Paula Marti leaves position after nearly 18 years of service to the diocese

After nearly 18 years of service to the Diocese of New Ulm, Paula Marti resigned her position effective March 29, 2002. Paula served as Director of the Office of Communications and editor of the Prairie Catholic.

In 1991, Paula received the Diocesan Distinguished Service Medal for her "leadership in the development of the full-time Office of Communications; her involvement in the complete reorganization of the Media Resource Center after Catholic Telecommunication Network of America (CTNA) affiliation took place; her dedication and expertise as editor of the diocesan newspaper, NEWSLETTER, renamed The Prairie Catholic; and for her guidance and commitment to computerization and technological advances for the diocese."

During Paula’s tenure, diocesan publications and productions received a number of awards. In 2000-2001 alone, the Office of Communications received much national recognition. The Prairie Catholic was honored with a Certificate of Merit from the Catholic Communication Campaign Proclaim Awards, presented by the United States Catholic Conference, Washington, D.C. for general excellence as a newspaper. The paper also received an Honorable Mention for the "best front page" of a tabloid by the Catholic Press Association.

The Our Men in Black vocation - recruitment program, spearheaded by Paula, garnered several national awards. The Our Men in Black II - The Seminarians Poster received two prestigious awards: the Catholic Communication Campaign Proclaim Award, which recognizes dioceses for their outstanding efforts to proclaim the gospel message through the media; and the National Religion Communicators Council DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Award of Excellence, given to those who demonstrate excellence in religion communications and public relations. The Our Men in Black national press kit, distributed to 140 media outlets (secular and religious) received the National Religion Communicators Council DeRose-Hinkhouse Award of Excellence - "Best of Class." And, most recently the Our Men in Black PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) were awarded the 2001 Catholic Communication Campaign Proclaim Award.

The Diocese of New Ulm is very grateful for Paula’s service, her leadership and creativity.