Aaron Murphy, Hallie Hart and Stephen Howard from the Spears Business Marketing and Communications team pose with their awards from the OCPRA Convention.

Spears Business marketing and communications staff earns statewide recognition for publications and feature writing

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Media Contact: Stephen Howard | Director of Marketing & Communications | 405.744.4363 | stephen.howard@okstate.edu

The Spears School of Business marketing and communications department took home a trio of honors at the Oklahoma College Public Relations Association Awards Banquet, held July 13-15 in Tulsa.

Spears Business earned the top two spots in the feature story category, and the college’s annual magazine, Engage@Spears, earned third place among all higher-ed magazines in the state.

Hallie Hart, Spears Business’ communications coordinator, took home the top prize in the human interest/feature writing category for her story, “The Climb,” which documented the journey of two Oklahoma State University students who scaled Mount Kilimanjaro over the holiday break.

The college’s director of marketing and communications, Stephen Howard, finished second in the feature writing category for his story, “A Team Effort,” which profiled a Spears Business alum who turned his skills in information systems into a thrilling career with the Navy Seals.

Nearly two dozen universities from across the state submitted over 600 stories, videos, social media posts, photos, promotional items, printed materials and magazines for judging at the OCPRA Annual Conference. Spears Business was nominated in 10 different categories, including the best photo series, long-form video, event program, research story, short-form video, high-engagement social media post and portrait photography.

The Spears Business marcomm team of six handles all of the photography, videography, social media, graphic design, printed publications, advertising, web services and writing for the college, which is now the biggest on the OSU campus with 6,582 students.