A record 183 people from 41 states attended the 2024 AASHTO Committee on Transportation Communications Annual Meeting in Atlanta September 22-25.
[Above photo by AASHTO]
That American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials committee – known as TransComm – held a variety of sessions at its yearly meeting, including: working with the media; digital accessibility; building trust through community involvement; the use of Artificial Intelligence or “AI” in transportation communications; the role of communications in traffic incident management; and the importance of data in communications, among others.
The TransComm Annual Meeting also featured the “Roll Call of the States,” where each state took one minute to highlight a significant accomplishment from the last year, or a challenge they’re looking to address within their department. The “roll call” helps facilitate conversation for the rest of the event; offering ways for attending state department of transportation communications professionals to get ideas and solutions from their peers to help address their own particular challenges.
The annual TransComm Skills Awards were also presented at the meeting; a competition that recognizes the best communications and marketing work from state DOTs over the last year. This year’s competition featured 170 entries from 34 states in 37 categories. Because each skills award category is judged by the previous year’s winners, the contest is truly a recognition from peers for outstanding work.
Some of the noteworthy winners included the Illinois Department of Transportation, which took home five awards for 2024 – the largest number won by a single state in this year’s competition.
Meanwhile, the Illinois DOT and Tennessee Department of Transportation each took home top honors in the “Excel” category, with Illinois DOT winning with a consultant, and Tennessee DOT without one. The Excel award represents TransComm’s highest award for public relations programs and campaigns.
The Skills Awards category with the most entries for 2024 was Video Production-Series. New Mexico DOT took home the award for its “ENDWI: The Left Behind” series, which highlights the potential consequences of choosing to drink and drive – “ENDWI” is short for “Ending Driving While Intoxicated” – as well as the negative impact drinking and driving can have on loved ones, friends, or relatives.
Another winner in the Video-Production external category came from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for its “The Collins Story—Mt. Sterling Roundabout” that features everyday people explaining how a roundabout improved safety and traffic flow in their community after a tragic crash claimed one of their own.
Finally, three individuals won awards for their “above-and-beyond” efforts in 2024:
- James Joyner, deputy director for communications for the Maryland State Highway Administration won the PR Professional of the Year Award, given for exemplary service that benefits transportation industry regionally or nationally. Joyner won the award for handling his new position at MSHA while working double duty at his old position in the secretary’s office at the Maryland Department of Transportation after a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge; helping guide Maryland DOT through the crisis.
- Rusty Crerand, community information officer at the Arizona Department of Transportation won the Spirit of TransComm Award, which honors the efforts of state DOT staff members who are not in leadership or supervisory positions but are doing so much of the real work on communications teams. Crerand was recognized for his “unmatched knowledge of Arizona DOT and customer service” during his 13 years of service to state residents;
- Kelly Moore of the South Carolina Department of Transportation won the TransComm Vanguard Award, which recognizes communications professionals who are new to state DOT communications, even if they otherwise have decades of public relations, communications, or marketing experience. Moore was recognized for restructuring and revitalizing SCDOT’s communications and public outreach efforts; setting higher standards and meeting them.
AASHTO noted that the 2025 TransComm meeting will be in Chicago from Sept. 21-24. Details will be available early in 2025.
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