Erie, Pennsylvania – March 16, 2022 – The US Council of Serra International chose The Serra Erie WAVE for its Outstanding Club Newsletter Award for 2020-2021.
Serra is an international organization of Catholic lay men and women who vigorously respond to the call to promote and support vocations to the ministerial priesthood and consecrated life in the Catholic Church. There are Serra Clubs in 42 different countries.
The US Council is divided into nine geographic regions. An outstanding newsletter winner is chosen for each region and then the best of those winning entries is chosen for the entire US Council. Erie is in the Northeast Region and its newsletter design beat out entries from clubs in the larger markets of the Northeast, as well as other large demographic markets such as Orange County, CA; Spokane, WA; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Dallas; and Nashville.
Three Serran judges scored each newsletter submitted from around the country on a 100-point scale: up to 60 points for quality of content and up to 40 points for layout and overall appearance. Erie’s entry was “the unanimous choice,” according to Jesse Gallegos, VP for Communications, USA Council. Certificates and cash prizes were given to each winning entry and for the top national scorer.
Angela Teed, an information technology professional who specializes in graphic design, has been a member of the Serra Club of Erie since 2017. She serves on the board of directors as Webmaster and Newsletter Editor. Angela came up with the concept of calling the newsletter The Serra Erie WAVE, with a subhead of Written to Affirm Vocations in Erie. She then gave the layout a fresh new look, choosing blue as an accent color that would tie the graphics to the color of Lake Erie. The winning newsletter can be viewed here.
“The desire to use my skills to redesign the club’s website and newsletter was in part inspired by Serra’s slogan ‘Always Forward, Never Back’,” according to Angela. “As a club we must always focus on moving forward, especially in the area of technology, if we are to stay relevant to our multi-generational membership.” Angela has used her skills to improve the Serra Erie website and newsletter by implementing all the latest advancements in design features and capabilities. The inception of the new design has enabled digital distribution of the newsletter via email as an interactive PDF document that includes links to the Serra Club website: www.serraerie.org.
The newsletter contains links to Serra International, and the US Council of Serra, and numerous other relevant external websites. There are additional links to blogs, videos, and webinars which bring the newsletter to life for Serra members and keeps them connected to the most current club news and events. Dennis Deiner, president of the Serra Club of Erie, said “We are blessed to have Angela as a board member and to benefit from her design skills. We are proud of her and the prestigious award we were given because of her creativity.”
Next year Angela will be one of the judges scoring newsletter entries for the USA Council, in addition to her work locally. “It is an honor and a blessing to be working with the board of the Serra Club of Erie,” she said, “and to be involved in ‘Working to Affirm Vocations in Erie’ for the good of the Church and God’s people.”