The third annual Excellence in Communication Ministry Award was presented for 2021 to Savannah Carlson, communication director for the Minnesota Conference, during the Mid-America Union Conference Year-End meetings.
Savannah Carlson graduated in 2011 from Union College with a degree in Communication, emphasis in Public Relations and Journalism, then graduated with an additional degree in 2015 in Business Administration, emphasis in marketing. She is currently on hiatus from working on a master’s in business administration, for which she has completed 4 of 6 required courses.
During college, Savannah worked in various communication positions, including as Public Relations Director for the Business & Computer Science Division and the college newspaper (Clocktower) editor in 2010-2011. She earned one of six internship slots with Adventist Health twice while in college, the first in the communication department of an Adventist Health hospital in California, the second in human resources.
After graduating in 2011, Savannah accepted a job as a recruiter for Park Ridge Health, an Advent Health hospital in North Carolina. While there, Savannah would edit and write policies and emails for her department director, as well as communicate with hundreds of candidates on a daily basis. Her writing and editing skills were used more than anything else she learned in college! In 2013, Savannah moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she accepted the position of Office Manager for an Adventist elementary school. In that position, Savannah was responsible for weekly newsletters, website management, writing letters, debt collection, etc. Again, her writing skills were a huge asset.
In 2015, Savannah and her husband, Andy, moved to Minnesota for his job. Eventually, Savannah was hired as the Administrative Assistant to the President, and Gift Planning & Trust Services Director for the Minnesota Conference. Nine months later, the office restructured and she was promoted to the dual roles of Director of Human Resources and Communication.
As the director, Savannah redesigned the newsletter and moved it to a quarterly issue instead of bi-monthly, and regularly wrote various articles for publication. Unfortunately, the online newsletter fizzled under her direction, primarily due to a lack of readership. She activated social media accounts for the conference and updated all the information to be more accurate. It took a few years, but the Facebook account became more active as Savannah gave access to all the conference directors to post and respond as conference representatives.
Previous recipients are Rajmund Dabrowski and Jacqueline Biloff
