Ouachita Stories

Helping shape Baptist Communicators Association’s national branding for years to come, Brooke Zimny was honored last week for designing BCA’s new logo.

Zimny, Ouachita’s assistant director of communications, has been a member of BCA since 2011. BCA is a national professional development organization for Baptist communicators serving in such areas as editorial, electronic media, graphic design, management, marketing, photography and public relations.

This year’s BCA annual workshop was held last week at the Capital Hotel in Little Rock with Arkansas BCA members hosting their colleagues from across the nation.

Trennis Henderson, vice president for communications at Ouachita, served as program committee chair for the event held April 17-20. Serving with him on the program committee were Zimny, a 2008 Ouachita graduate, and Matt Ramsey, director of information and communication for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention and a 2003 OBU grad, as well as Stella Prather, director of communications for Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes, and Tim Yarbrough, editor of Arkansas Baptist News.

“Led by program chair Trennis Henderson and his team, those attending the 2013 BCA workshop in Little Rock experienced an outstanding mix of challenging professional development, along with time for building important relationships with colleagues,” said Jim Veneman, BCA’s newly elected president. Veneman, director of visual communication for Union University, is a 1975 Ouachita graduate.

“The theme for this year's workshop was ‘Mission: Impact.’ The goal was to highlight the life-changing impact our work can have as Christian communicators as well as our professional mission,” Veneman added. “From start to finish we were reminded of the many ways we reach a lost world. Creative breakout sessions, outstanding field trips and a powerful mission experience provided the heart of an excellent workshop.”

The four-day workshop featured professional development breakout sessions, networking and fellowship as well as field trips to Heifer International and the Clinton Presidential Library plus the annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Banquet. Ouachita’s Office of Communications earned two BCA awards in the national competition – one for the music video, “OBU Lipdub: Tunes Unleashed” and one for the design of the new Dr. Jack’s Coffeehouse logo.

“Tunes Unleashed,” released in December 2012, has been viewed at www.vimeo.com/obu/lipdub more than 15,000 times in more than 80 nations. It was produced by the Office of Communications in partnership with student volunteers, the Office of Admissions Counseling and Dean Film & Video of Memphis, Tenn.

The Dr. Jack’s Coffeehouse logo was designed in honor of Ouachita’s founding president, Dr. John W. “Jack” Conger. The Office of Communications staff worked with Ferris Williams, assistant professor of Art and Design, to design the award-winning logo which is featured on coffeehouse signage, coffee mugs and T-shirts.

BCA, founded in 1953, is marking its 60th anniversary this year. Seeking to update the organization’s professional branding, BCA leaders invited members to submit designs for a new logo to be voted on by fellow members and officers.

Three of Zimny’s designs were among the top five submissions, with one of the three being adopted as BCA’s new logo. She and her husband, René Zimny, OBU’s assistant director of graphic services and a 2008 Ouachita graduate, collaborated on the logo designs. The winning logo was unveiled during the final session of last week’s workshop. The presentation included a plaque presented to Zimny, the unveiling of a new BCA banner featuring the logo and a reception following the presentation that included a cake sporting the new logo design.

“The annual BCA meeting is something I look forward to every year, but it was especially memorable this year serving on the program committee that planned and hosted the event,” Zimny said. “It was fun introducing communicators from across the nation to Little Rock and many of the Ouachita alums in the area who are experts in the communications field. Being recognized for designing the new BCA logo was a huge honor and incredibly humbling – especially after seeing so much great work from our peers throughout the workshop and awards banquet.”

Two Ouachitonians were awarded academic scholarships by BCA. Rachel Gilmer, a senior mass communications major from Princeton, Texas, received a $1,000 undergraduate scholarship and Mary Lynn Burns, a 2006 Ouachita graduate, received a $500 graduate scholarship. The scholarships are awarded “to encourage the growth and professional development of college, university and seminary students in the field of Baptist communications.”

Other Ouachita alumni and faculty members who participated in the annual workshop include:

• Dr. Terry Carter, associate dean of Ouachita’s Pruet School of Christian Studies, and Dr. Ken Shaddox, a 1983 OBU graduate and senior pastor of Park Hill Baptist Church in North Little Rock, led morning devotionals for workshop participants.

• Andy Dean, founder and president of Dean Film & Video, is a former Ouachita student. He led breakout sessions on “Visual Impact I: Telling Your Story while Building the Brand” and “Visual Impact II: Creating Quality through Cinematic Motion.”

• Alyse Eady, a 2010 Ouachita graduate, Miss Arkansas 2010 and co-anchor of “Today’s THV This Morning,” was the featured speaker and performer at BCA’s opening reception at the Old State House.

• Brent Gambill, a 2001 OBU grad, serves as vice president and director of digital media for Martin-Wilbourn Partners in Little Rock. He was the featured speaker during the conference’s keynote luncheon, addressing the issue of “Social Media Impact: Embrace Faith.”

• Dr. Craig Hamilton, OBU’s Lena Goodwin Trimble Professor of Music and director of bands, led the OBU Jazz Combo in performing at the Wilmer C. Fields Awards Banquet. In addition to Hamilton playing trumpet, five Ouachita students performing in the jazz combo were: Michael Curtis, bass; Chris Mazen, piano; Brent Nessler, tenor saxophone; Bret Steed, trombone; and Zach Zucha, drums.

• Denver Peacock, a 1994 OBU graduate, is senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods in Little Rock. He led a breakout session on “Maximizing Marketing: Moms, Bikes, Hoops & Hogs.”

• Jim Veneman, a 1975 Ouachita graduate, led a pair of breakout sessions titled “Photography I: What You Need to Know” and “Photography II: What’s Next?”

• Dr. Randall Wight, dean of Ouachita’s Sutton School of Social Sciences, led a breakout sessions on “Strategic Planning that Works.”

BCA members also participated in a local mission project, providing financial donations, gifts and a baby shower for the Promise House Maternity Home in Little Rock, a ministry of the Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries to unwed, pregnant teens and preteens.

“It was a special privilege to help plan, coordinate and host this year’s BCA annual meeting for our colleagues from across the nation,” said Henderson, a former BCA president and member for more than 30 years. “With the focus on ‘Mission: Impact,’ we were able to highlight the significant mission and ministry of Baptist communications while also showcasing the incredible skills of several Ouachitonians and other workshop leaders.”

For more information about Baptist Communicators Association, visit www.baptistcommunicators.org.