21 May ICC Community Relations team earns more than 20 statewide awards May 21, 2026 By Camp, Tyler W General 0 The Community Relations team at Itawamba Community College earned more than 20 awards during the annual conference of the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi recently held in Senatobia. The conference brings together marketing and communications professionals representing Mississippi community colleges, public universities and private universities to recognize excellence in higher education communications, marketing, media relations, graphic design, photography and digital content. In addition to multiple category awards, ICC received a Grand Award in electronic media for a documentary produced, filmed and edited by CJ Adams, director of marketing. “The recognition reflects the creativity, dedication and teamwork of a group that works every day to tell the story of ICC and the people we serve,” said Dr. Jay Allen. “Our Community Relations team continues to elevate the college through strategic communication, innovative storytelling and meaningful engagement across our campuses and communities.” Members of the ICC Community Relations team include CJ Adams, director of marketing; Cal Brown, athletic creative content coordinator; Leah Caldwell, strategic office specialist; Maggie Caldwell, marketing specialist; Adam Gore, director of sports information and media relations; Morgan Henry, graphic design specialist; Raphael Henry, video operations specialist; Leah Pennington, creative content specialist; Margaret Todd, communications management specialist; and Cal Brown, athletic creative content coordinator. The team operates under the Office of the President and Tyler Camp, chief of staff. FULL LIST OF AWARDS: Print Brochure - 2nd place, Workforce, Maggie Caldwell, CJ Adams, Donna Thomas Single-Piece Artwork - 3rd place, Chop Day Card, CJ Adams Single-Piece Artwork Sports - 2nd place, Football Schedule, Cal Brown Wildcard Print - 1st place, Sports Cards, CJ Adams, Leah Caldwell, Natalie Ryals Mixed News Story - 3rd place, ICC Mourns, Tyler Camp, C.J. Adams News Story Sports - 3rd place, Women’s Basketball Region 23 Champs, Adam Gore Student Life Photography - 3rd place, Homecoming Court Pep Rally, CJ Adams Portrait Photography - 3rd place, Homecoming Court Portraits, CJ Adams, Leah Pennington, Anna Kate Crenshaw, Will Hathcote Digital Art - 1st place, Wicked, CJ Adams, Leah Pennington, Leah Caldwell Sports Photography - 3rd place, Volleyball, Cayce Smith Wildcard Mixed - 1st place, Fashion Tribe 2025 Fashion Show, CJ Adams, Natalie Ryals Electronic TV Spot - 2nd place, Super Bowl Commercial, CJ Adams Radio Spot - 2nd place, Orientation, Adam Gore; 1st place, Let’s Go ICC, Adam Gore Webpage - 3rd place, Campus Tours, CJ Adams, Michael Holloway Social Media Post - 1st place, Orientation Sign Up Promo, CJ Adams, Emma Carolyne Wright Social Media Post Sports - 3rd place, Valentine’s Day, Cayce Smith Wildcard Electronic - 1st place, Cheer Documentary 2025, CJ Adams Creative Partners - 3rd place, Dinner and Demo, Maggie Caldwell, Josh Gammill, Christy Sheuer; 1st place, Senior College, Maggie Caldwell Grand Award - Electronic Media Cheer Documentary, CJ Adams Related Articles ICC's Community Relations team wins more than 30 CPRAM awards Itawamba Community College’s Community Relations team received a total of more than 30 awards from the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi, which were presented during a recent conference in Bay St. Louis. They include C.J. Adams of Fulton – third place, Photograph, for “New Semester Excitement;” first place, Television Spots, for “2023 ICC Super Bowl Commercial;” third place, Radio Spots, for “Fall Preview Day;” first place, Television Program, for “Skilled to Work;” second place, Multi-Media Presentation, for “2023 Orientation Presentation;” second place, New Media, for “Fireworks CRM;” first place, New Media, for “Inside ICC;” third place, Social Media – Non-Sports, for “Itawamba Community College Nat’l Smarties Day;” third place, Social Media – Sports, for “LetsGoICC YouTube Shorts; second place, Sports Promo/Hype Video, for “2024 ICC Volleyball Schedule Release;” first place, Creative Partners, for “I See A Leader Partnership;” Lee Adams of Fulton – second place, Digital Art/Photo Illustration, for “2023 ICC Softball Poster;” third place, Sports Photograph, for “Diving Catch;” second place, Sports Photograph, for “Boom;” first place, Sports Photograph, for “Strike;” third place, Television Program, for “ICC ... ICC ranks second in state in producing more bachelor's degrees than any other community college Recent data from Mississippi’s Institutions of Higher Learning shows students who graduate from Itawamba Community College and transfer to a university receive their degree with a grade point average above the state average. In addition, ICC graduates earn their college credentials with a higher GPA than students who begin their university studies during their freshman year. The statistics also indicate that ICC ranks second in the state in producing more bachelor’s degrees than any other community college, 12 short of first place, which is held by an institution that doubles our enrollment, said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. Students who began their college careers at ICC and transferred to a university graduated from there with an average GPA of 