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School district PR pros receive 13 awards A10

FE B RUA RY

t h e C h R on i C le

1, 2018

SPeCial to the ChRoniCle

School public relations professionals across the state were honored Friday, Jan. 26, for the products of their craft during the north Carolina School Public Relations association’s (nCSPRa) annual Blue Ribbon awards for effective Communications celebration at the o. henry hotel in Greensboro. the Marketing and Communications team for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) system received eight Blue Ribbon awards in the electronic Media category, two in the image/Graphic Design category, one for excellence in Writing, one for Marketing and one for Publications. that’s a total

Voting

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Candidate filing for the May 8 primaries is scheduled for Feb. 12. the restoration of the State Boe will mean there will be a board that can resolve conflicts involving early voting plans or elec-

Career fair

The Marketing and Communications Team for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) system, which manages the district’s websites, received awards from the North Carolina School Public Relations Association.

Screen shot of WS/FCS web page

of 13 awards for design, content and versatility of marketing and public relations campaigns. of those awards, six were gold awards, six were silver and

tion protests that can’t be settled by the local board. By state law prior to passage of SB68, Boes have a majority from the governor’s party, so the state board will now have a Democratic majority.

one was bronze. thirty-eight school districts were recognized for outstanding work and received a total of 306 awards in eight categories.

action on filling the State Boe will still come too late to help Forsyth with its voting machine woes. With no State Boe, there was no organization that could certify voting machines, and Forsyth County’s touch screen voting machines don’t meet new state requirements to produce a paper ballot,

the Marketing and Communications Department serves as the school system's central point for all of its communications. the department oversees all internal and external communications, including handbooks, media relations, social media and websites. the department also manages Cable 2. nCSPRa President todd hagans, executive director of community relations & communications for Gaston County Schools, said entries of the award winners rivaled the best work of public relations practitioners in any field. “Blue Ribbon awards are the highest honor in our organization and they validate the superior work

local Boe officials say. there’s not enough time to go through the long process of getting the new machines, which requires that they be tested during an election, before the May primary. Forsyth and eight other counties in this situation are hoping state lawmakers will pass an extension on meeting the paper

done by my colleagues this year,” hagans said. “this roster of excellence is tangible evidence that nCSPRa's public relations professionals are among the nation’s finest and that they are producing cutting edge communications and products that support their schools and school systems.” award categories included digital media engagement, electronic media, excellence in writing, image/graphic design, marketing, photography, publications (print & electronic), and special events and programs. “Best of the Best” honors were also awarded to the most outstanding entry in each category. entries were judged by the Georgia School Public Relations

ballot requirement. if that doesn’t happen, Forsyth Boe will have to use paper ballots during early voting and rent machines for visually impaired voters. this will require printing thousands of copies each of dozens of ballot styles, so that early-voting sites can accommodate a voter from any precinct

association Board of Directors. Before the awards ceremony, attendees heard a presentation from Dr. James Merrill, superintendent of Wake County Public School System. W. Jeffrey Booker, Gaston County Schools Superintendent and nCSPRa Superintendent liaison, also offered congratulatory remarks during the ceremony on behalf of the state's school superintendents. nCSPRa’s mission is to build support for public education through wellplanned and responsible public relations. For more information visit the nCSPRa Facebook page or www.ncspra.org.

that might go there. tsujii also didn’t think there would be enough time to get new certified machines in the early voting for the general election. Reporter Cash Michaels contributed to this story.

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job that's really the only difference. Just look at it that way." Wilkins said. Clark-Jackson, who served as the skill training community outreach specialist for Goodwill gave tips on what to do before the interview. She stressed the importance of learning information about the company, and wearing the appropriate attire. another point of emphasis during the presentation was having all the necessary documents to be hired on the spot, including a state iD and Social Security card. ClarkJackson said, "Come prepared to be hired on the spot. Most companies are not going to hire you on the spot, but be prepared." to wrap up the seminar, toya Witherspoon, who came up with the idea for the seminar and job fair, provided attendees with a list of questions that should never be asked during an interview. Witherspoon also provided free business attire for those who needed it. after looking through the selection of neckties, Desmond howell said he was glad he came to the seminar because it gave him a chance to make sure he was prepared for the job fair and interview in the future. "i knew about most of the things they talked about, but it's always good to get a refresher," howell said. the Sprague Street Community Center Career Fair is scheduled for today, thursday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Representatives from aramark, the U.S. army, City of Winston-Salem, Goodwill, Forsyth County, WinstonSalem Police Department, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools system and others will be at the fair. For more information on the Career Fair or the First impressions Seminar, contact toya Witherspoon at (336) 650-7680.

