From the Nominator

"In 2022, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s iconic Heritage Hall turned 100, and our alumni magazine, LINK, marked the occasion with a special centennial edition. As one part of a six-month communications strategy for celebrating this milestone—and with LINK’s mandate to foster alumni pride—our spring issue explored the building’s architecture and anatomy, its history and future, and its lasting impact on SAIT students.  

To encourage alumni to return to campus, we expanded the magazine by adding a removable, eight-page gatefold Heritage Hall field guide based on original architectural drawings and original research. Because LINK’s offices are in Heritage Hall, we have personally encountered alumni touring the halls, field guide in hand.  

The centennial edition also took readers behind the scenes with a photo essay of areas off-limits to the public, from basement tunnels to tower turrets. We documented historic murals painted throughout Heritage Hall by 1950s-era art students and developed that content into a walking tour brochure and interpretive text panels.  

To heighten engagement, we dedicated the issue’s class notes to alumni memories of Heritage Hall and also shared those memories across alumni social media. We provided multiple access points to online content, including video, an expanded timeline, and photo galleries, and we profiled the SAIT graduate, who produced an award-winning, eight-part audio series exploring Heritage Hall’s history.  

Response to the spring issue was strong, with all copies of the magazine picked up from campus stands, a letter to the editor, and glowing reviews in LINK’s biannual readership survey."

From the Judges

The writers and editors of this magazine found a very creative and engaging way to tell the story of a building. We really liked the thoughtfulness of storytelling and the many different ways they connected readers to the history of the building through personal stories, a timeline, behind-the-scenes content, and even a pull-out activity. The magazine really gave us a view of what was unique about the campus and this building.