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09 December 2022 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Barend Nagel
From the left: Rulanzen Martin, Lacea Loader, Dr Nitha Ramnath, and Martie Nortjé.

Another year, another round of national and international awards for the Department of Communication and Marketing’s (DCM) campaigns and projects. This year saw DCM pick up an International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Africa Silver Quill Award of Excellence for Communication Research for Narrative Building Storytelling. This project and subsequent award were in partnership with Development Communication Solutions (DevCom), led by Lacea Loader, Director: Communication and Marketing. 

During the 2022 annual Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education (MACE) Excellence Awards, DCM won four excellence awards. Dr Nitha Ramnath, Deputy Director: Corporate Relations, won a Silver Award of Excellence for the 2021 Rector’s Concert, and a Bronze Award of Excellence for the 2022 Rector’s Concert. 

Lacea Loader and Martie Nortjé, Manager: Reputation, Brand and Marketing Management, won a Bronze Award of Excellence for the project ‘UFS – Our Story: The building and implementation of a brand narrative.’ Rounding up the UFS’ winning tally was Website Editor, Rulanzen Martin, who won a MACE Bronze Award of Excellence for the 2021 UFS Deaf Awareness Month (DAM) Campaign. The DAM campaign also received recognition during the 2021 IABC Silver Quill awards, where it won a Silver Quill Award of Excellence. 

Awards a perfect opportunity to benchmark 

“The awards give recognition to the communication efforts and endeavours undertaken by DCM as the strategic communication partner at the UFS; it also serves as a perfect opportunity to benchmark against peers and the industry. I am extremely proud of what the team has achieved,” says Loader.  “It is an honour when our projects receive awards, given the calibre of entries submitted for both the IABC and MACE awards programmes. The IABC awards programme is for all industries, while the MACE awards only recognise higher education institutions,” she says. 

For the 2022 MACE Excellence Awards, a total of 95 awards were awarded to 12 institutions from a total of 171 entries.

News Archive

Phemelo crowned Miss Free State 2017
2017-06-09

Description:Mej Vrystaat, Phemelo Lekale Tags: Mej Vrystaat, Phemelo Lekale

Phemelo Lekale, a second-year BCom Accounting
student at the University of the Free State, is the
newly crowned Miss Free State 2017.
Photo: Wiaan Coffee Photography

“To me, this pageant is about empowering young women. It helped me realise my strengths and weaknesses; it taught me how I can overcome my weaknesses and use my strengths to the best of my ability.”

This is exactly what second-year BCom Accounting student Phemelo Lekale sets out to do during her reign as Miss Free State 2017.

Bring about change and make a difference

The Miss Free State pageant aims in assisting young women to reach out to their communities and charities to bring about change. The pageant also aims to make a difference in somebody’s life.

Phemelo, who takes over from last year’s Kovsie winner Mienke van Rooyen, said that she needed to grow and learn as an individual, and that is exactly what the Miss Free State platform gave her.

Excited about the opportunities lying ahead

When the announcement was made, Phemelo was filled with so many mixed emotions she only realised she was the new Miss Free State when Mienke handed over the sash. “It felt like someone was saying ‘yes, I believe in you and the vision that you proposed to bring to the table’.”

Phemelo said she was excited about the opportunities that came with being Miss Free State and the impact that this brand would have on society. “By the end of my reign, I won’t be the same woman I was when I entered and neither will I be the same woman I was when I won the crown.”

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