Jackson County REMC recently received recognition in the 2016 Spotlight on Excellence national awards program, sponsored by the Council of Rural Electric Communicators and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Jackson County REMC received a Gold Award in the Special Publication-Large category for its new member packet.

Nicole Ault, communications/public relations specialist for Jackson County REMC, designed the award-winning packet.

“Electric cooperatives are being challenged to communicate to the people they serve more than ever before,” said James Bausell, senior vice president of communications for NRECA. “Printed news publications, news releases, social media and videos are all more important than ever to keep members updated on issues affecting the electric cooperatives and their members.”

A special reception honored the award recipients during the Connect ‘16 Conference on May 10 in Portland, Oregon. Winning entries were displayed during the event.

The annual Spotlight on Excellence awards competition recognizes the top-rated communication and marketing efforts by electric cooperatives and related organizations.

Entrants competed with electric cooperatives of similar size in 17 categories. Electric cooperative communicators and marketing professionals submitted more than 730 entries in the Spotlight on Excellence program, now in its 28th year.

Faculty members from the University of Missouri-Columbia and University of South Carolina and noted professionals in the fields of marketing and videography judged the event, which uses a finite scoring system to determine the winners.