News Release: Michigan Catholic Conference Receives National Award for Stem Cell DVD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2007

(LANSING)—Michigan Catholic Conference has received the MarCom Gold Award from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals for the production of its DVD “The Science of Stem Cells: Finding Cures and Protecting Life,” the Conference announced today. The DVD was the cornerstone of the Conference’s recent statewide stem cell research education program, which was implemented in October to communicate the Churchís position on stem cell research as it relates to her teaching on human life.

“The Conference is absolutely grateful for this magnificent award—yet the production of the DVD could not have been accomplished without the hard work and dedication of many important people,” said MCC President and CEO Sister Monica Kostielney, RSM. “We are thankful to AMCP for recognizing the quality and commitment that was put into developing this critically important message from the Church.”

MarCom Awards is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, an international organization that consists of several thousand creative professionals. Entries for the MarCom Awards come from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, design shops and freelancers. According to AMCP, a look at the winners shows a range in size from individual communicators to media conglomerates and Fortune 50 companies.

The Science of Stem Cells: Finding Cures and Protecting Life” [Link no longer available —Ed.] was produced in conjunction with SaintMax Worldwide and the Kansas Catholic Conference. Developed in an effort to broadcast the Churchís teaching on the issue of stem cell research, the DVD includes testimonials from and interviews with patient advocates, prominent scientists and stem cell researchers urging support for adult stem cell research, a nurse and bioethicist who addresses the effects of egg extraction and human cloning on women, and a priest and bioethicist who addresses embryonic and adult stem cell research from a moral and theological perspective.

The DVD was submitted in the Non-Profit: Internal Communications category.

Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in this state.

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