OCTC Marketing Team Earns Honors at NCMPR

by Bernie Hale

Owensboro, KY (10/31/2023) — Owensboro Community & Technical College's Marketing and Recruiting Team attended the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR) District 2 conference held October 23-25, 2023 in Charleston, South Carolina. NCMPR is the only organization of its kind that exclusively represents marking and public relations professionals at community and technical colleges. NCMPR has more than 1,600 members from nearly 550 colleges across the United States and Canada. The OCTC Team in attendance included Bernadette "Bernie" Toye-Hale, Hailey Ballard, and Katherine "Katie" Powers.

NCMPR is made up of 7 districts; KCTCS/OCTC is part of District 2, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, and The Bahamas. Hale serves on the Executive Council for the district as the Kentucky State Representative.

OCTC received a Silver Medallion Award for the OCTC Pathfinder Luggage Tag, which was used as an identifier for the backpacks distributed at a Beverly's Hearty Slice event. OCTC received a Bronze Medallion Award for the Spring 2023 OCTC Cultural Diversity Newsletter. Hale received the District's 2023 Communicator of the Year Award.

Hale has been with Owensboro Community & Technical College since 1999 and brings strategic vision, data-driven decision-making, and creativity to her role as director of marketing and recruitment.

OCTC President Dr. Scott Williams commented, "We are very proud of our team and this recognition of their achievements. We've had seven consecutive semesters of increased enrollment due in part to their efforts. We are grateful for their work and happy to have Bernie recognized for her leadership."

Hale's keen eye for emerging trends allows OCTC to facilitate authentic relationships with target audiences. She embraces cutting-edge marketing techniques, such as immersive storytelling, interactive videos, and personalized content experiences.

Hale has been instrumental in executing the college's digital enrollment program, which resulted in over 38,000 prospective student leads for the entire college system in Kentucky. She is one of the leaders of Kentucky's systemwide marketing director peer team, where she serves as a chairperson. The team consists of marketing staff from each of the system's 16 colleges, plus the system office, and develops and executes all systemwide marketing strategies, branding, creative, PR, and crisis communications.

"Bernie sees in others what they don't see themselves," added Katie Powers, OCTC marketing coordinator for recruitment. "She aims to bring out the leader in all of us."

Other notable accomplishments under her tenure include OCTC being recognized by the Messenger-Inquirer Reader's Choice program with a Platinum Award for the Best Higher Education Institution for four straight years, and the college earning recognition as a Great College to Work For, for three consecutive years, earning Honor Roll status in 2022.

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