The city of Garland brought home four awards from the 2015 Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) Conference in Houston in June.
The city’s website, GarlandTx.gov, won a first place TAMI Award for cities of more than 75,000 people. The judges said they found the website easy to navigate with attractive colors and graphics. The “How Do I” menu was cited as well organized. The judges also called out the “Programs & Initiatives” section as a good overview of citywide projects.
Garland’s annual Christmas on the Square event earned an Award of Excellence in the Best Recurring Special Event category. The event features the official tree lighting on the Downtown Garland square. In 2014, event patrons were given color-changing, LED wristbands that came to life during the lighting ceremony to add more “Glow to the Show.” The judges praised Christmas on the Square as a “very impressive event from planning to marketing to implementation.”
The city also brought home the Award of Honor in the External Newsletter and Video-Marketing categories. TheGarland City Press is published every other month and mailed to all residential and business addresses in Garland. The city newsletter contains news and information about city-sponsored events and activities. The winning video, Factoid #35, was featured in Mayor Douglas Athas’s 2015 State of the City presentation and highlighted ways that Garland residents can help grow Garland.
The TAMI Awards is the leading recognition program in Texas honoring excellence for municipal communication strategies. TAMIO is an affiliate of the Texas Municipal League (TML), which represents approximately 98% of Texas’ urban population through its more than 1,000 member cities and towns. TAMIO actively seeks to advance and promote the active cooperation and exchange of information and ideas among Texas cities; provide professional development for public information and communications managers who work in municipal government or similar agencies; provide relations assistance where possible to municipalities and TML; and promote recognition outside the organization for achievement in communication with residents.