By: Bob Browand

Recognizing the significance of the strides my team and I have made in terms of marketing and communications for the department over the last few months, NACAS, the National Association of College Auxiliary Services, invited members of the team to present at their national conference, which was held in Indianapolis from Oct. 9 through Oct. 12 this year.

This year, the annual event hosted approximately 1,000 auxiliary services professionals from universities and colleges all across the country, as well as Canada and Jamaica.

Our 30-minute presentation, which was one of roughly 100 educational sessions offered during the conference, attracted more than thirty attendees and covered everything from where we got the inspiration for the blog, to ways other individuals could potentially implement and incorporate similar elements and strategies into their departments back home.

We also highlighted some of our achievements over the last year including how:

• This blog, which is just under a year old, has already earned TWO awards, including an IABC Bronze Quill Award of Excellence, as well as a UH Brand Champion Award.
• Our social media engagement has greatly increased, so much so that one of our campaigns earned the title of “Most compelling” at the 2016 UH Brand Champion Awards.
• We’ve become more visible across campus hosting and participating in more in-person outreach events including Picnic in the Park and the 2016 Parking Forum.
• Meaningful, impactful conversations (examples below), some that have even led to real, tangible program changes, have been had thanks to all of this work.

Comment from Budget post:

Comment from Oversell post:

By the end of it all, the audience seemed intrigued by our work and the results we’ve seen so far. We fielded more than a dozen questions about why and how we do what we do.

While we know as a department we still, and always will, have room for growth and improvement, we know that we’ve made IMMENSE progress over the last year and are excited about continuing that trend.

To view a copy of our NACAS presentation, click here.

published: Thursday Oct. 27, 2016