Texas Border Business
The Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO), a division of the Texas Municipal League (TML), announced the 2024 winners of its state-wide TAMI Awards Competition during a ceremony at the 50th annual conference held last week in San Antonio. The City of McAllen Office of Communications earned a total of five awards for its video production, social media, photography and marketing plan in the highly competitive state-wide competition. Each year, TAMIO receives numerous entries from different municipalities showcasing the innovative work being done by local government communications teams across Texas and just this year, 688 entries from over 70 different municipalities were submitted entries for this year’s competition.
“Being recognized by a state organization for the great work done by our Office of Communications demonstrates the quality product our employees deliver every day,” said McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos.
The City of McAllen Office of Communications won an Award of Honor Award for its “McAllen Doggy and Kitty Internships” strategic plan. The initiative aimed to promote the adoption of pets.
The department also received an Award of Honor for a social media post on the McAllen International Airport receiving the remains of Laredo native Army Sgt. Cresenciano Garcia, who fought in the Korean War and whose remains had finally been identified 73 years later. Additionally, MCN, as the McAllen Cable Network is known, won an Award of Honor in the Recurring Program video category with its “McAllen’s Own – From Social Media to Something Sweet and Library Employee Bringing Spanglish to Poetry,” a program that highlights the talents and hobbies of McAllen employees.
MCN received two Awards of Excellence: one for the photographs of receiving Sgt. Garcia and the other, in the special/one time video category for the “Honor Homecoming of Sgt. Cresenciano,” which included footage provided by the City of Laredo.
“This organization is highly competitive, because every municipality in Texas strives to do its best to showcase their local government in the best light,” said McAllen City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez, P.E. “I am so proud of the McAllen Office of Communications for being recognized for their work.”
“The TAMI Awards allow our profession to honor the best work being done by communicators around the state. This year, we had a record-setting number of entries from cities as small as a couple thousand residents, to as large as more than a million. The competition was stiff and everyone who placed should be incredibly proud,” said TAMIO President Jay Warren, director of Communication and Legislative Affairs for the City of Arlington. “Hopefully cities will celebrate their wins with their city councils and residents as a way to further highlight the critical work of municipal communicators.”
City of McAllen Office of Communications Director Xochitl Mora serves as a board member within TAMIO, representing Region 7 in the organization, which runs from just north and west of San Antonio down to Laredo and all of the Rio Grande Valley.
Additionally, Mora moderated on a panel called “The Power of Creativity in the Role of the PIO,” which featured Al Aguilar, chief creative officer for Creative Civilization, who is considered one of the godfathers of Hispanic advertising. His presentation encouraged attendees to find inspiration in everything around them to promote city projects, services and programs,
TAMIO actively seeks to advance and promote the cooperation and exchange of information and ideas among Texas cities and provide professional development for public information and communications managers.
