ADOT Communications and Public Involvement wins national awards

AASHTO recognition among state DOTs includes Best Blog

PHOENIX - The Arizona Department of Transportation Office of Communications and Public Involvement has won two top awards from an organization representing state transportation agencies across the country.

ADOT took home the honors during the recent annual meeting of TransComm, the communications committee for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), a national nonprofit group that represents and supports state departments of transportation.

The winners were:

Spirit of TransComm: Rusty Crerand, Community Information Officer
This award recognizes the importance of state department of transportation staff members who aren't in leadership or supervisory positions. Crerand, who has been with ADOT for 13 years, uses his inimitable knowledge of the agency and customer service to address constituent concerns, questions and suggestions with grace and speed. In a typical month, he fields more than 1,500 phone calls and online queries, resolving 99% of them within a day. Crerand's relentless interest and empathy frequently win plaudits from constituents, while his ability to identify issues needing to be escalated is valued throughout ADOT.

Best Blog
Judges honored a collection of six posts and a year's worth of metrics from the ADOT Blog, available at azdot.gov/blog. The Office of Communications and Public Involvement uses the blog to create consistent, interesting content that goes beyond traffic alerts, news releases and media events. The blog dives behind the scenes to show how ADOT employees and programs help safely connect Arizonans and empower the state's economy.

ADOT Communications and Public Involvement supports projects and agency priorities through public involvement outreach, news media relations, safety communications, social media engagement, graphics and video production, website design and operations, internal communications, constituent services, employee engagement and recognition, and more.