Staff members at the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) recently earned high praise from a statewide organization of communications professionals.
The KACo communications team – Director of Strategic Operations Jennifer Burnett, Associate Director of Communications Brenna Angel, Editor Susan Riddell and Graphic Designer Rebecca Jackson – was recognized for work completed in 2023 by the Kentucky Association of Government Communicators (KAGC) during its annual awards ceremony.
Jeff Noel, Secretary of the Cabinet for Economic Development, spoke at the ceremony, emphasizing the importance communications staff being leaders for their public agencies. Noel has a communications background, having formerly served as head of public affairs for Whirlpool Corporation.
KACo received Awards of Excellence for Public Outreach, e-Newsletter and Technical Writing.
The technical writing honor went to Staff Attorney Rich Ornstein for his Ask Rich article about burial assistance for unclaimed bodies.
Awards of Merit went to Angel for Writer’s Portfolio and Long-form Video, to Riddell for Feature Writing and Writer’s Portfolio, and to Burnett and Jackson for KACo’s cybersecurity resources posters.
The communications team earned an honorable mention award in the magazine category for County Line.
County officials and their offices also received KAGC awards at the ceremony.
Jefferson County PVA Colleen Younger’s office won five awards including three awards of merit for Beautiful Kentucky Photograph, Annual Report and Audio PSA and Video PSA. The office also received two honorable mention awards for Photographer’s Portfolio and Video Presentation.
Warren County Government took home an Award of Merit for Public Outreach and an honorable mention for Infographics. The Jefferson County Clerk’s Office received an Award of Merit for Printed Newsletter.
The Administrative Office of the Courts won an Award of Excellence for Short-form Video and Video Commercial for the Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office Recruitment Video.
Photo of Secretary Noel by David Hargis, Kentucky Legislative Research Commission
