Mundelein Park District earns 5 awards in state's showcase competition
Mundelein Park and Recreation District received five awards for Agency Showcase, a competition spotlighting bright ideas exhibited by park, recreation and conservation agencies.
The professionally judged event recognizes Illinois agencies for their marketing and communication efforts, ranging from print to multimedia. Agency Showcase is part of Illinois Association of Park Districts, (www.ilparks.org) and Illinois Park & Recreation Association's (ilipra.org) Soaring to New Heights annual conference, held this year at the Hyatt Regency Chicago Jan. 27-29.
The district was awarded third place for Overall Agency Showcase in Division 1. This competition includes the scores from all individual submissions in Division 2, plus a table top display.
The bright and colorful display highlighted the Phase Fun Campaign that was launched in June to thank the community for sticking with the district during tough times at the height of COVID-19. It highlighted programs and events that were reinvented so they could be safe for the community to attend,
The district received first place, Division 2, for its website that was launched in May: www.mundeleinparks.org. It was redesigned to enhance user experience on every device and make things simpler to find. Users can now easily choose in what language they want to view the website, and a custom search function makes browsing and locating the site's content fast and simple.
An interactive park map shows the locations of Mundelein Park & Recreation District's many parks, with easy access to directions and park amenities.
The district received a second place, Division 2, in the Paid Advertising category for a YouTube TrueView Ad created in partnership with Alpha Media LLC.
It consisted of a video highlighting the variety of the Health & Fitness Center offerings such as equipment, indoor track and pool, group exercise, etc. Also, the Connections program brochure received third place, Division 2, in the printed brochure category for its content and design.
The district's program guide received third place, Division 2, for the Brochure Series category. With the launch of the new website, the brochure was updated to reflect a consistent look. A "confetti" swoosh was added throughout the catalog, and changes were made to the design to feel "fun and neighborly," be easy to read and well organized. In addition a spread written in Spanish was added.
This year's competition included a special category of Hindsight is 20/21 in Division 2 to highlight the work Communication and Marketing Departments produced that kept their communities and patrons informed, engaged and positive during the pandemic.
Marketing Manager Christa Lawrence's My New Mask book and videos received first place. The story, written and illustrated by Lawrence, explains in both English and Spanish to young children why they need to wear face coverings. It was created to be a way to help children in the community feel more comfortable with mask wearing and ease some anxiety.
Proceeds from the book benefit the Mundelein Parks Foundation and is available for purchase on Amazon.
"We are always looking for the best ways to connect our community through programs and communications," Lawrence said. "We are thrilled to be honored with these awards for our work during 2021."
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