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.

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.

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.

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.