NCAGIO Awards

The North Carolina Association of Government Information Officers (NCAGIO) annual conference was this week. The Budget-At-A-Glance and Board of Commissioners Goals video received Excellence in Communications awards (use the links to read more under recent work) .

The Board Goals video received second place in the broadcast category and the Budget-At-A-Glance received an honorable mention in the publications category.

This was the fourth year in row that the Sarah's work was recognized by the NCAGIO.

Annual Report

Many large organizations produce Annual Reports. For the last five years, Sarah has coordinated Wake County's Annual report. The report is produced on a fiscal year schedule and includes accomplishments from staff groups in each of the County's 12 departments and is produced in both hard copy and web formats.

The fiscal year 2012 Annual Report coordinates with the
Budget-At-A-Glance and other corporate communications materials. 

The online Annual Report was built using the structure from the prior year.
New graphics, text and photos were used for a net savings. 

Sarah coordinates the requests for proposals and contracts for design and printing; drafting and review of content; and distribution of the Annual Report.

Higher Education Bonds

In November 2012, Wake County voters will be asked to approve $200 million in bonds to support Wake Technical Community College.

The communications were a combined effort of the County and the Community college. In this partnership, Sarah's responsibilities were in creating web content and producing a video.

The video was distributed on cable access channels, YouTube and partner websites.

Water Safety

Dozens of wells in a small area tested unsafe in a small amount of time during the summer of 2012. The clustering of the wells and they type of contaminants lead to the involvement of State and Federal agencies. To ensure consistent messaging the agencies - each with their own objectives - agreed to work together on communications materials. Sarah worked on behalf of two County customer groups as the team created brochures, flyers and web content; coordinated neighborhood meetings, organized news conferences and responded to media requests.

A flyer was developed to distribute during neighborhood meetings. Residents who elected to register
could receive confidential follow-up information via phone call, text message or email.

In addition to these efforts, a video on well safety and testing was developed. The video will be distributed through local public access channels, the County and partner websites and YouTube in early 2013.

Budget Communications

Presenting a $940 million budget to the public requires clear and consistent communications. Developing and executing a communications plan can present a challenge when details are evolving just a few days before the presentation.

For this project, Sarah coordinated the development of a graphics package which included a brochure, power point template, book cover and various website elements and buttons. She also developed a news release and contributed to the development of remarks, power point slides and website content.

The Budget-At-A-Glance (above) outlined the recommended budget for the fiscal year 2013 for the public in a concise and easy to understand format. The brochure highlights the top priorities for the Board of Commissioners and explains where and how the funding will be allocated. 

The brochure, complete with intricate graphs and features, was distributed to the public in only a few days between the time that the County Manager finalized his recommended budget for fiscal year 2013 and the Board of Commissioners held public hearings on the recommended budget. 

Detention Center

Detention centers are unique facilities, designed to meet the needs of a community for half a decade or more. Because it is rare to open a detention center, there is no "standard" or routine business process for showcasing a new detention center. In May, Wake County opened its new Detention Center.

Ahead of the opening Sarah lead a planning team that coordinated both the ceremony and service change communications.

Opening ceremony projects included: invitation lists, invitation and program design and printing, ceremony logistics, remarks for several speakers, media relations and tour organization.

Service change communications included: a news release, media tours, television interview placements, web content and social media, way-finding signage and brochures.

Between 300 and 400 people attended the ceremony, with about 200 taking tours of the secure facility. A video was created to showcase the opening ceremony and new facility on the customer's monthly television show.

Crisis Management

The thing about a crisis is that you never really know when its going to happen. If you knew, you would prepare. Then it would not be a crisis. Responding to a challenging situation swiftly and fully is key to protecting an image.

Recently Sarah has been working with a client to avoid a reputation crisis. Taking a proactive approach, Sarah has worked to present accurate information to leaders about a misstep. She has also take steps to defuse the situation, and allowed the client to present information publicly about the misstep, as well as the lessons learned and long term changes that have come as a result.

To learn more about Sarah's crisis management experiences, contact her via the connect page.

Board Goals Video

In prior years, the Board of Commissioners had received several formal reports from staff on the progress of each goal to review during the annual planning retreat. The video streamlined this process and shortened presentations while providing a starting point for discussion on future goals. Staff from approximately 12 work groups worked to collaborate to provide content for the video.

This video was also used as a segment for the County's monthly public access television show, WakeGOV TV. Using the video for the monthly television show as well as a special project maximized resources to create a retrospective look at the progress of goals set by the Board.

WakeGOV TV is broadcast daily through Wake County’s network of government cable channels, including RTN (Raleigh Television Network), CaryTV, East Wake TV, Holly Springs TV, and Cooperating Raleigh Colleges Channel 18.