The City of Hickory’s Office of Communications recently received a first-place, national award from the City-County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA). The City of Hickory received a first-place Savvy Award in the Graphic Design – Publication category for its ELEVATE publication created to kickstart the fundraising campaign for a new, expanded Hickory Aviation Museum at Hickory Regional Airport.

The Savvy Awards, held in conjunction with 3CMA’s Annual Conference, recognize outstanding local government achievements in communications, public-sector marketing, and resident-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.

Over 875 entries in 38 categories were submitted for the national awards competition this year. 3CMA utilized professional communicators from across the United States as judges to review every entry and provide constructive comments on the winning entries. The awards program presented 83 first-place Savvy Awards, 85 second-place Silver Circle Awards, and 82 third-place Awards of Excellence.

3CMA is the nation’s premiere network of local government communicators. The organization was founded in 1988 on the philosophy that communications and marketing are essential to helping governments engage and build stronger relationships with their residents. For additional information about 3CMA and the Savvy Awards, please visit 3cma.org or call 703-707-0830.