King County Local Services earns national communication award for its ‘Employee Diversity Showcase’

King County Local Services’ efforts to celebrate the diversity of its team in 2021 garnered some prestigious recognition this month.

The department won first place in the Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards competition by the National Association of Government Communicators. The winners were announced during a ceremony earlier this month in Louisville, Ky.

Local Services’ entry, “Employee Diversity Showcase,” was awarded the top spot in the “Other – Special Purpose Product” category. Others recognized in the category included the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the City of Clarksville (Tenn.).

Local Services spotlighted members of its diverse team throughout 2021, starting with Women’s History Month. Produced entirely in-house, it used social media – specifically Instagram and Facebook – to spotlight Roads employees and conduct a virtual webinar where women employees shared their experiences. The approach was so successful, the department took similar approaches to highlight employees throughout 2021, including during Asian American Pacific Islander and Hispanic Heritage Months, as well as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

Below are links to the showcases that the department included in its entry:

And these are only a handful of the different perspectives and voices that are part of the Local Services team. Please join us in congratulating everyone who participated in this effort!

More about the National Association of Government Communicators Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards

The Blue Pencil and Gold Screen awards recognize excellence in government communication at all levels of government across the nation. Listed as one of the 21 most coveted government leadership awards, the Blue Pencil and Gold Screen awards program has 51 categories in which communicators can submit work, reflecting the breadth of tactics employed by government communicators to deliver information to the public. More than 90 local, county, state, tribal and federal agencies were recognized for excellence in government communications in the 2022 awards program. The full list of 2022 Blue Pencil and Gold Screen award recipients is available online.