new photography, integrated social media and video, news blog, and a behind-the-scenes content management system.
The Silver Medallion of Excellence award-winning television ad can been seen on the college’s YouTube channel that is integrated into the web site. The innovative and lively ad features FDLTCC graduate Rita Aspinwall making the journey to college as she walks by many well-known landmarks on her way to campus. Public Information Director Tom Urbanski worked with Parthe, Inc., of Superior, to create, plan, film and edit the ad into its final form. The ad previously earned the Silver Award of Achievement in the national Collegiate Advertising Awards program.
The National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) is an affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges and represents marketing and public relations professionals at community and technical colleges across the United States and Canada.
The regional Medallion Awards recognize outstanding achievement in marketing communication at community and technical colleges in NCMPR District 5, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, the Canadian province of Manitoba, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. It is the only competition of its kind that honors excellence exclusively among marketing and public relations professionals at two-year colleges.
Award winners in each category are chosen from submissions by participating colleges and are judged and ranked by marketing and communication experts. Entries submitted to the Medallion Awards competition are judged on design, writing, creativity, communication, and overall effectiveness. The award recipients were announced at the NCMPR District 5 Conference held earlier this fall in in Omaha, NE.
“It is interesting to note that Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is going head-to-head with very large schools located in major higher education markets including the Twin Cities, St. Louis, Kansas City and Omaha,” said Urbanski. “It’s satisfying to know that we are creating and producing marketing, advertising, and communication materials that can compete within that group.”
There were over 300 entries submitted across 36 categories in the 2015 NCMPR District 5 Medallion Awards competition. The television advertising and web site categories are two of the most competitive categories and receive the largest number of entries each year.
View the award-winning television ad here:
 

Testimonials

It is awesome here at the FDLTCC Education Program because it is like a family here, if you need help or are struggling with anything, you have quite a few people who will help you out.

I chose FDLTCC because of its size and the curriculum. When I first came here in 2019, I was just looking for what I needed to volunteer, perhaps in a crisis shelter. I met with Don Jarvinen, and the rest is history.

My favorite thing about FDLTCC is the people. I’ve met fantastic students, faculty and staff who go above and beyond what I expected.