The LaBerge Award for Excellence in Strategic Communication (LaBerge Award) recognizes an electric cooperative communicator with demonstrated excellence, influence and impact in co-op communications, both as a practitioner and contributor across the network. The award was established in 2018 in memory of Justin Erick LaBerge, who served as the senior leadership communications manager for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Read the
LaBerge guidelines PDF for more detailed information.
The LaBerge Award winner is recognized at NRECA's
CONNECT conference in May.
Application Process and Timeline
The Call for Entries for the 2020 cycle is now open. The deadline for nominations is Oct. 28, 2019.
To submit payment and receive a link to the online entry form
click here.
You can download the
Call for Entries,
Frequently Asked Questions, the
Judges’ Rubric and a
hard copy of the application form for an overview of the award and process to help you prepare. The
"Always On" document (PDF) provides more background on areas that are referenced in the award criteria. The online form does not allow you to save the form and come back to it later. Please make note of the word limits to written responses and the size limits
for any optional supporting materials.
All nominators will receive notice regarding the status of their entry by Dec. 10, 2019.
Please note subsequent award criteria are subject to change.
2019 LaBerge Award Winner
The 2019 inaugural award winner was presented during NRECA's CONNECT Conference in May. Congratulations to Keith Stapleton, chief communications officer of Sam Houston Electric Cooperative.
[image-caption title="Keith%20Stapleton%20accepts%20the%20LaBerge%20Award%20alongside%20NRECA%20President%20Curtis%20Wynn%20and%20NRECA%20CEO%20Jim%20Matheson.%20(Photo%20By:%20Michael%20Lynch/NRECA)" description="%20" image="/programs-services/communications/laberge-award/PublishingImages/2019-LaBerge-Award-Winner.jpg" width="600" /]
Read more:
Sam Houston’s Keith Stapleton Receives Inaugural LaBerge Award
Watch the Video: 2019 LaBerge Award Winner
[vimeo url="https://vimeo.com/336106133" width="600" /]
Ready for more inspiration as you consider a LaBerge award application? Check out the highlights and entry form of the 2019 inaugural winner.
Questions
Contact Anne Prince,
Anne.Prince@nreca.coop, 703-907-5544
The LaBerge Award for Excellence in Strategic Communication is sponsored by the
Certified Cooperative Communicator (CCC) Program Board and the
Council of Rural Electric Communicators (CREC) in conjunction with the
Spotlight on Excellence Awards Program.
See the
Awards & Recognition page to learn about other communications awards programs.
