The Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM) received two awards at the annual Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) conference in Georgetown on June 7. The TAMIO Awards of Honor were for communication products in two categories, marketing and technological services.
“It is always an honor to be recognized by government peers and communication professionals,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. “We do our best to keep our residents informed when disaster strikes, and work year-round to promote emergency preparedness.”
HCOHSEM’s winter preparedness social media marketing campaign featuring Eddy the Ready Elf won for its creativity and the least amount of dollars spent on it. HCOHSEM used existing props to create graphics and gave away promotional preparedness items to attract new followers. HCOHSEM obtained more than 80,000 social media connections with this campaign.
Under the technological services category, HCOHSEM won for best use of social media. During Hurricane Harvey, staff at the Harris County Regional Joint Information Center (JIC) kept the public informed round-the-clock. Information was distributed via emergency alerts and social media. Through active monitoring, rumors and misinformation were quickly addressed.
“False information can spread rapidly and create problems for both the public and emergency responders,” added Emmett. “This is why we always urge residents to get heir information from official and trusted sources.”
More than 200 public information officers from across the state attended the 2018 TAMIO conference. TAMIO promotes new initiatives in communications, and the exchange of information and ideas among its members.
This year, TAMIO received more than 300 award entries. The awards recognize outstanding communication products in various categories including, website, social media, video production and publications. Judging is conducted by non-TAMIO members with expertise in communications and local government.