Steven Havira Wins National Award for Ambassador Andrew Young Video

Steven Havira, HIU's Chief Creative Officer, won second place in the Collegiate/Education Public Relations category at the National Federation of Press Women's (NFPW) 2025 Professional Communications Contest. The award recognized his video featuring Ambassador Andrew Young for a fundraising event. The winners were announced on Sept. 13 in Golden, Colorado, at the culmination of the NFPW's national conference, which honored top communicators from across the United States.

“I am deeply honored to be recognized by the National Federation of Press Women for my work on a video designed to build excitement around a building undergoing renovation on our campus and named after Ambassador Andrew Young, HIU ’55. That building is soon to be the home of the Howard Thurman Center for Justice and Transformational Ministry," Steve said.

"The project afforded me the privilege of meeting and filming Ambassador Young in his Atlanta office and weaving together the teachings of Howard Thurman with the historical context of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s time in Hartford and his enduring mission of peace. I extend my sincere thanks to President Emeritus Joel Lohr for coordinating the meeting, as well as to Cleo Robertson, Director of the Howard Thurman Center, and Beverne Cordner, Associate Director, for their invaluable support of this important initiative.”

The video can be viewed at this link.

Almost 2,000 entries were submitted in this year’s contest, including entries from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa. Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Spain.

“The NFPW professional communications contest puts a spotlight on outstanding entries from throughout the United States,” said Helen S. Plotkin, NFPW professional contest director. “Our judges continue to comment about the high quality of entries they judge in the contest. The entries showcase outstanding work and exceptional efforts.”

NFPW is a nationwide organization of women and men pursuing careers across the communications spectrum, including print and electronic journalism, freelancing, new media, books, public relations, marketing, graphic design, photography, advertising, radio and television. A distinguished group of professional journalists, communications specialists, and educators judged entries in a wide variety of categories. Only first-place winning entries at the state level are eligible to enter the national contest. 

Congratulations, Steve!