INA, Ill. (Sept. 15, 2026) — Rend Lake College's marketing team, along with Southern Illinois–based video production company JS Creative, has been selected as a finalist for a Medallion Award from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations.
The award in Television/Video Paid Advertisement could be a gold, silver or bronze. They won't know until NCMPR makes the announcement at its District 3 Conference next month, where two-year college marketing and PR professionals will gather in Madison, Wisc.
RLC's submission is a 30-second commercial advertisement for the college's competency-based At My Pace (A.M.P.) programming. The college again turned to JS Creative and owner Jeremey Shelton out of Marion to produce the ad.
"We've worked with Jeremey on a number of projects now," said RLC Marketing Director Nathan Wheeler. "The results are always exceptional. Their name says it. They are creative. But ideas are easier in concept than reality. Jeremey and his team have the skill to bring your vision to the screen. Their turnaround time, from concept to completion, is tremendous. That is just as important, I think."
"We always enjoy collaborating with Nathan and the team at Rend Lake College," Shelton said. "The thing that continues to impress us is that, regardless of the department, every person we’ve worked with at RLC is not only professional but genuinely cares about their program, their students and the college as a whole. I think the shared investment in the work is what makes the collaboration so strong.
"That makes it especially rewarding to see the A.M.P. commercial recognized," Shelton added. "It’s always meaningful when work we’re proud of resonates with the client and earns recognition from others in the industry."
If selected, it will be RLC's fourth NCMPR Medallion. The marketing team won a silver for manipulated photography in 2023, and two bronze recognitions in 2010 for logo design and feature writing. RLC's marketing team is made up of Wheeler, Coordinator of Digital Media & Marketing Jared Roberts, Public Information Specialist Kendra Gregory, Social Media & Outreach Specialist Taylor Wilburn; and Marketing Specialist Emma Thompson.
“The team was thrilled to see we were named a finalist,” Wheeler added. “We are very excited to learn where we placed next month. Anything’s a win. Medallion entries come from colleges across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Ontario. And they are voted on by our peers, which makes it a special recognition for those of us who work in the higher education marketing and public information space.”
It won't be the first award for the A.M.P. commercial. Earlier this year, JS Creative won a prestigious Bronze Telly Award for the spot. They won in the Branded Content - General-Educational Institution category. The Telly Awards annually honor excellence in video and television across all screens. Winning the award highlighted JS Creative's success in capturing and communicating the college's educational messaging through high-quality video content, according to the organization's website.
