Dean Russin, a DCMO BOCES Public Information Specialist working at Sherburne-Earlville Central School District, has been awarded the “Social Media Impact Award” in the fourth annual Best of Social Media Awards for a campaign he did as part of his work at the school. The awards are sponsored by #SocialSchool4EDU, a national educational social media management organization.
The Sherburne-Earlville Central School District supported the efforts and vision of Marshall Sepello, an S-E Elementary School third-grader who is living with congenital heart disease, with a record-breaking social-media campaign that helped his Make-A-Wish dream come true April 29, 2023. At age 9, Marshall became the youngest person to write, direct and star in a bona fide movie when his short superhero film premiered at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse. Marshall and his family and friends were among the stars of his film, based on a comic book he created and co-produced by American High Studios and Make-A-Wish Central New York.
Following a Sherburne-Earlville CSD Facebook campaign that featured 13 posts over a month, the “Marshall Man” premiere drew more than 1,700 people – announced as a Make-A-Wish event attendance record – and resulted in more than $22,000 in donations on Marshall’s Wish Heroes page. The latter more than doubled Marshall’s goal of raising $10,000 to support the dreams of other Make-A-Wish Kids.
In their statement announcing the award, the organization praised the campaign for the positive impact it had for all involved. “What a difference one student can make – and in turn, the district can help provide back to that student! Social media can be used to make a positive impact. We often hear of bad things happening on social media, and it’s nice to have a story to show others that it truly can be used to make the world a better place.”
Russin was previously recognized for his work on the campaign by the New York School Public Relations Association, receiving an Award of Excellence for Social Media and an Award of Honor for Photography in the 2023 NYSPRA Communications Contest. An employee of DCMO BOCES, he provides public information services to Sherburne-Earlville CSD and Gilbertsville-Mount Upton CSD.