November 2024 - Cooksey

Cooksey Recognized by PRSA Dallas as 2024 Small Agency of the Year

DALLAS – Nov. 22, 2024 –

North Texas-based strategic communications firm Cooksey Communications has been recognized as the 2024 Small Agency of the Year in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Dallas chapter’s prestigious, annual Pegasus Awards competition. This honor from the local chapter of the PR industry’s leading professional organization recognizes Cooksey for a variety of major achievements and milestones over the past year, coinciding with the agency’s 30^th anniversary.

“We’re deeply honored to be named the Small Agency of the Year, as PRSA’s Pegasus Awards program has represented the pinnacle of achievement in the regional PR profession for decades,” said Colby Walton, chairman and CEO of Cooksey. “This award is a testament to our leadership team’s investment in the success of staff and clients, our agency-wide commitment to the highest standards of integrity and quality, and our collaborative, supportive work environment. I can’t think of a better way to cap off our year-long celebration of Cooksey’s 30^th anniversary.”

“We’re so proud of our team and the hard work they’ve put in to earn this highly esteemed recognition from our professional peers,” said Jason Meyer, president of Cooksey. “Looking forward to 2025, we’re excited to keep building on the strong foundation that has been laid through these recent efforts, on top of the reputation for excellence that our agency has established over the past three decades.”

Cooksey’s significant accomplishments in 2023-24 that led to this recognition included:

The 2024 launch of a new website, visual brand identity and social media campaign as part of the agency’s year-long 30th anniversary celebration.
Agencywide adoption of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) framework, aligning the entire staff around a shared vision and business plan, including newly defined Core Values; Core Focus; 10-, 3- and 1-Year Targets; a Marketing Strategy; and Quarterly Tactics. Agency owners present quarterly, in-person reports to all staff on progress towards the annual goals.
Achievement of record revenues in 2023 – $2.5 million, up nearly 9% year over year – facilitated through prominent, new client engagements in each of Cooksey’s core practice groups: Professional Services; Public Sector; Real Estate & Development; and Sustainability.
Headcount growth in key areas, including new hires for the agency’s Creative Department, Finance & Administration Department and Public Sector Practice Group in 2024, plus the planned addition of a new Professional Services Practice Group Leader by year’s end.
Development of enhanced internal training programs for all staff, including a series of engaging “Lunch & Learn” workshops featuring internal speakers and guest presenters.
Workplace and employee experience enhancements, including 100% staff participation in the Dallas Business Journal’s 2024 Best Places to Work survey, in which the agency scored highly, including perfect scores for “Team Dynamic” and “Trust in Leadership.” The agency also engaged its first-ever PEO this year to unify payroll, PTO, benefits, insurance, HR consulting and 401(k) administration in one sophisticated, easier-to-use platform.
Achievement of countless, prominent client successes as evidenced not only by strong client retention, growth and satisfaction metrics in 2023-24, but also by high-profile media placements, powerful strategic communications plans, impactful market entry programs, resonant community engagement initiatives, award-winning creative design projects and more.

In addition to being named 2024 Small Agency of the Year, Cooksey was also honored by PRSA Dallas as a 2024 Pegasus Awards finalist in the Projects category for its media relations work on behalf of client HistoryMaker Homes – including placement of nearly 2,500 stories across the U.S. featuring HistoryMaker’s successful efforts to build a new home for Fort Worth’s Dr. Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.”

About Cooksey Communications

Celebrating its 30^th anniversary in 2024, Cooksey Communications is a Texas-based strategic communications firm with essential expertise in four core practice areas: (1) Professional Services clients such as legal and financial services firms, the A/E/C sector, and other B2B and B2G service providers; (2) Public Sector clients such as governmental entities, educational institutions and infrastructure-related groups; (3) Real Estate & Development clients such as real estate firms and economic development agencies; and (4) Sustainability initiatives for any company or entity interested in enhancing competitiveness and resilience in a rapidly changing world. Cooksey was recognized by the PRSA Dallas Pegasus Awards as 2024 Small Agency of the Year. For more information, visit www.CookseyPR.com.

Cooksey Promotes Real Estate & Development Practice Leader Mary Kate Jeffries to Senior Vice President

DALLAS – Nov. 20, 2024 –

Cooksey Communications, a leading North-Texas based strategic communications firm, has promoted Mary Kate Jeffries to senior vice president. The promotion recognizes Jeffries’ more than two decades of public relations industry leadership, as well as her vital contributions to the agency, which was recently named PRSA Dallas’ Small Agency of the Year in the 2024 Pegasus Awards competition.

In this new capacity, Jeffries will continue to lead the agency’s outstanding Real Estate & Development Practice, which serves some of Texas’ most influential real estate companies and organizations, including Hillwood, The Real Estate Council (TREC) and VanTrust Real Estate. The group also works with leading economic development entities such as the Irving Economic Development Partnership and the Anna Community Development Corporation. Jeffries also manages Cooksey’s ongoing work with Credit Union of Texas and Grapevine-based nonprofit The Gatehouse.

As senior vice president, Jeffries will play a key role in Cooksey’s thought leadership and business development efforts, internal initiatives that reinforce client service standards and processes, and staff development programs that ensure mastery of vital strategic communications skills. Jeffries also leads Cooksey’s Culture Committee, which plays a critical part in making the agency a great place to work.

“Mary Kate’s ability to provide clients consistently exceptional service, expert counsel and impactful results has been instrumental in growing our Real Estate & Development Practice and modeling what great account management looks like,” said Colby Walton, chairman and CEO of Cooksey Communications. “This well-deserved promotion recognizes the pivotal role that she will continue to play in the success of our agency moving forward, which will be rooted in a sustained focus on our core strategic communications expertise and a purposefully positive, team-oriented culture.”

Jeffries joined Cooksey in December 2020 as an account manager and has been leading the agency’s Real Estate & Development Practice over the last two years. Outside of Cooksey, she is very involved in professional leadership and community involvement activities, including her current participation in the Leadership North Texas Class 16 and her recent service on the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Dallas chapter board of directors.

Jeffries also serves on the East Dallas Boys & Girls Club Advisory board of directors, as a volunteer with the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden PR & Advertising Committee and as a sustaining member of the Junior League of Dallas. She previously served as a board member for the Dallas Historical Society and graduated from the T. Boone Pickens Leadership Institute.

About Cooksey Communications