ABSC Communications Team brings home 15 awards 

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) Communications Team won a grand prize award as well as 14 other awards in various categories this week during the 61^st Annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition. 

The awards banquet takes place during the annual Baptist Communicators Association (BCA) conference. BCA is a nationwide group made up of Southern Baptist communication professionals from Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) agencies, state conventions, Baptist newspapers, and Baptist universities. Each year, this group gathers for a conference consisting of workshops and the annual awards ceremony.    

This year, the group gathered at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, and heard from keynote speakers like Kristin Cole, founder and CEO of KC Communications, and Jeremy Honea, creative director at e3 Partners. Breakout sessions ranging from “Crisis Communication for Christian Leaders: Responding with Wisdom, Grace, and Strategy,” “Ethical Considerations for an AI World,” and more were offered throughout the four-day event.     

Tuesday, April 22, the Wilmer C. Fields Awards were handed out at Casa Rio in San Antonio. Cassidy Higgins, ABSC creative digital media producer, won the Diane Reasoner Award for Exceptional Achievement in Interactive Communications for her “Disaster Relief Ladies Reel,” which also received first place in the Social Media: Single Post category.  

Communications Team Leader Craig Jenkins said, “I am so thankful for and proud of the Communications Team of the ABSC.  They represent and reflect the mission of Arkansas Baptists so well and love to share stories of how God is working in and through cooperating churches across the state.  It is a delight to serve with this team that fully uses their hands and hearts to advance God’s kingdom. The Baptist Communicators Association is an SBC-wide group of professionals in the field of communications.  To receive recognition from this group is a true honor for our team.”   

Further ABSC awards are listed below.  

Print Publications: Newsletter 

1^st place – July 2024 Arkansas Baptist life, Communications Team  

Video: Promotion – Less than 1 minute 

1^st place – Lead Defend Promo 2025, Alex Blankenship  

Social Media: Single Post  

1^st place – Disaster Relief Ladies Reel, Cassidy Higgins 

Portrait: Studio  

1^st place – Quigley, Alex Blankenship  

Promotional or Advertisement – Single  

1^st place – First Ever Ladies Chainsaw Unit, Alex Blankenship and Cassidy Higgins 

Print Publications: Magazine – Spread  

1^st place – October 2024 Arkansas Baptist Life, Communications Team  

Digital Collateral – Social Media Graphics  

1^st place – Lee Strobel Graphics, Cassidy Higgins 

2^nd place – PSAM Carousel Graphics, Cassidy Higgins 

Email Marketing: Single Email  

2^nd place – Jan. 11 Arkansas Baptist News eMagazine, Communications Team  

3^rd place – April 2024 Arkansas Baptist eNewsletter, Communications Team  

Video: Event Coverage – Less than 1 minute 

2^nd place – ECON 2024, Alex Blankenship  

Video: Instructional – More than 3 minutes 

3^rd place – Prize – Pray First 2024, Alex Blankenship  

Total Public Relations or Development Campaign  

3^rd place – 2024 Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering, Communications Team  

Single Article – less than 750 words  

3^rd place – Podcast leads to Arkansas Baptist, NYC church plant connection and partnerships, Mary Alford