Pierce County wins top communication award

Wednesday Sep 30 2009 10:40 AM

Photo caption: Collaborators on the winning ferry schedule redesign are (L-R) Gloria Van Spanckeren, Debi Ross-San Soucie, Sandra Pedigo-Marshall, and intern Kyle Schmidtke (not pictured).

Pierce County's Public Works and Utilities Communication and Accountability Office won a first-place award in a national competition sponsored by the City-County Communications & Marketing Association, known as 3CMA. The award was presented during last week's 21st annual 3CMA conference held in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The county received the SAVVY award for its Ferry Schedule Redesign entry. The schedule, judged best in the "Other Printed Publications" category for counties and cities with populations between 180,000 and 3,900,000, is used by over 400,000 ferry passengers each year. In addition to providing sailing times and fare information, the redesigned schedule is pocketsize and in color. The cost to produce the new schedule is only slightly higher than its bulkier black and white predecessor.

View winning design here.

The judges' comment said the entry is a "striking improvement over the last ferry schedule [and it] met your needs and objectives. [It] is user friendly and a great example of how to do a map."

SAVVY is the 3CMA's first-place award. Runners-up to Pierce County in the same population category were the City of Winston-Salem, NC for its fire department recruiting brochure (Silver Circle Award), and the Port of Long Beach, CA for a holiday card (Award of Excellence). 3CMA received over 600 award entries in 43 categories for this year's competition.

Contact: Gloria Van Spanckeren, PIO, Public Works and Utilities, 253-798-4688, gvanspa@co.pierce.wa.us, or Hunter George, Director, Pierce County Communication Department, 253-798-6606, hgeorge@co.pierce.wa.us