Rick Jones, Randy Hobson and Darla Carter are named winners of DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards
by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service
Two days short of retirement, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), preached during a 2023 Chapel Service at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Randy Hobson)
LOUISVILLE — Communications staff in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) garnered six victories during the 2024 DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards announced Friday by the Religion Communicators Council for work they completed during 2023.
Randy Hobson, Manager of Design and Multimedia, and Rick Jones, who’s now communications director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and was then communications director in the Office of the General Assembly, took home five of the six awards.
The two won Best in Class honors in the Shorts and Feature Presentations for a Legacy Series on the former Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II. View those installments here, here, here and here.
Hobson and Jones were named category winners for three other entries.
They won in the Video: Documentary/Educational Series category for the four Nelson videos they produced. They also won in the Videography: Article or Story — Single Work for “Bob Abrams: Celebrating the first 100 Years.” Abrams is a retired Presbyterian pastor who celebrated his 95th birthday with a ride in a glider. The two communicators also won in the Public Awareness category for their series “OGA in Focus,” which details the work of individual OGA employees.
Jones and Hobson also won an Award of Merit for “A Word from the Stated Clerk: UN Commission on the Status of Women 2023,” where Nelson shared highlights of meeting, worshiping and fellowshipping with Presbyterians attending the 67th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations.
Darla Carter, a communications strategist who tells the stories of Compassion, Peace & Justice ministries, won an Award of Merit for her story, “PC(USA)-related camp fosters healing for survivors of school violence.” Carter’s story detailed a reunion of the healing camps that were held at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the survivors of school shootings.
The DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards are given annually to active members of the Religion Communicators Council who demonstrate excellence in religious communications and public relations.
The awards are named to honor the late Victor DeRose and the late Paul M. Hinkhouse, leading lithographers in New York City, and longtime friends of the Religion Communicators Council. Both men shared a strong interest in, and concern for, excellence in communications.
