Two members of the Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) communications staff received recognition during the 2023 Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association (PREA) Communications Awards Ceremony, held September 19 at the organization's Locust Court Building in Harrisburg. John Bookwalter, Jr. and Liz Morocco garnered PREA Awards of Excellence for communications.
Doug Roles, Valley REC vice president, member services, attended the event and accepted the Best Website award on behalf of John and the Best Use of a Cooperative Principle award on behalf of Liz. John is Valley REC's special projects coordinator and maintains the co-op's website. Liz is Valley REC's executive assistant and led the planning and laying out of Valley's local pages in Penn Lines magazine for the past year, assisted by John. Both work at the co-op's corporate office near Huntingdon.
Doug Roles (left) passed along Awards of Excellence to Liz Morocco (center) and John Bookwalter, Jr. (right) following the 2023 PREA Communications Awards Ceremony held September 19 in Harrisburg. Photo by Terri Brumbaugh.
The awards program, sponsored by the statewide organization representing 13 electric cooperatives in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey, is designed to recognize the work of cooperative communicators. Awards were presented by Steve Brame, president and CEO of PREA and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc., and Pete Fitzgerald, vice president, public affairs and member services.
The awards program was held in conjunction with the 2023 PREA Strategic Communications Forum. The day-and-a-half forum focused on issues relevant to cooperative communicators, including electric vehicles, cooperative governance, net metering, and state and national legislation. Communicators also participated in a roundtable featuring reports from Pennsylvania and New Jersey electric cooperatives.
Seventeen representatives from 13 Pennsylvania and New Jersey cooperatives participated in the forum.