The South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum won an Award of Excellence Tuesday from the South Carolina Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators for an innovative communications program to unveil a traveling exhibit featuring emails and photos of soldiers serving in the Middle East.
Museum staffers Jai Cassidy Shaiman and Sara Wooton along with Budget and Control Board Director of Public Affairs Michael Sponhour were honored during the 2007 Palmetto Awards for the public relations plan used to launch the Write from the Front exhibit last year.
At the start of the Iraq war in 2003, the museum unveiled Write from the Front, an effort to preserve emails and digital photos from South Carolina service members overseas. The program recognizes that electronic communication has begun to replace traditional paper letters as the preferred way for many service members to write home.
The collection was turned into a series of traveling exhibits that were launched at a special news conference September 11, 2006 featuring U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a contributor to Write from the Front.
The Palmetto Awards recognize outstanding achievements in business and organizational communications across the state. Entries are judged on innovative and effective use of media, and the overall quality of writing, design and execution. Members of IABC chapters in Atlanta, Dallas, Arkansas and San Antonio judged the entries.
The museum was one of eight organizations to earn an Award of Excellence, the highest given. Other excellence winners included BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Clare Morris Agency, College of Charleston, Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, Municipal Association of South Carolina, S.C. Medical Association, Sonoco and S.C. Realtors Association.