CAPIO EPIC Awards - Now Welcoming Entries!

CAPIO Awards are presented annually by the California Association of Public Information Officials to honor outstanding public agency information and communications programs. 

Newly renamed for 2018, the CAPIO EPIC Awards stand for Excellence in Public Information and Communications, or in other words – EPIC!  We're excited about this change along with the additional changes to the program that will allow agencies to more fairly compete with like-agencies (based on population size).  In categories  that receive a large number of entries, the entries will be grouped according to population / service area size prior to being judged.  

CAPIO Strategic Plan

CAPIO has had a long and respected 40+ year history serving California’s government public relations professionals, and has experienced tremendous growth in the last five years.  With 500 members strong, CAPIO is California’s go-to association for government communicators.

Now, the board is asking… What’s next? What can CAPIO do over the next five years to further its mission?  And how can we best serve our members with the training, tools, resources and networking opportunities to develop and advance?

Communicating Effectively: Think Inclusive, Not Diverse

by Lana Haddad, Director of Government and Public Affairs and Kaylee Weatherly, Public Information Officer, Long Beach Water

Public agencies exist to provide essential services to our communities, and CAPIO professionals serve a critical role for our agencies in communicating about the good work we do. Recognizing diversity in our service areas, however, is not enough to communicate effectively. In order to best serve the public, it is vital that our communications understand, reflect and serve the interests and needs of all of our neighbors.

The Perfect Recipe for a Mentor

Sonoma County is bouncing back! With determination and motivation, Sonoma County is returning to an area known for its beauty and booming economy, and CAPIO will be right by their side! Our strong support will be present April 9 -12 as hundreds of communications professionals journey to Santa Rosa for the annual CAPIO conference. Whether you are staying at a hotel or simply driving in, the smallest action means you’re contributing to their economic recovery. CAPIO looks forward to being there in person to support the area and the businesses to keep #SonomaCountyStrong!

“While several areas have been impacted by the wildfires, the beauty of Sonoma County has not been lost,” said Adriane Mertens, public information officer for the City of Santa Rosa Recovery Operations Center. “Our community stands strong and remains an incredible place to visit and explore. Conference attendees will find countless educational and leisure opportunities to take advantage of while here.”

This week CAPIO celebrated a milestone as our 500^th member just rolled in! In just five short years, CAPIO’s membership has tripled in size. This is testimony to an increased demand for well-trained professional government communicators and CAPIO’s relevance in providing an avenue for professionals to learn, grow and thrive in this dynamic field. 

Our APR Webinars are now available on demand.

Interested in taking your communications skills to the next level and becoming an industry leader? Learn more through two webinars presented jointly by CAPIO and PRSA which share more about the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), which exposes you to today’s cutting-edge strategiesand practices, assesses your skills to identify strengths and opportunities for growth and demonstrates your personal and professional commitment to excellence.

This month we interviewed Sarah Macdonald, communications officer for the City of San Marcos and vice president of awards for CAPIO. Read about her first crisis communications experience, best practices she learned and her 10-minute hacks on getting PIOs well-prepared for any crisis situation.

CAPIO: What has been your biggest crisis communications experience?

Frank Cowan Honored with Inaugural Crisis Communication Award 

Sacramento, Calif., - The California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO), the state’s premier government communications association, named its 2017 – 2019 Board of Directors.

“I look forward to serving our government communicators throughout the state and will continue to focus on growing CAPIO’s membership along with education and development programs during my term as president,” noted Christine Brainerd, APR and City of Folsom’s communications manager. “Our board has a lot of great programs,  projects and partnerships we are working on this next year and are excited to continue to roll-out these resources to our members.”

Jenny Windle Honored with the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award in Government Communications

SAN DIEGO, Calif., - The California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) honored seasoned government communications professional Jenny Windle with its 2017 Paul B. Clark lifetime achievement award, recognizing her exceptional leadership in the profession. The award was presented at CAPIO’s annual conference in San Diego on April 5.

Francie Palmer Recognized as California’s Communicator of the Year

SAN DIEGO, CALIF., -  Francie Palmer, a seasoned government communications professional who serves as the City of Rancho Cucamonga’s communications manager, was recognized by the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) as the state’s 2017 Communicator of the Year.

April was not only the month of our annual CAPIO Conference, but it was also APR month – recognizing that not everyone can do what we do as government communicators.  You may have seen our social media posts or heard the buzz about CAPIO now offering the APR, but what is it?

In the world of communication professionals, the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) is the gold-standard in credentials earned by practitioners who commit to the profession through ethical practices and sound judgement, strategic perspectives, knowledge of best practices and the use of the research-planning-implementation-evaluation (RPIE) process.