GREENVILLE, NC – The Town of Carrboro was among 29 North Carolina governments to earn recognition in the North Carolina City & County Communicators (NC3C) 2022 Excellence in Communications Awards. The Town of Carrboro won two awards in the Citizen Participation and Most Creative with Least Dollars categories.
The awards were announced April 28, 2022, during NC3C’s annual conference in Greenville. All 111 award program entries were judged by professional communications peers from the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators.
The Town of Carrboro received the First Place Award for Citizen Participation with the Carrboro Connects Comprehensive Plan. The engagement plan aimed to have all residents, organizations, businesses, and appointed and elected officials come together to develop a common vision for the future of Carrboro and set of goals and strategies to meet that vision. The Draft Carrboro Connects 2022-2042 Comprehensive Plan has been well received by the community. This engagement effort culminated in a new draft which was released on May 2 and is available for viewing at https://www.carrboroconnects.org/
A 29-member citizen task force aided in the outreach, visioning, and development of Carrboro's first Comprehensive Plan in over three decades. The consultant team of Teska Associates with Teresa Lockamy, Lockamy Consulting and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) worked closely on citizen engagement with the Town’s Planning Department and the Communication and Engagement Department.
One judge commented that Carrboro Connects was a great example of going above and beyond during a complicated pandemic year for engagement. “I appreciate the tension that can come from altering in-person events and creating virtual ones instead. I wish more organizations would do as you have by utilizing the multilingual features of Zoom. What great resources for your residents and community. High-quality photos of real people participating in real events are not to be taken for granted. A round of applause for the photo and video staff supporting this one. Well done!”
Small Town Pride won a Second Place Award in the Most Creative Least Dollars category. This fun, quirky, short video kicked off a joint Carrboro-Chapel Hill monthlong Pride celebration in June 2021. In it, two openly LGBTQ elected officials (Chapel Hill Town Council Member Karen Stegman and former Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle) are walking to meet each other on the border of the two communities. Each is carrying a rainbow pride flag under a bright blue NC sky. The video was conceived, shot, edited and distributed by Catherine Lazorko, Communication and Engagement Director for the Town of Carrboro. WATCH at https://youtu.be/wf5vlRSM0jk
The purpose of North Carolina City & County Communicators is to encourage professional development and networking among local governmental communications professionals. The organization is celebrating 15 years of its founding in March 2007 and consists of professional government communicators from around the state. For more information about NC3C, visit nc3c.com.
Access the final Carrboro Connects Draft Comprehensive Plan at https://www.carrboroconnects.org/adoption-draft-may-10-2022
WATCH at https://youtu.be/wf5vlRSM0jk