by Olivia Williams 

Samford University’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter has received national recognition for Star Chapter for the second consecutive year. 

Student representatives from Samford PRSSA received the award recently at the 2016 PRSSA national conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

“Star chapter is awarded to less than 10 percent of PRSSA chapters nationally,” said Betsy Emmons, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication. “The star chapter demonstrates consistent programming and consistent devotion to all elements of PR in teaching and in practice all year long.” 

Emmons is faculty adviser for Samford’s PRSSA chapter. 

To qualify for Star Chapter recognition, PRSSA chapters must maintain a variety of requirements: high school outreach, joint programming, conference attendance, active voting in PRSSA endeavors, scholarship competitions, devoting time to ethics, career development and networking with professionals. 

“For the past two years, we’ve really tried to hit all of the elements of maximizing the value of what PRSSA membership can offer,” Emmons said. 

Other highlights from the national conference included the team receiving its third-place award in the national Bateman Case Study Competition and chapter president Asia Burns received the Gary Yoshimura Scholarship. 

Emmons was guest speaker for a lecture titled “Best Practices for Bateman.” 

Eight Samford students attended the conference, including members of the chapter’s executive board: Burns, Vice President Whitley Alexander, Secretary McLane Evans and Treasurer Morgan Johnson. 

“Your membership is only as good as the effort you put into it,” said Emmons. “I’m proud that our chapter is taking advantage of every opportunity afforded by membership in this organization.” 

Olivia Williams is a journalism and mass communication major and a news and feature writer in the Division of Marketing and Communication.