Two DCMO BOCES employees were recognized for their work by the New York School Public Relations Association (NYSPRA). Scott Jensen, Public Information Specialist, received an Award of Excellence for Photography and an Award of Honor for Budget/Bond Newsletter in the 2024 NYSPRA Communications Contest. Dean Russin, Public Information Specialist, received an Award of Honor for Social Media in the annual contest.
Jensen received both of his awards for work he did in his role as a DCMO Public Relations Specialist serving Delaware Academy. The award-winning photo was taken as part of Fire Safety Awareness Week, when the Delhi Fire Department visited the elementary school. The photo shows firefighter Josh Mostert helping a student spray water from a field fire pump. Firefighter Mike Cardillo is in the background. The 8-page capital project mailer was for a capital project vote the district was holding; Jensen was the designer and copywriter for the mailer, working with then-District Superintendent Kelly Zimmerman and Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Carey Shultz.
Jensen joined the DCMO BOCES Public Information Service in 2023. These are his first NYSPRA awards.
Dean Russin received his Award of Honor for social media event coverage in his role in his role as a DCMO Public Relations Specialist serving Sherburne-Earlville CSD. To mark the retirement of 36-year varsity boys basketball coach Kevin Vibbard Sr., the school district dedicated their basketball court to him before his final game as coach (on senior night). Russin’s social media coverage began with a livestream broadcast of the dedication, photo coverage of the event, and culminated with a memorable photo of the coach posing with a cake he posted following the game. That post broke a school Facebook record with a reach of 130,727, received 1,726 reactions (likes/loves), and 192 comments. Several follow-up posts with additional photos from the night closed out the series.
This is the third time that Russin has been recognized for his work by NYSPRA– he won two awards in last year’s NYSPRA Communications Contest and three the year before.
The Public Information Service is one of the business and management services that DCMO BOCES offers to local school districts. DCMO BOCES is a regional provider of educational services to students and schools, including adult learning programs, and operates school campuses in Sidney Center and Norwich. To find out more about their services and programs, visit www.dcmoboces.com.
