The City of Santa Clarita received five awards as part of the California Association of Public Information Officials annual “Excellence in Communications Awards” ceremony held earlier this month.

“It is an honor for the City of Santa Clarita to be recognized at this prestigious statewide competition with five top honors. Each year, our staff works hard to develop communications and marketing programs that not only increase awareness for City events, programs and facilities, but also enhance two-way communication for our community,” said City Manager Ken Striplin.

The City’s DUI Awareness Campaign was awarded first place in the “Marketing and Communications Program” category. The campaign, which was largely promoted during the November and December holiday season, featured a multi-media approach with the theme “Don’t let these be the lights you remember this holiday season.” As a result of this public outreach effort, along with enforcement, Santa Clarita saw a 31 percent decrease in DUI arrests from 641 in 2011 to 438 in 2012.

The City also received second place awards in three additional areas, including: SEASONS Magazine in the “Special Publication” category; HikeSantaClarita.com in the “Best Website” category; and for Heroin Kills: The High is a Lie in the “Crisis Communication/ Public Safety” category.

A third place award was awarded to the City in the category of “Marketing-Community Relations/ Special Event” for its regional and national Cowboy Festival marketing efforts.

CAPIO is a leading statewide membership organization, which promotes excellence in public communications. Members in this organization include counties, cities, public agencies and special districts. CAPIO is an affiliate of the League of California Cities. Annually, CAPIO’s Excellence in Communications Awards competition recognizes ‘the best of the best’ in public communications.

Based in Sacramento, CAPIO strives to offer innovative ongoing training and educational opportunities to public information professionals while promoting ethics and integrity in public service.

For more information about the City’s communications and marketing programs, contact the Communications Division at 661-255-4939.