Nick Rios, co-founder and creative director of M&R Marketing Group, was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by Middle Georgia State University’s School of Business Tuesday, May 1. The award was presented by Professor Charlie Aiken and Dr. Kenny Holt, dean of the School of Business. Nick attended the School of Business’ graduation banquet with his wife Grace and served as the keynote speaker for the event. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Business and Information Technology in 2011 and has remained involved with the university as a board member on the advisory boards for the business and information technology programs.

“I’m extremely humbled and honored to have received this award. It’s a wonderful surprise that I was not expecting after speaking to the business school graduates,” said Rios about his award. “Middle Georgia State University is a special place to me and I really enjoyed my time here. The professors made a significant impact on me as a student and Professor Charlie Aiken’s marketing classes, in particular, taught me skills and lessons that I apply to my business on a daily basis.”

Nick co-founded M&R Marketing Group in 2008 with his business partner Matthew Michael. Together, the two have grown the company from a small, two-person operation into a team of 17 account managers, web developers, graphic designers, and copywriters. M&R is a full-service marketing group offering website design, brand development, graphic design, social media management, and much more. As the company’s creative director, Nick works with clients to help them envision their ideal branding and messaging while overseeing the creative and design process.