A member of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s Department for Communications & Community Engagement was recognized for her outstanding public relations skills at an awards banquet November 9.  Women In Media Baton Rouge recognized Sonya T. Gordon, APR, the district’s public information officer, with the 2011 Award of Excellence for Public Relations during its 10th Annual Awards of Excellence Banquet.
 
The Awards of Excellence is the only awards program created specifically to honor Baton Rouge’s professional women in the fields of media and communications. Women In Media honor local communications and public relations professionals who have excelled within one of 12 nomination categories.  They also have three achievement awards.  This year, there were a total of 28 Awards of Excellence nominees.

Gordon’s responsibilities for the School System include:  press releases, copywriting/editing, graphics design, photography, website updates, public service announcements, community projects, newsletters, special publications, advertising and more.  She is the editor of the district's eNews electronic newsletter and the editor, writer and graphic designer for "Education Matters," the School System's full-color news magazine, which recently won a regional communications award.
 
A former communications professional for school districts in Nevada and North Carolina, Gordon holds national Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) certification from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), of which she is a member.  The past print and radio journalist and community college Journalism instructor has been designated a Senior Public Relations Practitioner by the Southern Public Relations Foundation (SPRF) and serves as an officer on the boards of the state and Baton Rouge chapters of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana.  She has been recognized individually and/or as a team member by PRSA, SPRF, the National School Public Relations Association, the American Marketing Association and several journalism organizations.  A native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Gordon earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Women In Media (WIM) is a professional women’s organization with membership consisting of a diverse group of women in all facets of Baton Rouge media business including Radio, Television, Marketing, Public Relations and Promotions.