3.28. The average among all IHL graduates is 3.23. ICC graduates finish with higher GPA than the average completion GPA of all Mississippi community colleges and institutions of higher learning,” Allen said. “ICC’s priority is our students, and it is our mission to provide them with a quality educational foundation, no matter where their life journey takes them,” Allen ... Itawamba Community College receives $100,000 and joins 41 other schools across the US as All Within My Hands' Metallica Scholars Initiative expands in year five Metallica’s foundation, All Within My Hands, continues its multimillion-dollar investment in critical workforce programs at community colleges nationwide. Among the schools, Itawamba Community College was selected from a competitive pool of applicants to receive $100,000 to transform the futures of students in the community. “It is a tremendous honor for Itawamba Community College to be selected as one of the recipients of the prestigious All Within My Hands grant, which will significantly impact our career education programs, providing funding for students to pursue a pathway and their best start,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. “It is another indication of the success of the College and reinforcement of the mission that students and their success are our top priority.” The Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI) was launched in 2019 by Metallica’s foundation, All Within My Hands (AWMH), in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The workforce initiative marks its fifth year with an ambitious expansion into new curricula. MSI now directly supports 42 community colleges across 33 states, and by the end of this year, it will have helped ... ICC sophomores named to All-Mississippi Academic Team Itawamba Community College sophomore Hunter Holley of Nettleton has been selected to the All-Mississippi Academic Team first team, and the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship. In addition, Fields Ferguson of Batesville, Karla Morales and Lillian Salem, both of Tupelo, were named to the second team. A graduate of Amory High School, Holley is majoring in biological sciences at ICC, where he is the president of the Upsilon Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at the Fulton Campus. He is also serving as the Mississippi/Louisiana PTK Regional Reporter and is a member of the Indian Delegation and Science Club. Last year he served as the Monroe County representative for the Student Government Association. Among his honors are Hall of Fame, Mr. Itawamba Community College, regional PTK Most Distinguished Chapter Officer runner-up, Order of the Golden Key, president’s list, ICC’s student representative for HEADWAE and recipient of numerous scholarships, including one of 10 in the nation to receive the prestigious Pearson Scholarship. He has also been selected as ICC’s first Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship semifinalist. Holley attends the First United ... ICC's CR staff receives record number of CPRAM awards Several Itawamba Community College staff members received awards from the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi, which were presented during a recent virtual conference. The 21 awards were the most in the Community Relations Department’s history. They include C.J. Adams of Fulton, first place in View Book for “2020 ICC Recruiting Lookbook;” first place in Admissions and Recruitment Piece for “ICC Recruiting Trifold;” first place in Television Spots for “ICC SkillUp Commercial;” third place in Television Spots for “ICC Tomorrow Commercial;” first place in Radio Spot for “SkillUP Radio Commercial;” third place in Radio Spot for “Start on Time, Finish Early:” first place in Public Relations Campaign for “A New Look for a New Decade: A New Identity for ICC;” second place in Public Relations Campaign for “Navigating the Pandemic: The First Six Months;” grand award in the junior division in Electronic Media for “ICC SkillUP commercial;” second place in Advertisements for “ICC Veterans Day Ad;” Lee Adams of Fulton, first place in Single Piece artwork – Sports for “2020 ICC Football Poster;” second place in Single Piece Artwork – Sports ... ICC team selected as finalist for 2021 Community College Innovation Challenge A team from Itawamba Community College has been selected as a finalist for the 2021 Community College Innovation challenge, which is sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges and the National Science Foundation. Members include Diana Salinas of Golden, Haley Dean, Abby Rinehart, both of Saltillo; and Emma Atkinson of Tupelo. The team mentor is Bradley Howard of Saltillo, Computer Science instructor and division chair. Howard said that this is the first time that ICC has reached finalist status. “These students have done an outstanding job on this project. They are all great examples of the high quality of students that we have at ICC.” As a finalist, the ICC team is required to attend the CCIC Boot Camp to be held virtually June 14-17. The camp is designed to provide a hands-on learning opportunity for the finalist teams to further develop their ideas with a focus on building innovation, entrepreneurship and strategic communication skills. Congressional members, community college leaders, STEM stakeholders, key congressional staff and other guests are invited to engage ... Comments are closed.