ARLINGTON, Va. — The Official Internet Home of the Diocese of Charleston was recently awarded a Proclaim Award by the Catholic Communication Campaign at an awards ceremony Nov. 7 during a conference of Catholic communicators.
The Catholic Communication Campaign is a collection taken up each year to fund communication efforts both nationally and locally. Dioceses that participate are eligible to enter the Proclaim Awards, which are held annually during the general assembly of Unda-USA, the National Catholic Association for Communicators.
The website of the Diocese of Charleston (www.catholic-doc.org) was recognized in the Internet category. Webmaster Mark Houpt is the diocesan director of Computer Services. Houpt joined the diocese a little more than a year ago and has worked to bring it into the Internet age, establishing both an official site on the World Wide Web and an Intranet site especially for diocesan employees.
Among the many features of the Official Internet Home of the Diocese of Charleston is news and information on several diocesan departments. Recent stories are posted by the The New Catholic Miscellany; statistics on the diocese’s annual campaign, the Diocesan Development Fund, are posted by the stewardship and development office; and the monthly diocesan calendar is posted by the Communications Office. The site also offers information on the history of the 177-year-old diocese; a listing of parishes and priests; and local, regional and national links to other Catholic sites. Additionally, it has proved a valuable tool for publicizing current news as in the section dedicated to Mother Teresa established shortly after her recent death.
“Our website is still relatively young and is constantly being developed to better service visitors. We are proud of Mark’s efforts and the recognition it has already received from the Catholic Communication Campaign,” said Mary Jeffcoat, director of Communications and Information for the diocese.
The Catholic Communication Campaign is a special collection taken up in parishes in South Carolina each year during the month of May. Half of the funds collected go toward national programs while the other half remains in the Diocese of Charleston to fund local efforts in communication.