Lompoc honored by American Public Power Association for exceptional communications efforts

LOMPOC, Calif. – The City of Lompoc celebrated its recent recognition with the Excellence in Public Power Communications Award for 2023 from the American Public Power Association (APPA), highlighting its innovative and engaging communication strategies.

The city provided the following press release:

The City of Lompoc is proud to have been recognized with the Excellence in Public Power Communications Award for 2023 from the American Public Power Association (APPA). 

Lompoc received the honor in the category of web and social media for its communications related to Lompoc Electric’s 100th birthday celebration this year. As part of this outreach, the City of Lompoc organized a birthday celebration that also recognized the City of Lompoc’s 135th anniversary since inception. Throwback social media posts highlighted the city and Lompoc Electric’s history, and Free Stuff Friday social media giveaways were themed to the birthdays. In addition, short videos highlighted some of the city’s public power employees. The city website’s homepage carousel includes a slide dedicated to Lompoc Electric’s centennial birthday.

Lompoc City Manager Dean Albro said he is proud Lompoc received this prestigious award from the APPA. 

“This recognition is a testament to our city's commitment to transparent, engaging, and innovative communication,” he said. “In Lompoc, we believe that an informed community is an empowered community, and this award reaffirms our dedication to keeping our residents connected and involved. These communications also provided an opportunity to highlight the crucial work Lompoc Electric does to power our city.” 

Sixty-seven public power electric utilities and utility organizations earned Excellence in Public Power Communications Awards from the APPA. The awards were presented earlier this month at APPA’s Customer Connections Conference in San Antonio, Texas. 

The annual awards recognize excellence in communications. The entries are judged in three categories: print and digital, web and social media, and video. Awards were given to those that showed ingenuity and creativity in telling their stories through outstanding copy, design, financial data presentation, graphics, social media engagement, video editing, and web layout and interactivity. 

This year’s awards were judged by Jakub Konysz, Founder and CEO, Global Navigators; Steven M. Mandurano, Principal: Marketing, Membership & Communications, Association CMO LLC; and Lidia Varesco Racoma, Brand Strategist & Marketing Designer, Lidia Varesco Design.