The City of Hickory was among 25 North Carolina jurisdictions to earn recognition in the North Carolina City & County Communicators (NC3C) 2023 Excellence in Communications Awards. Hickory won two first-place awards in the Graphic Design and Special Event categories and a second-place award in the Brochure category.

The awards were announced May 4 during NC3C’s 2023 annual conference in Wilmington, North Carolina. All 144 award program entries were judged by professional communications peers from the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators.

The City of Hickory received a first-place award in the Graphic Design category for its ELEVATE publication created to kickstart the fundraising campaign for a new, expanded Hickory Aviation Museum at Hickory Regional Airport. This publication also earned a second-place award in the Brochure category.

Hickory earned a first-place award in the Special Event category for Green Fest, an event to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day while promoting “green” practices and environmental stewardship.

The purpose of North Carolina City & County Communicators is to encourage professional development and networking among local governmental communications professionals. The organization was formed in March 2007 and consists of professional government communicators from around the state. For more information about NC3C, visit www.nc3c.com.