MILWAUKEE, WI - For the third consecutive year, the City of Greenville has been recognized nationally for effective communications.

 

The Greenville Police Department's K9 for a Day initiative earned the Silver Circle Award and the City's Respect the Red communication plan for red light safety cameras earned the Award of Excellence during the 2018 City-County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA) Savvy Awards held at the association's 30th annual conference.

 

The Savvy Awards recognize outstanding local government achievements in communications, public-sector marketing and citizen-government relationships. 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.

 

More than 700 entries in 40 categories were received for this year's awards. 3CMA utilized volunteer judges from across the United States to review every entry and provide constructive comments on the winning entries.

 

Judges lauded the creativity of the K9 for a Day program, which has resulted in the adoption of each of the nine dogs that have been a part of it.

 

"Very creative way to reach the audience and showcase adoptable dogs," the judges said. "Excellent use of social media for positive perceptions. Great ideas, well presented. Community policing and building relationships is important, and using animals as a way to connect is a great idea."

 

Judges also gave the Respect the Red communications plan the green light.

 

"The plan took a problem and charted a clear course to messaging that helped keep Greenville residents safe while driving," the judges said. "Its detailed goal, implementation schedule, and action steps make it easy to see how the City used the plan as a vehicle to move full speed ahead toward safer streets and fewer red light violations."

 

The list of all award winners is available online at 3cma.org.