Public relations award named after OCC agent

California’s Community College Public Relations Organization has named its feature-writing award after Orange Coast College’s Jim Carnett, the school’s community relations mainstay for 35 years.

The prize will be known as The Jim Carnett Feature Article Award.

The annual award is widely considered the top writing honor for community college public relations professionals throughout California, according to Martha Parham, the organization’s president.

Parham made the announcement at a dinner honoring Carnett this week.

He plans to retire over winter.

Carnett has captured five first-place national Paragon Awards for feature writing by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations and another 50 first-place state, regional and national writing awards during his tenure at OCC.

— Joseph Serna