The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) earned seven awards in the annual State Information Officers Council's (SiOC) competition for excellence in state government communications yesterday.
SiOC's judges again honored DFG's bi-monthly magazine Outdoor California and editor Troy Swauger with a gold award (first place) for the special issue, “Salmon in Crisis.” This 63-page issue focused on the dwindling salmon populations in California, possible causes of their decline and what DFG and other organizations are doing to help restore the popular fish to historic, healthy numbers. Outstanding photography by both amateurs and professional photographers complemented and helped to illustrate the history of our salmon, commercial and recreational fishing, hatcheries, efforts to save different runs of salmon, management efforts and public education on the subject.
In the feature writing category, Marketing Specialist Harry Morse and Fisheries Branch Chief Neil Manji took the gold award for their article, “A Thousand Tiny Wounds.” This story appeared in the above-mentioned special issue of Outdoor California, describing the series of interlocking trials that led to the decline in California's salmon populations.
SiOC presented a silver award to Morse and Communications Manager Kirsten Macintyre for their brochure on the same subject, “Pacific Salmon: King of the California Fish.” This eight-page color brochure was created to illustrate the challenges of restoring the salmon populations. It explored the many facets of this issue, ranging from a description of the life cycle of the salmon, to an explanation of our hatcheries' role in the preservation of salmon stocks, to a list of key legislation and restoration efforts designed to protect and preserve these valuable native fish.
Information Officer (and 2003 SiOC President) Dana Michaels earned a silver award for writing an opinion piece on behalf of DFG Director John McCamman. DFG had been criticized in one part of Northern California for taking a juvenile deer from a woman who had been illegally keeping it as a pet.
In the Graphics category, Harry Morse won gold for a photograph he took of DFG employees—waist-deep in the swirling waters of Butte Creek—capturing wild salmon, in order to move them to cooler waters where their survival and eventual spawning were more likely.
Graphic Designer Meredith Fleener was honored twice for her work. She shares the gold award with Editor Troy Swauger for her 2009 DFG wildlife calendar, a bonus in the 2008 year-end issue of Outdoor California. She earned her own honorable mention in the promotional devices category for her design of DFG's Warden Stamp, a fundraising decal that supports California's Fish and Game wardens. Money raised through the sale of the decal is used to purchase equipment and supplies needed by wardens to enhance their personal safety or ability to perform their law enforcement duties, beyond what is provided by the state.
“The wide range of awards won by our staff shows that our team excels in almost every category - writing, editing, photography and graphic design,” said Jordan Traverso, DFG Deputy Director of Communications. “I'm proud to have a talented, dedicated and professional staff that understands the mission of this department and consistently goes above and beyond to effectively communicate those messages to the public.”
The SiOC awards competition honors employees of state agencies for their achievements in writing, media relations, audio-visual production and related communications categories. This year's competition honored 20 state agencies with 78 awards in recognition of “excellence in state government communications.” The awards were presented at a May 18 ceremony in Sacramento.
SiOC is a nonprofit organization offering professional development and networking opportunities for government public information officers throughout California. In addition to its annual communications awards competition, SiOC raises funds to provide a scholarship for Sacramento State University students majoring in journalism, communications and public information management.
Contact:
Jordan Traverso, Deputy Director for Communications, (916) 654-9937
