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Durham, N.C. – The City of Durham’s Office of Public Affairs has been recognized with a SAVVY Award for communications outreach at a national conference held last week.

The City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA) 21st Annual Conference recognized the City’s Office of Public Affairs for its water conservation campaign entitled, “DurhamSavesWater.org – Instilling a Long-Term Conservation Ethic.”

3CMA is a national organization of more than 900 government public information officers, marketing and public relations professionals.  One of the highlights of the annual conference is the SAVVY Awards, which recognize the best-practice projects and outstanding work of 3CMA members.  The Durham won the SAVVY in the “Go Green Communication Program Efforts” category for Water Conservation for cities with populations ranging from 32,000 to 1.2 million.  When describing why Durham won in this category, the award judges wrote, “Great program with funding to get it accomplished.  Durham is paving the way for other communities with their Water Conservation program.”  Runner-ups to the City of Durham in this category included Hillsborough County, Fla. and the City of Fresno, CA.

For this year’s SAVVY Award competition, Durham vied with entries submitted from across the United States.  According to Beverly B. Thompson, director of the City’s Office of Public Affairs, this award recognizes the value of well-coordinated educational campaigns to bring about environmental change.  “Both our office and the City’s Department of Water Management have small communications staffs, so to be recognized by a national association comprised of our colleagues and peers from across the country for the creative work we do is a real honor,” Thompson said.  “There was some stiff competition from around the country for this award and it is testament to the hard work done by City staff charged with communicating effectively and creatively to our citizens on how they can protect their hard-earned money, Durham's water reserves, the environment, and our way of life.”

To learn more about Durham’s water conservation efforts, visit www.DurhamSavesWater.org.  To learn more about the City’s communications activities, contact Thompson at (919) 560-4123, extension 11229 or via e-mail at beverly.thompson@durhamnc.gov.  To learn more about 3CMA or the 2009 SAVVY Awards, visit www.3cma.org.

About the Office of Public Affairs
The City of Durham’s Office of Public Affairs functions to market the City's activities and departmental services through news releases, television programming on DTV8, publications, advertising, the City’s Web site, special events and projects and is the City's official liaison with the news media.  For more information, visit www.durhamnc.gov/departments/public.