UA System Division of Agriculture Communications Scores ACE Awards

Video and newsletter earn gold awards
Bronze awards presented for news writing, illustration, podcast

By John Lovett – Jun. 27, 2025

UADA Communications team stand together in front of a lush green field under a clear blue sky.

ACE AWARDS — The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture communications team, seen at the Fruit Research Station in Clarksville, was recently awarded six awards from the Association for Communication Excellence. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower)

MEDIA CONTACT

John Lovett

U of A System Division of Agriculture
479-763-5929 | jlovett@uada.edu

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — ACE, the Association for Communication Excellence, presented six awards to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s communications team for coverage of agricultural research and extension programs.

Gold awards went to Ben Aaron and Kerry Rodtnick with the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service for their video on the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center grand opening, and to Nick Kordsmeier and John Lovett for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report.

Bronze awards were garnered by the following:

Tracy Courage, Julie Thompson, Rebekah Hall and Kerry Rodtnick for the 2024 Arkansas 4-H Donor Impact Report.
Jenifer Fouch for Food, Farm & Forests, the experiment station’s podcast.
John Lovett for the article “Frequent Mowing Puts Poisonous Weed Into Survival Mode.”
Chris Meux for a social media graphic illustrating the “Precision Crop Management Workshop Save the Date.”

“To come home with one award from this high-level competition is good news, but to win six honors for our work is truly a testament to the skills and creativity of our team of content creators,” said Mary Hightower, chief communications officer for the Division of Agriculture. “To be able to achieve recognition of excellence across several media platforms, all created by our relatively small team, speaks volumes about the work ethic, enthusiasm and talent of our people. I am so proud of them.”

The awards were presented June 18 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Milwaukee following two days of professional development sessions in the annual ACE conference.

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on 𝕏 at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on 𝕏 at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.

Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.