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KUA Strikes Gold, Wins 6 Statewide Public Relations Awards
Kissimmee Utility Authority won six awards at the 2019 Golden Image Awards, an annual statewide competition sponsored by the Florida Public Relations Association. The winners were announced Tuesday evening at the Association’s 81st annual conference in Tampa.
The competition recognizes companies and organizations which exhibit and employ comprehensive public relations projects that meet the highest standards of excellence in four components of public relations programming: research, planning, execution and evaluation.
KUA earned two Golden Image Awards, one Award of Distinction and three Judges' Awards.
A Golden Image Award is presented to the top-scoring entry in each category. An Award of Distinction is presented to an entry that meets the standard of excellence set by a panel of judges. A Judges' Award is presented to an entry that achieves maximum results while using a minimum amount of money.
In the community relations category, KUA received a Golden Image Award and Judges’ Award for its “Back the Blue in Kissimmee” campaign. To mark the one-year anniversary of the fatal shootings of Kissimmee Police Department Sergeant Sam Howard and Officer Matthew Baxter, the utility partnered with KPD to host a community barbecue and unveiled a special blue streetlight – the first of its kind in the nation – to honor their memory. The story garnered 1.14 million earned media impressions and 43,370 engagements on social media.
In the internal communications category, KUA received an Award of Distinction and a Judges’ Award for its employee blood drive campaign. In 2018, the utility saw a dramatic drop in onsite blood donations made by its employees. Through research, an education campaign and low-cost incentives, donations increased by 900 percent over the previous year’s average.
In the annual report category, KUA received a Golden Image Award for its 2017 Annual Report. In 2018, the utility produced an annual report that gave readers a behind-the-scenes look at how advanced planning, investment in infrastructure, teamwork and good old-fashioned grit contributed to the utility’s power restoration efforts after Hurricane Irma -- the costliest storm in state history. The report -- titled “RESTORED” -- earned a reader satisfaction rate of 96.59 percent. [View the report here: https://kua.com/KUA-2017-Annual-Report/flipbook/index.html?page=1]
In the institutional video category, KUA received a Judges’ Award for its Day of Giving video. In 2018, utility employees participated in their annual Day of Giving where they packed more than 20,000 meals to aid the most vulnerable in our community and abroad. A video about the event was produced by the utility to generate awareness and support. The video garnered 26,500 views on Facebook and 449 reactions, comments and shares in the first week after release. [Video: https://www.facebook.com/mykua/videos/10155986238863935]
KUA has earned 333 local, state, national and international communication awards for public relations programs, special events, community relations and publications since 1995.