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The Polly Bond Awards!
The Polly Bond Awards were established in the late 1970s, and named in honor of Polly Bond (1914–1979), a skilled writer, pioneer in church electronic media, and former director of communications in the Diocese of Ohio. The awards celebrate excellence in Episcopal communications, honoring creative and faithful storytelling that strengthens our communities across a variety of categories.
Open to parishes, dioceses, and organizations, these awards recognize the best submissions, judged independently by respected communications professionals outside our membership and presented during the closing dinner of the annual Episcopal Communicators Conference. Every entry receives written feedback, and thoughtful judging updates are made each year to ensure fairness.
The awards exist to celebrate Episcopal Communicators members and the work they do in service to their communities, and all entries must be projects in which the member(s) completed at least 51% of the work. To support equitable judging, we continue to request clear details on submissions created by multiple people, especially those involving contractors, paid or volunteer, Episcopalian or not. Contractor involvement varies widely by medium, and while a proofreader’s role differs significantly from that of a video editor, all contributions must be noted in the submission form; listing contractors is never a penalty. Contractor and collaborative details will be considered in judging across all categories.
Entrants must also ensure their work is submitted in the correct category and adheres to all guidelines, as submissions placed incorrectly or containing too many pieces may be disqualified without refund at the discretion of the Polly Bond Committee. While AI tools may assist with research, editing, or graphic design, the core concepts and creative expression of each project must reflect original work; judges may disqualify submissions that rely on AI unethically, and any use of AI must be disclosed in the submission description. All work submitted must be from 2025.