Mat-Su Borough annual report earns 1st place

The annual report for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough earned first place in the Alaska Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America at a recent awards banquet on Jan. 26. Some 130 Alaska public relations professionals are members including business and industry, military, government, and marketing strategy firms.

This is the second time the Borough has produced a first-place annual report in recent years. Read the 2011 annual report “Where the Frontier Takes Flight” or find it at racks in grocery stores, Blockbuster, & Subways around the Borough. Public Affairs Director Patty Sullivan and Media Design Specialist Jennifer Dawkins produced the report. The report tells of the delivery of fundamental services as well as of extraordinary successes, such as the local boy who was pinned under a truck and brought back to life by a responder, and the feat the Sportsman's Committee pulled off in protecting local salmon.

The Borough also earned second place for a statewide public affairs campaign “Port MacKenzie Rail Extension—The Time is Now.” Public Affairs Director Patty Sullivan and Media Design Specialist Stefan Hinman worked collaboratively with Economic Development Advisor Rick Mystrom on the multi-tool effort. Videos of the Keynote presentation and more are on the Borough’s YouTube channel.

In third place for special electronic material came the Borough’s time lapse photography of the barge dock expansion “Three months of work in 33 seconds.” View the fast imagery of port development set to original music by Stefan Hinman that had one self-proclaimed “cynical” journalist change his mind about the ongoing transformation at Port MacKenzie. The project was produced by Media Design Specialist Hinman and Public Affairs Director Sullivan.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) chartered in 1947 is the world’s largest and foremost organization of public relations professionals. The PRSA Alaska Chapter was established in 1973.

Photo: MAT-SU Borough Public Affairs team accepting three communications awards from PRSA Alaska chapter President Kirsten Schultz at awards banquet in Anchorage. Not pictured, Jennifer Dawkins, designer of Annual Report.