GOP

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General assembly. “Prohibiting the state from using the duly enacted districting map that governed its last election cycle is not just practically disruptive, but represents a grave and irreparable sovereign injury,” Republican attorney Phil Strach argued in his 22-page petition for an emergency stay to the U.S. Supreme Court two weeks ago after a three-judge panel struck down the GoP’s 2016 congressional map. thus, Republican lawmakers say, they are only fulfilling “… the will of the people …” when they draw 10 out

Crisis

Toya Witherspoon shares a list of questions employees should never ask potential employees during the First Impressions Seminar last weekend.

Plyler

in 2016, an average of five people died every day from drug overdose in the state, a 410 percent increase from 1999. this dramatic increase is felt by the county’s emergency Medical Services, who are constantly responding to overdose calls. “We’re picking up people everyday, 30 days out of a 30-day month, where it used to be once a month,” said County Commissioner Chair Dave Plyler. the cost can be felt in other areas, too. For instance, there’s been a large increase in children taken into custody by the county’s Department of

Photo by tevin Stinson

of 13 congressional voting districts Republican-leaning, and a majority of state house and Senate districts the same way. and as for so-called “majority-minority” black voting districts, all Republican legislative leaders did, they’ve said, is “comply” with the 1965 Voting Rights act, ensuring that african-american voters were able to elect representation of their choice to Congress and the legislature. the federal courts saw it differently, ruling those districts “unconstitutional” because they “stacked-andpacked” black voters into a handful of voting districts to lessen their influence in races across the state. a favorable resolution for the GoP of these issues point toward the 2018 elections, and Republican hopes to

build on the legislative power they’ve amassed since taking over the n.C. General assembly in 2011. Before Republican Gov. Pat McCrory lost his re-election bid in 2016, the only outlier in the GoP scheme for virtually complete control of state government was the judiciary, even though, prior to the 2016 elections they had a majority of the state Supreme Court. thus the moves to limit Gov. Cooper’s power, gain control of the state judiciary, and now, a desperate battle not to lose their advantage per the redistricting maps. the courts hold the fate of n.C. GoP future power in their hands.

SPeCial to the ChRoniCle

advisory Council, executive Board member of Piedmont Regional economic Council, trustee of Forsyth County Public library and Juvenile Council of Forsyth County. he also serves on several community boards, including advocates for Disabilities of northwest n.C., the S h a l o m Project, WinstonEl-Amin S a l e m interfaith, etc. he is a lifetime member of the naaCP. “My campaign is based on being a servant of the community and my record of service. Stay informed, stay engaged, vote for Fleming el-amin as County Commissioner in District a,” el-amin said.

Fleming el-amin announces run for re-election

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ernments have done, there are many possibilities. north Carolina attorney General Josh Stein has sued insys therapeutics for what he said was an unlawful marketing campaign that rewarded doctors who prescribed Subsys, a potent painkiller that’s 100 times stronger than morphine and only approved for cancer patients. Many counties have announced lawsuits. Yadkin County filed a lawsuit naming 24 defendants. a lawyer representing Randolph County said last month that that county’s suit would target companies at the “top of the food chain” who make billions selling opioids “while knowingly violating their own rules.” other counties that announced suits include Mecklenburg, Buncombe, Pitt, Gaston, Surry, new hanover, onslow and Rockingham. the state’s eastern Band of Cherokee indians is also suing.

Linda Davis makes a presentation during the First Impressions Seminar last weekend at Sprague Street Community Center.

Watts

Social Services due to opioids. Plyler said he expects the settlement with state and local governments over the opioid crisis to be similar in scope to the 1998 tobacco settlement. that settlement between the four largest tobacco companies in the country and the attorney generals of 46 states involved paying a minimum of $206 billion over the first 25 years. Forsyth County will be filing its own lawsuit that will be grouped with other counties, but is it not a class action suit, which gives the county more control over it.

Fleming el-amin, currently serving as County Commissioner for District a, says he will be asking the voters for their support again in the May primary and the general election in november. after the sudden death of County Commissioner Walter Marshall in late February, the Forsyth County Democratic Party (FCDP) voted overwhelmingly for Fleming elCAMPAIGN amin to fill out the rest of his term. he was sworn in in March 2017. elamin was formerly an FCDP chairman and a county Board of elections member. he’s running in 2018 to keep the seat. el-amin serves as vice chairman of the audit Committee of Forsyth County, chairman of the Department of Social Services Board, board member of PaRt, board member of the transportation

2018