Lone Star College-Montgomery was honored recently when one of its marketing projects—an annual report to the community about its strategic planning efforts—earned a top-level Gold Paragon Award from the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR).
 
LSC-Montgomery, part of the Lone Star College System (LSCS), is a member of NCMPR, a professional organization for individuals involved in the marketing, communications and public relations efforts at community, junior and technical colleges nationwide.
 
Entries were judged by senior-level public relations professionals from across the U.S. More than 1,200 entries were submitted into competition, which culminated in an awards ceremony held at NCMPR's national conference in San Francisco, CA.
 
Steve Scheffler, dean of college relations at LSC-Montgomery, along with LaNae Ridgwell, manager of publications and marketing, and Lauren Maddox, writer, were the primary contributors to the annual report.
 
"Our goal was to create an engaging publication that highlighted the best efforts of the college in meeting its strategic goals," said Scheffler. "We wanted to make it highly visual with appropriate text to support the layout. I think we hit a home run with the report, and it's gratifying to know that the NCMPR judges felt the same way."
 
Dr. Austin A. Lane, president of LSC-Montgomery, was thrilled to learn of the award.

"The Gold Paragon Award is very prestigious," said Dr. Lane. "But our 2010-11 strategic plan report definitely is worthy of it. It showcases so many of the strategic initiatives that our faculty, staff and students have pursued over the past several years. Congratulations to our college relations staff, as well as the entire college community on a job well done."
 
According to Scheffler, the college has been honored, along with the other LSCS colleges, on numerous occasions for its excellence in marketing and public relations.
 
"I'm thrilled to be working at a college that is so supportive of the communications function," he said. "Informing the public of the wonderful things that are happening at Lone Star College-Montgomery is a key goal in our new 2012-15 strategic plan."

LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call (936) 273.7000, or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery.

With 75,000 students in credit classes, and a total enrollment of more than 90,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas. Dr. Richard Carpenter is the chancellor of LSCS, which consists of six colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball, and LSC-University Park, five centers, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.