The Forbes Shire Council in New South Wales has taken out the Award for Excellence in Communication at the LGSA Annual Awards Ceremony held in August this year.
Nominated for their Crisis Communications during the March 2012 Flood Event, judges awarded Forbes Shire Council with the RH Dougherty Award, recognising their effort to ensure everyone in the town remained safe and well informed.
“This was truly an excellent effort by all to react to an emergency situation; responsibility was taken by all levels of Council to ensure the community was safe. This was an excellent campaign response to a crisis management plan,” the judges said on the night.
Forbes Shire Council’s Acting General Manager, Alan McCormack said receiving the award was an honour. “We have a very proactive team who was committed to keeping the community informed during the crisis, and being recognised with a Dougherty Award for that commitment is just amazing,” he said.
The RH Dougherty Awards are the highest accolade a NSW council can receive in the area of communications, recognising councils who have achieved excellence through communicating the great work they do for their communities.
During his speech on the night, Councillor Ray Donald, President of the Shires Association of NSW stated, “The RH Dougherty Awards and the projects
nominated highlight the importance of strong communication practises.More councils are communicating using new forms of technology and embracing the weird and wonderful world of social media. We had several nominations for phone apps, crisis communications using Facebook and interactive community consultation websites, definitely signalling a sign of changing times,” he said.
