On September 10, Macon-Bibb County was recognized with two awards from the national City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA). Both awards were announced at its Savvy Awards ceremony at the Annual Conference, which was held in Atlanta this year.
Silver Circle Award
Forward Together Strategic Plan
Macon-Bibb County earned a Silver Circle Award for its first-ever Forward Together Strategic Plan in the Printed Publication (Other) category. In the comments, the judges say of the Plan: “Overall a great project – well executed and designed. Clean and thorough. Great use of graphics, infographics, and design. Citizens had to feel informed with this nicely designed strategic plan document. Good use of photos and a great starting point for a new government. Very nice.”
The Forward Together Strategic Plan was developed over the course of about 18 months by meeting with the public, partner groups, department heads, and the Commissioners. The process was facilitated by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government and funded by the Knight Foundation. This process has helped us focus our priorities for projects and funding into five Focus Areas: Economic and Community Development, Safe Neighborhoods and Safe Communities, Efficient and Effective Government, Infrastructure Improvement, and Quality of Life.
About the Savvy Awards
The Savvy Awards, held in conjunction with 3CMA’s annual conference, recognize outstanding local government achievements in communications, public-sector marketing and citizen-government relationships. More than 700 entries in 36 categories were received this year, and 3CMA utilized volunteer judges from across the United States to review every entry and provide constructive comments on the winning entries.
The Savvies salute skilled and effective city, county, agency or district professionals who have creatively planned and carried out successful innovations in communications and marketing. 3CMA accommodates local government organizations of all sizes and budget classes by judging entries in several different population groups.
Communicator of the Year
Chris Floore, Assistant to the County Manager for Public Affairs
At the Annual Conference, 3CMA named Chris Floore its Communicator of the Year in recognition of his many contributions to local government community relations and public affairs. Over the last decade, Chris has had an extensive career as a public, government communicator. The testimonies from his community members showcase the respect and adoration they have for him. Chris is an acknowledged leader for innovation and strategic method of communication.
At this year’s annual conference, Chris served on the Local Host Committee, was elected to the Board of Directors, moderated two sessions, presented Friday morning on how to use social media to solve issues reported by the community.
A twelve-year resident of Macon, Chris has served since January 2014 as Assistant to the County Manager for Public Affairs in Macon-Bibb County. In this role, develops and assists with communications planning, facilitating media coverage, managing intergovernmental communications and relations, directing special projects, and managing a team consisting of website, video, and customer service professionals.
Previously, he was Director of Public Affairs for the City of Macon before it consolidated with Bibb County to create the consolidated Macon-Bibb County. He earned his Bachelors Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina and Masters in Public Relations from Kent State University. He is a 2010 Graduate of Leadership Macon and 2014 Graduate of Georgia Forward’s Young Gamechangers program.
About the Communicator of the Year Award
The Communicator of the Year recognition was created to honor a 3CMA member who exemplifies what our profession is all about. Nominees are judged on a wide variety of qualities, including leadership in government communications and marketing, creativity and innovation, ethical and professional standards, understanding and implementation of the latest communications tools and devices in carrying out the mission of their organization, and of course, contributions to 3CMA.