By LEAH WANKUM
Managing Editor

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — A university alumna received a public relations award Aug. 25 for leadership and communication skills in University Relations.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY UCM PHOTO SERVICES
From left, Kelly Waldram Cramer, interim director of marketing and promotion, presents Marcy Bryant with the 13th Foster/Inglish Award for Outstanding Achievement and Service in Public Relations.

Marcy Bryant was named the 13th recipient of the Foster/Inglish Award for Outstanding Achievement and Service in Public Relations. Created in 2000, the award recognizes achievement and service by members of University Relations staff, according to a university news release. John Inglish, who retired as director emeritus of public relations, established an endowment for the award. The award is named after Inglish and his longtime friend Carl Foster, who retired as director emeritus of public relations in 1986.

Bryant said she’s honored to receive acknowledgement from University Relations staff for her efforts this past year.

“When it was presented to me, I was the only office full-time writer for a short time,” Bryant said. “I was able to assist the rest of the staff during that time where we were down to one full-time writer.”

Bryant started work as a marketing specialist for University Relations in January 2014.

“I work with an amazing group of individuals,” she said. “It’s a total team effort in this office.

“They’ve helped me with training and such, but every day I learn something new, and they’re so patient with me, whether it’s something new on social media or about the Web or something along those lines. They’re right there to lead me on the way, and they do it all with a smile. It’s a total learning environment.”

Kelly Waldram Cramer, interim director of marketing and promotion, said she named Bryant as the recipient for the award because she put in extra effort when the team needed it.

“This year has been a really challenging year because we’ve had a lot of people transitioning in and out of the job and everything,” Waldram Cramer said. “So whenever you have a year like that, Marcy just made a lot of sacrifices this year. She rose to the top when we needed someone to rise to the top.”

Waldram Cramer said everyone on the team pitched in this year, which made it a hard choice to select just one recipient.

“She did it with such grace and was always very open to helping out more and more, and so that was something that really stood out for me this year,” Waldram Cramer said.

Bryant said she had the opportunity to meet the award’s namesakes this summer.

“I got to meet with them and hear about their experience in the office of University Relations, and throughout the years it was really cool in the fact that I learned about where they came from and all of their expectations,” Bryant said. “Because I see the name plaque in our office, and they’re amazing individuals, to be in that group, it’s really humbling.”

Bryant completed her bachelor’s degree in human resource management in 2003. She is on track to complete her master’s in speech communication in May 2016.

The award includes the addition of the recipient’s name on a plaque, which is displayed in University Relations, located in Administration 302, and a monetary prize made possible by the endowment, according to a university news release.