San Bernardino, CA – The Cal State San Bernardino Coyote Advertising team and a CSUSB student each won an award at the PRSA Inland Empire Chapter’s annual Polaris Awards held Nov. 9.

CSUSB Coyote Advertising and students from the university’s fall 2016 Communication Studies 243 were recognized in the student public relations category for their planning and execution of the fifth annual holiday public service announcement food drive benefiting the recently renamed Obershaw DEN Food Pantry. As a result, the food drive, which ran Nov. 18-30, 2016, generated more than 3,800 individual items weighing in at 1,814 pounds.

“To be recognized with a Polaris award is powerful evidence that CSUSB is home to some of the best and the brightest students in the inland region,” said Jacob Poore, manager of Coyote Advertising and CSUSB’s Communication Studies 243 instructor. “This honor also reflects an incredible commitment by our students to utilize the knowledge they are obtaining in the classroom to create positive change for our campus and the community. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved with the holiday PSA campaign.”

In addition, CSUSB student Andrea Stewart won the 2016-2017 Polaris Award in the student project category for her entry “SoCal Yard Transformation Digital Handbook Proposal.” The student project category, which is for undergraduate or graduate students, must include a fully developed public relations project, such as a press kit, campaign proposal and special event proposal.

The annual awards recognize public relations tactics and programs that successfully incorporate sound research, planning, execution, and evaluation. These awards represent the highest standards of performance in the public relations profession in the Inland Empire.