The award was presented to Socom, a leading PR company, Council engaged to assist with the visioning project. Socom entered the project into the Community Relations category.

Council CEO, Allan Bawden, said the community vision process helped Council identify what is important to the community and has used this information in Council plans and strategic documents.

"Collating and creating the community vision was an extremely thorough process," said Mr Bawden.

"It directly engaged over 1200 people from the community and resulted in a very clear vision for the future.

"It’s fantastic the project has been recognised for the extensive consultation required to create a vision that really does reflect the community’s aspirations.

"Council has formally recognised the vision and used it to underpin our new four year Council Plan.

"We think the community has also appreciated the visioning process, with community satisfaction levels with Council’s overall performance, advocacy and engagement all rising," continued Mr Bawden.

Rose Thomas from Socom said the project was one of three Victorian finalists in the Community Relations category.

"This was a terrific project to work on and we have been very pleased with the result," said Ms Thomas. "Socom is thrilled to have its work recognised by its peers.

"This project has been a joint effort not only by Socom and Council but also by the Bass Coast community," said Ms Thomas.

The winner for the Community Relations award was Eastlink commissioned by SEITA, ConnectEast and Thiess John Holland.

The Bass Coast entry has also been listed as a finalist in PRIA’s Gold Target Awards which are to be announced in late October. These are the premier national annual awards recognising excellence in the public relations industry.

The Golden Target Awards showcase the communication professions most outstanding campaigns and projects undertaken over the previous year by consultancies, corporate organisations and businesses, government bodies and community organisations.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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