APR Spells Excellence In Communications Work

Sandra McGrew, Amanda Hoelzeman, Carrie Phillips and Angelita Faller. (Provided)

April was National APR Month, celebrated by the Public Relations Society of America, and its Arkansas chapter was front and center.

APR signals Accreditation in Public Relations, the society’s “gold standard” for communications professionals.

Of PRSA’s 112 chapters nationwide, the Arkansas chapter has the highest percentage of members with the APR distinction, roughly 48%.

The chapter’s APR Chair, Sandra McGrew, described it as a “significant mark of professional achievement” and an emblem of expertise, commitment and professional growth.

McGrew, interim executive director of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, was happy to bestow the APR honor on three Arkansans in a “pinning ceremony” in Little Rock.

The new APR honorees are Angelita Faller, news director at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Amanda Hoelzeman, public relations manager at The Peacock Group; and Carrie Phillips, chief communications and marketing officer at UA Little Rock.

Faller is a former reporter and photographer who moved into communications roles at Ohio University and Grambling State. She earned her degree in journalism from Eastern Illinois University. She is president of Arkansas Press Women.

Before joining TPG, Hoelzeman directed donor relations at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, led media relations for the University of Central Arkansas and directed communications at Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families.

A born storyteller, she started in publishing, including a stint at Arkansas Business Publishing Group. She’s an El Dorado native and UCA graduate.

Before going to work for UA Little Rock, Phillips was director of communications and marketing at Arkansas Tech University.

She holds a doctorate from Texas Tech University, where she became an expert on how colleges should leverage marketing to address the “enrollment cliff,” a predicted decline in college prospects based on demographics.

A Familiar Face

Morning meteorologist Laura Huckabee is returning to KHBS/KHOG in northwest Arkansas.

Huckabee spent a decade at 40/29 News before departing in April 2021.

The 30-year TV news veteran will appear with anchors Yuna Lee and Phil Reed weekdays on “40/29 News Sunrise” from 4:30 to 8, starting in June.

“Laura understands weather is the most important element in our morning newscast, KHBS/KHOG President Bruce Barkley said in a statement.

A Jonesboro native and graduate of Arkansas State University, Huckabee earned certification in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State in 1999 and a master’s degree in education from Kennesaw State University in Georgia in 2009.