Sunflower Communicator of the Year Award

This award recognizes a member who:

• is employed full-time in school public education, communications and/or public relations and plans to continue working in the profession;
• is a current and active member of Kansas School Public Relations Association (KanSPRA);
• Leadership: Demonstrates leadership in successfully meeting the communication needs of their school system or educational service agency. Examples may include leading successful communication campaigns, overcoming an internal communication challenge or creating a robust strategic communication plan;
• Communication: Demonstrates strength in both personal and organizational communication. Examples may include providing evidence of persuasion, showing the power of engagement or influencing decision making;
• Professionalism: Shows constant improvement of knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and mentoring to others. Examples may include achieving accreditation in public relations (APR), participating in NSPRA’s Mentor Match program or serving as a speaker at the chapter or national level;
• Community Involvement: Actively participates in their local community activities and demonstrates an understanding of regional, national, and international issues. Examples may include volunteering in their local community, organizing a fund-raising event for their community or writing an article that demonstrates broad knowledge of the complexities of public education.

All activities or accomplishments must have taken place within the previous five (5) years.

Nominations can be submitted by KanSPRA and non-KanSPRA members. Members can receive the award multiple times and can be past recipients of other KanSPRA member awards. The award is presented at the annual state conference in the fall. 

KanSPRA Sunflower Communicator of the Year Award honorees:

• 2025 - Kimberly Koop, El Dorado Public Schools 

In 2022, the KanSPRA Sunflower Award was created to celebrate excellence and honor deserving members for any number of outstanding contributions to the school communications profession and/or to KanSPRA. In 2025, this award was revamped to the KanSPRA Sunflower Communicator of the Year Award to better align with the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) award program.

KanSPRA Sunflower Award honorees:

• 2024 - Lauren Aiello, Turner Public Schools
• 2023 - Katie Carlson, Derby Public Schools
• 2022 - Terry Rombeck & Dara Underwood, Andover Public Schools