NC Sea Grant Receives Communications Honors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Katie Mosher, kmosher@ncsu.edu, 919-515-9069

North Carolina Sea Grant has recently earned multiple honors for communications.

The overall program was selected to receive the WRAL Dan Wilkinson Conservation Communication Award from the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District. Members of the Sea Grant communications team also earned writing and photography honors from the N.C. Association of Government Information Officers, or NCAGIO.

“We are pleased to have these distinct honors,” says Susan White, Sea Grant executive director. “One identifies the combined outreach strength of our communications and extension teams, who provide science-based information to varied audiences from the coast to the piedmont, and ultimately statewide. The other awards reflect the respect of NCAGIO peers for our excellent products that engage the public.”

The Wilkinson Award was presented by Elizabeth Gardner, a WRAL meteorologist, at the district’s annual banquet. The event also included honors for student posters, a Big Sweep partner, an urban agriculture leader and farm family, among others.

“North Carolina Sea Grant is one of the best influences in guiding our state’s citizens on how to put science into action,” Gardner said during the awards ceremony. “Just like soil and water conservation work, North Carolina Sea Grant’s work is hands-on and has a practical application to benefit water quality and our overall quality of life.”

The NCAGIO awards were announced at the group’s annual seminar.

E-Ching Lee’s “A Moment Out of the Sun,” a primer on how to experience this past summer’s solar eclipse, earned first place for news releases and feature stories. The judges noted that the story mixes facts and safety tips “in a manner that isn’t in your face or too academic.” Lee was Sea Grant’s managing editor when the story was written. She has since taken a job in the private sector.

Vanda Lewis won third place in photography for her contributions to the Spring 2017 issue of Coastwatch, including the cover photo (see photo at right), which the judges described as a “very inviting landscape.” The issue also included food photos accompanying Lewis’ selection and testing of recipes from the magazine through the decades. Lewis is retiring soon.

North Carolina Sea Grant: Your link to research and resources for a healthier coast