The Head of Communications of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Ms Esi Hammond, was last Saturday adjudged the PR Personality of the Year at the eighth National PR and Communications Excellence Awards organised by the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana.

The award was in recognition of Ms Hammond being at the heart of communication success stories that allowed the central bank to effectively communicate and demystify concerns surrounding the clean-up and recapitalisation exercise in the banking sector.

The event, which was held on the theme: “Ghana beyond the ordinary: The value of values in our national discourse”, was also used to honour three other individuals for their creativity and excellence in communication.

Citation

A citation that accompanied the award said: “IPR recognises the role played by Ms Esi Hammond, the Head of the Communications Office of Bank of Ghana, in pushing the agenda of actively engaging the publics of the bank and keeping stakeholders informed across the country.

“In strenuous efforts to carry along the public, we saw the bank breaking down its messages through the use of infographics on social media as well as sharing all information materials widely through many communication platforms.

“The otherwise conservative Bank of Ghana has adopted advertising in different local languages to sell its messages as well as grant interviews in local dialects. Talk to the media and you would know that Esi has engendered huge goodwill for the Bank and good media relations are on top of the agenda.”

Appreciation

After receiving the award, Ms Hammond thanked her family and the management and staff of the BoG, especially the Governor and his deputy, for supporting her to attain the success she had reached in her career.

“You can do PR almost to the extent your management allows you; write all the nice proposals, you can find them in the bin and cry your heart out but if your management supports you there is so much you can do,” she said.

Individual awardees

The PR Discovery of the Year went to Mr Samuel Frank Osei, a Communication Specialist with the Newmont Ghana; PR Academic of the Year was given to Dr Mavis Amo-Mensah, a Senior Lecturer of PR and Communication at the University of Education, Winneba.

The Internal Communicator of the Year was conferred on Ms Olivia Mifetu, an Internal Communications Advisor at the MTN Ghana, a telecommunication company.

Corporate awards

In the corporate category, Newmont Ghana won three awards---Best in Digital and Social Media Communication, PR Campaign of the Year and PR Organisation of the Year (extractive sector), while Stanbic Bank Ghana also swept two awards—Best in Technology and PR Organisation of the Year (financial sector).

MTN Ghana took the PR Organisation of the Year (telecommunication sector), while Stratcom Africa and Vivo Energy Ghana received Best in Non-profit Communication of the Year and Best Community Relations Programme of the Year, respectively.

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) had PR Organisation of the Year (public sector), while the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) had Most Outstanding Student Chapter of the Year, with Touchpoint Magna Carta taking Most Outstanding PR Agency (PR Consultancy of the Year) and Ministry of Transport Best in Crisis and Issues Communication.

Fellows

Honours were also conferred on five past executives of the IPR for their invaluable commitment and contribution to the development of the institute over the years.

They were two former presidents of the IPR Ghana, Major Albert Don-Chebe (Retd) and Nanabanyin Pratt; the Chief Executive Officer of Stratcom Africa, Mrs Esther Cobbah; Ambassador Margaret Kpodo and the Managing Director of the State Transport Company (STC), Nana Akomea, who is a former Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).