STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Fifteen communication professionals at Mississippi State University won national awards June 8-11 at the annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence.

Bob Ratliff, marketing and communications coordinator for the MSU Extension Service Center for Government and Community Development, won an Award of Excellence for writing. Ratliff began his writing career in 1975 and has worked for the MSU Extension Service and the Progressive Farmer Radio Network.

Tom Knecht, former Agricultural Communications department head at MSU, won the retiree Award of Excellence. Knecht served as ACE president from 2001-2002, and also held positions as vice president, president-elect and past president.

Gold awards were presented to

• Keri Collins Lewis, media relations manager, for writing for magazines, for her feature “Born for the Show Ring.” Lewis also won the Outstanding Professional Skill award for writing.
• Leighton Spann, senior video producer, for script writing for visual media, for his story “Falcon Water Gets Leak Relief Thanks to Extension Service.”
• Elizabeth Gregory North, Agricultural Communications department head, and Kim Trimm, graphic designer, in the graphic design/print advertisement category for an ad promoting the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine in Mississippi Agriculture magazine.
• Ratliff; Kevin Hudson, photographer; and Phil Smith, graphic designer, for single marketing item for a promotional ad for the Mississippi Corn Promotion Board in the Farm Bureau magazine and the Division of Agriculture and Commerce magazine.

Silver awards were presented to

• Ratliff for promotional writing for the copy of a promotional ad for the Mississippi Corn Promotion Board in the Farm Bureau and the Division of Agriculture and Commerce magazine.
• North and Smith for the MSU Extension banner stands in the graphic design/exhibits category.

Bronze awards were presented to

• North; Lewis; Spann; Natasha Haynes, Extension agent in Rankin County; Jonathan Parrish, video producer; Brian Utley, senior video producer; Tim Allison, senior video producer; Ellen Graves, social media strategist; and Zac Ashmore, video producer, in the electronic media/video programs category for “The Food Factor.”

In addition, Quisto Settle, assistant professor in the MSU School of Human Sciences, won an outstanding research paper award for “Ask the Audience: Determining the Organizational Identity of a State Agency.”

Rick Noffsinger, Agricultural Communications department electronic publishing professional; Rachael Carter, community development specialist in the Center for Government and Community Development; Settle, Spann and Ratliff all presented workshops during the conference in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Association for Communication Excellence is an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists specializing in agriculture, natural resources, and life and human sciences.