The Center for Rural Development’s public relations and marketing work garnered eight statewide awards and placed the organization in the top three out of all participating Kentucky state and local government communications offices in the 2012 Kentucky Association of Government Communicators (KAGC) Awards of Excellence contest.
The Center received the awards May 18 at the KAGC Spring Conference and Awards of Excellence held at the Administrative Office of the Courts facility in Frankfort, Ky.
The Center received three First Place “Awards of Excellence,” including wins in the Special Events Category for The Center’s 15th Anniversary Celebration; Brochure Category for its Cloud Virtual Servers brochure; and Publications Category for The Center’s 2010-2011 annual report.
The Center received three Second Place “Awards of Merit,” including the Newsletter Category for the February 2011 National Symphony Orchestra issue of “The Center Insider” 3D virtual monthly newsletter; Web-Based Media Category for the redesigned centertech.com; and News Writing Category for a report on how The Center’s Small, Rural, Tribal and Border Regional Center’s Rural Law Enforcement Technology Institute helped connect a struggling Louisiana police department with critical law enforcement equipment from other departments.
The organization also received two Honorable Mention awards, including in the Image Campaign Category for its photo series on The Wall That Heals traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s stay at The Center; and Feature Writing Category for a report on Letcher County’s ARC grant-funded tourism development success and mobile phone tour.
In only its second year of competing in the contest, The Center’s Marketing and Public Relations Department also earned Third Place “Office of the Year” honors based on the total number of awards won in the contest.
In announcing the Office of the Year winners, 2012 KAGC President Anya Armes Weber said, “There are a lot of good things coming out of this Center, and what you’ve heard here today (about their awards) certainly shows that.”
Public relations and marketing departments from Kentucky government and state agencies submitted a record total of more than 100 entries in the contest this year. All entries centered around materials created and/or published in 2011, and were judged by public relations, marketing, and journalism professionals across Kentucky.
“We do what we do because we want the citizens we serve in the region, state, and nation to remain informed about and engaged with the life-changing programs and services The Center can offer them.
“But earning such recognition among your peers at all levels of state government—people who also apply their proven public relations, marketing, and communications skills in similar ways to achieve similar goals—helps remind us that our efforts are continuing to hit the mark.”
Michael Cornett, The Center’s director of marketing and public relations
Receiving recognition with the KAGC awards were Cornett, Communications Specialist Sharon Dodson, Web Developers Wes Brown and Gretchen Wheeler, and Graphic Designers Trish Noe and Kendol Mason.
The Kentucky Association of Government Communication (KAGC) has recognized professional excellence in written and broadcast communications materials and campaigns by public agencies through this competition for the last 22 years.
For more information on The Center, visit us online at centertech.com.
