Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative recently took national honors in the 2005 “Spotlight on Excellence” awards program, sponsored by the Council of Rural Electric Communicators (CREC).
BREC received two Awards of Excellence and an Award of Merit in the annual communication and marketing competition held among rural electric cooperatives in the United States. This makes four national awards in the last two years earned by BREC staffers Chuck Clark, Debra Sword, and Steve Oden.
Awards were presented by CREC during a special luncheon at the “Connect 2005 Conference.” All winning entries were displayed at the conference held in New Orleans, LA, from May 16-18.
BREC won an Award of Excellence (first place) in the “Best News Story” category for an investigative article on the growing threat of illicit drug making in rural Ohio, entitled “Meth Invasion,” by Steve Oden. The co-op also was judged an Award of Excellence winner for “Best Feature Story” in recognition of a column entitled “He Fought – and Lost – Against ‘The Electric’,” also written by Oden.
The co-op won an Award of Merit (second place) in the “Best Touchstone Energy Program” category for its production of commemorative wild turkey game calls to be used for auctions supporting local conservation organizations.
The Spotlight on Excellence competition is an annual event recognizing the top-rated communication and marketing efforts by electric cooperatives and related organizations. Electric cooperative communicators and marketing professionals submitted more than 700 entries in the program, now in its 17th year. Faculty members from the prestigious University of Missouri – Columbia and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill judged the entries.
Ohio rural electrics and “Country Living” magazine brought home more honors this year than any other state. A total of 19 awards were claimed by Buckeye State cooperative communicators and the Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives statewide staff.
CREC, organized in 1982, seeks to advance the recognition, education, and professionalism of electric cooperative communicators and their affiliated organizations. It is a volunteer association working on behalf of approximately 1,300 electric cooperative communicators across the nation.
The National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (NRECA), a trade and service organization representing distribution and generation-and-transmission cooperatives, coordinates the council’s activities. Other national organizations supporting the work of the CREC are the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, and Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange.
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