The City of Salisbury was among 22 North Carolina local governments to earn recognition in the Tenth North Carolina City & County Communicators’ (NC3C) Excellence in Communications Awards.

The City of Salisbury received a first place award for its “Rumor Control Page,” designed to dispel rumors heard around the city after an officer-involved shooting by a member of the Salisbury Special Response Team. The Rumor Control webpage was, and continues to be, a resource to counter inflammatory, false information being spread throughout the Salisbury community.

“We are more than thrilled to be recognized by our peers for our hard work, particularly the type of work we do during difficult situations,” said Communications Director Linda McElroy. “This award speaks to the spirit of excellence, customer service and teamwork that we enjoy throughout the City of Salisbury.”

The Excellence in Communications Awards were presented Thursday, April 6, at the NC3C’s annual Spring Conference in Charlotte. More than 133 entries were received in a variety of categories, including TV & video, communication technology, special events, printed publications, citizen participation, and marketing tools.

From the judges: “Clearly the rumor control page has done a lot to counter the false narrative. Your statistics are impressive. This is a huge issue facing cities everywhere, and you are a great example of what can and should be done.”

Judges for the NC3C Excellence in Communications Awards were government communication professionals from Kansas, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Maryland and Oregon. Each judge has previously won state or national awards.

 “Our organization is full of city and county government communicators who are excellent at what they do. They are innovative, creative, passionate, and dedicated, and that shows in their work,” said NC3C President Glenn Hargett. “It was an honor to preside over the program, viewing these exciting demonstrations of work to communicate the stories of the jurisdictions they serve.”

The purpose of North Carolina City & County Communicators is to encourage professional development and networking among local governmental communications professionals. The organization was formed in March 2007 and is made up of government professional communicators from around the state. For more information about NC3C, visit the website, www.nc3c.com.