LATEST NEWS

NOW OPEN 2021 ACE Critique and Awards Program We invite you to participate in the 2021 ACE Critique and Awards Program. All entries must be entered online by midnight, Eastern Time, February. 15. The C&A program is an annual event geared toward providing members with professional critiques of their work and recognizing those who have done an outstanding job. Awards will be presented at our Virtual Conference Elevating Voices the week of June 21st, 2021. Find complete rules and instructions and FAQs on the ACE website. As a reminder, all entries must be submitted electronically, either as a digital file or as a link to a website or file-sharing service. No physical or hard-copy entries will be accepted. Fees $45 for each ACE member individual entry. $140 for each non-ACE member individual entry. $70 per entry for teams with half or more ACE members. Please list ACE members first; non-ACE members last. $175 per entry for teams with fewer than half ACE members. Reminder: All classes begin with code for the year (this year's code is 21) All classes renumbered for ease of future updating (Formerly, class numbers were consecutive across all categories. Now, class numbers begin at “class 1” within each category. Example: Publishing 1 was formerly Class 19.) Rubrics provided for all categories and classes to assist entrants and judges in understanding and applying criteria. For questions, problems, or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact ACE at aceoutreach@gmail.com, or 847-647-8861. Best, LaRachelle Smith ACE President-Elect

Read the Latest Issue of JAC

Award-winning writing with the judge and the journalist

Monday, January 25, 2021

2:00 pm EST, 1:00 CST, 11:00 am PST

Learn what kind of writing a C&A judge looks for and a multiple C&A Gold award winner includes in his entries. Andrea Brunais and Chris Moran will share tips and tricks to punch up your writing to make it attention-getting and award-winning. And they’ll go one step further. They’re accepting writing sample submissions, published or unpublished, for personal critiques. They’ll share some of these real-world examples of what works and what can be improved in a sensitive and constructive way.

Diversity and Inclusion in Media Relations and Writing

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

1:00pm Eastern, 12:00pm Central, 10:00am Pacific

Join us for a coffee chat where we can share tips and tricks for diversity and inclusion in our media relations and writing. Bring your questions or resources to share with your fellow ACE members. We’re focusing on diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in our media relations and writing initiatives in this coffee chat but are open to other topics as well.

Equitable and Inclusive Service and Communication

Friday, January 29, 2021

Equitable and inclusive environments do not happen organically; they are intentional. People are not naturally unbiased; they must be aware of and manage their biases. Members of a shared community must desire, create and foster the inclusive practices that shape positive relationships and effective communication with each other and their customers. Excellent customer service requires self-awareness, understanding and acceptance of diversity, effective communication, mutual respect, inclusive and equitable practices, and continuous individual and collective assessment and reflection, development, and growth. Inclusion Practitioner Tonya Parker will guide participants through the exploration of the influence and impact of our thoughts, actions, processes and behavior in the customer service experience.