Communicator Of The Year
Each year in the fall, OCPRA presents the Natalea Watkins Communicator of the Year Award to an individual whose service and leadership have set a high standard for others. Nominations for that award are accepted all year long from any individual who works for an OCPRA member institution.
From all nominations submitted, a winner is selected annually in the summer by the OCPRA Board of Directors, who serve as the selection committee.
This program was created by OCPRA, working jointly with the State Communicators Council, in 2003. The first honoree was Natalea Watkins, longtime associate vice president for communications at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. So effective was her leadership in both OCPRA and the State Communicators Council that, beginning in 2004, the award was renamed the Natalea Watkins Communicator of the Year Award.
In 2004, the award was presented to Bill Guffey, retiring director of public relations at Carl Albert State College.
In 2005, the Communicator of the Year Award was presented to Donna Spain-Bryant, who leads the public relations arm of Oklahoma’s nationally recognized GEAR UP program. A 20-year communications professional, Spain-Bryant has earned high marks for her leadership and service in Oklahoma higher education.
In 2006, the award was presented to Randy Talley, director of media and community relations for the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. Talley has served in OCPRA leadership for more than 10 years, and is a consultant in multimedia design to local and state organizations.
The 2007 honoree was Susie Brown, director of marketing communications at Tulsa Community College. For more than 25 years, Ms. Brown has been involved in public relations for nonprofit organizations, of which 18 have been in the higher education community. Besides her long service to OCPRA and the State Communicators Council, she is a member of the Executive Committee for the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District IV.
For 2008, the winner was Lana Reynolds, vice president institutional advancement at Seminole State College. With 20+ years experience in higher education communications, Lana is a longtime member and supporter of OCPRA. In her community, she is a founding member of the Jasmine Moran Children's Museum, a leader and public servant in local tourism and the Red Cross. She was named Seminole Citizen of the Year in 2001 and a Journal Record "50 Women Making a Difference" in 2000.