On September 8, Macon-Bibb’s Office of Communications received three national recognitions during the City-County Communications & Marketing Association’s (3CMA) Savvy Awards program at its annual conference. The recognitions are:
Trash Talk
Award of Excellence
Video (Education/Training) Category
Brookdale Resource Center Communications Plan
Silver Circle Award
Communication or Marketing Plan Category
Solid Waste Transition Communications Plan
Award of Excellence
Communication or Marketing Plans Category
“We have made major changes to how we are providing services and trying to help people in need, and this team has gone above and beyond to let you know what we’re doing, why it’s happening, and how it’s going,” says Mayor Lester Miller. “They are consistently being recognized as the best in the country, and I’m proud of them and their work.”
“This team continues to come up with more creative ways to tell our story and make sure we are reaching the people who most need to hear from us,” says Chief Communications Officer Chris Floore. “They are setting a standard for local government communications because they truly understand how important this work is to help move our community forward together.”
3CMA is the nation’s premiere network of local government communicators, founded in 1988 on the philosophy that communications and marketing are essential to helping governments engage and build stronger relationships with people. Effective public communicators are vital to local government success, linking people to the essential information they need to access services and be part of the democratic process. They play a key role in cultivating a shared vision for the community. The Savvy Awards have represented the best in government communications for more than 30 years.
About the Trash Talk Series
As part of the transition to a new solid waste collection provider, the Office of Communications produced a series of educational videos to help show people what they needed to know about how items were collected. They knew short, informative videos would work better across social media and would show better than having someone reading a bunch of text.
Each video was tied to one of the weekly themes, from how to place trash carts on the curb to what could and couldn’t be recycled to yard and bulk waste pile sizes…and more. There was even the first LIVE Q&A Macon-Bibb hosted, where people submitted questions ahead of time and during the Facebook broadcast in the comments. Those questions would be answered in real time by the experts and graphics were put on the screen to help.
About the Brookdale Resource Center Communications Plan
When the Brookdale Resource Center opening in January 2020, a full communications plan was developed to support it by reaching the people who would need the services, reach organizations that could provide the services, let people know how they could donate money and supplies, let people know how they could volunteer, and more.
The Center has been featured in more than 50 local, regional, and national media stories and more than a dozen Macon-Bibb produced stories and videos. It has also been featured in several state presentations to other government leaders. More than 1,000 people have been served there, tens of thousands of items have been donated, and hundreds of volunteers have provided thousands of hours of support.
The support by the community for this effort was so great, it went from being a temporary solution to a permanent facility that is expanding its programming and solidifying its work to help people get services, find jobs, and move into stable housing.
About the Solid Waste Transition Communications Plan
In October 2020, Macon-Bibb County selected Ryland Environmental as its new solid waste (trash, recycling, yard debris, and bulk waste) collection company, and they were to begin on January 3, 2021. That meant there were only about 10 weeks to communicate ahead of the change using traditional media, live broadcasts, feature videos, online stories, e-newsletter stories, infographics, printed flyers, and more. This included notifying people of the change, collection days, old cart collection, new cart delivery, reporting issues, tips on putting material on the curb, and more.
The Office worked with Ryland and the Solid Waste Department – and took note of a year of questions and concerns – to break all aspects of collection into weekly themes and transition milestones. This allowed the communication to be constant during the three months (and more) to help make sure people were aware of the transition. All individual themes and milestones tied back to the primary messaging of when the change would happen, how to find their collection day, and how to report issues or ask questions.
About the Office of Communications
The Office of Communications includes Chris Floore, Edna Ruiz, Rachel Gambill, and Olivia Walter. Their charge is to find the best ways to let people know what the government and its partners are doing to improve the community through strategic communications, media relations, video & photography services, a weekly e-newsletter, event planning, message development, social media, online content, crisis communications, and more.
In the past year, the Office of Communications has earned 13 top national awards and recognitions, including being named the PR Team of the Year by PR Daily and a top five Team of the Year by PR News. Chris Floore was also named Government Communicator of the Year by PR News. Recognition has also been received for the Brookdale Resource Center Communications Plan (six top national awards), the Solid Waste Transition Communications Plan (one national award), MBC Crib (one national award) Trash Talk (two national awards). Prior to the past year, the office earned 15 national recognition