This is the news release about an award the Town received for its communications plan for a road project in town. I was the main communicator for this project except when the engineer in charge was available to speak to media. Better see the engineer in the hard hat than the person behind the keyboard. 
Blacksburg Receives 2011 Virginia Municipal League Communication Achievement Award
Blacksburg, Virginia, September 7, 2011 – The Town of Blacksburg has received top honors in the Communications category of the Virginia Municipal League’s 2011 Achievement Award competition.
Blacksburg won the award for its Main Street Improvement Project Communication Plan, a comprehensive approach to engaging and informing residents, business owners and visitors about the logistical challenges of vehicle and pedestrian travel during the year and a half long construction project.
The plan went beyond the one-way push of information. Aside from one on one meetings with business owners, a dedicated web page www.blacksburg.gov/mainstreet was designed to provide daily updates, maps, and educational information about roundabouts and traffic improvements. The Town also launched a blog http://blacksburg.bev.net/mainstreet for posting photos and construction videos, and giving residents an outlet for sharing their thoughts about the project. A specific subscriber category was established in the Blacksburg Alert notification system and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were used daily to share information and provide links back to the website and blog. Lastly, an advertising campaign promoting Downtown is OPEN for Business was launched on the back of Blacksburg Transit buses and on banners and signs posted to downtown businesses.
“We knew that the construction of the Main Street Improvement Project was going to be disruptive to motorists, pedestrians and area businesses. It was critically important that we find ways to communicate project updates to citizens so that they knew what to expect as the project progressed. The plan that the Town devised and executed achieved the goal of keeping the community informed,” said Town Manager Marc Verniel.
More than a dozen entries from local governments of all sizes across the state were entered in the communications category. More than 50 other entries were received in five population categories for judging by VML.
“The Blacksburg entry was a textbook example of how to fashion an effective campaign that made use of every communications resource imaginable to keep the community aware of the project’s progress and the best ways to navigate its disruptions,” the judges said.
Blacksburg officials will be presented the award on the evening of Oct. 4 during the Virginia Municipal League Annual Conference in Henrico County.
The Virginia Municipal League is a statewide, nonprofit, nonpartisan association of city, town and county governments established in 1905 to improve and assist local governments through legislative advocacy, research, education and other services. The membership includes all 39 cities in the state, 159 towns and 10 counties.
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