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“How to Stream Stories with Podcasts” Guide wins Best of Show in Publications; “How to Talk About Raising Rates” and “The StoryConnect Podcast” also win 2024 Cooperative Communicators Association Awards
Ideas and advice about podcasts and rate changes from Utility Pioneers scored high at the 2024 Cooperative Communicators Association’s Communications Awards.
Pioneer Utility Resources, a communications cooperative, won three awards and a Best of Show honor for outstanding storytelling during the awards ceremony held June 3 during the 2024 CCA Institute in Des Moines, Iowa.
Award-winning work:
- Best of Show, Publications Category, and First Place, Brochures, Pamphlets and One-time Publications: “How to Stream Stories with Podcasts.”
- First Place, Cooperative Education: “The StoryConnect Podcast.”
- Second Place, Brochures, Pamphlets and One-time Publications: “How to Talk About Raising Rates.”
Fifteen Utility Pioneers were interviewed for the winning publications, and 43 interviews with utility communicators, CEOs and other industry leaders were showcased in “The StoryConnect Podcast.”
CCA, a national group for communicators and marketing professionals, includes members from 350 cooperatives from all sectors, including finance, agriculture, dairy, electric, telco, broadband, purchasing, marketing and more.
Professional communicators representing more than 40 cooperatives from across the United States and Canada submitted nearly 400 entries in this year’s competition. The awards recognize the best in writing, photography, programs and projects, and publications for member-owned businesses.
1. Best of Show: “How to Stream Stories with Podcasts.”
Want to launch a podcast? Pioneer’s in-depth guide, “How to Stream Stories with Podcasts,” walks Utility Pioneers through how to create, launch and promote audio storytelling.
“This is exceptionally well done and could be considered the Bible of podcasting,” wrote a CCA judge.
“Readers with many different learning styles can all learn a great deal from this publication,” another CCA judge added. “Not only does it answer nearly every question you might have, it answers each question in several different ways. Bullet points, tables, testimonials and more were all used with great effect.”
The 40-page guide, featuring interviews with a dozen podcasting Utility Pioneers, won first place in the Brochures, Pamphlets and One-time Publications category, and was awarded Best of Show in the publications category. Co-authored by Megan McKoy-Noe, Andy Johns and Sarah Wootten, and designed by Megan, the guide was downloaded by 38 utilities in 2023.
Get your copy of “How to Stream Stories with Podcasts:
2. “The StoryConnect Podcast”
“The StoryConnect Podcast,” hosted by Andy Johns and Megan McKoy-Noe, and produced by Sarah Wootten, took first place in CCA’s Cooperative Education category for a second year in a row.
“Wow, this has taken much time and a high level of preparation,” one CCA judge wrote. “Very impressive, well thought out and researched, involved and committed.”
An average of 59 people listened to each episode within the first three months, and a podcast awareness campaign drove a 33% increase in episode plays compared to the year before. The podcast marked 300 episodes in March, with 16,000 all-time episode downloads by June.
“The StoryConnect Podcast” plays a critical role in Pioneer’s effort to turn pioneer.coop into a free, value-packed content resource for Utility Pioneers. The podcast also won a gold NRECA Spotlight on Excellence Award for Most Innovative Use of Digital Engagement in 2024.
New episodes publish every Wednesday. Follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast and other audio outlets, and watch video versions of some episodes on YouTube.
3. “How to Talk About Raising Rates”
The guide “How to Talk About Raising Rates,” spearheaded by Justin Caudell and Anne Harvey, and designed by Emily Vance and Cherokee Spivey, took second place in the Brochures, Pamphlets and One-time Publications category.
“Great publication! It’s hard to tackle difficult topics. It’s even harder to tell others how to tackle difficult topics. This is a well-organized and well-communicated game plan that combines both the ‘why’ and the ‘how,’” wrote one judge. “The depth of thought that was put into this is incredible. It answers questions the reader didn’t even know she or he had. Unbelievable work!”
The e-book has been downloaded more than 100 times, and Pioneer has distributed a couple hundred printed versions at conferences.
Get your copy of “How to Talk About Raising Rates”
2. “The StoryConnect Podcast”
“The StoryConnect Podcast,” hosted by Andy Johns and Megan McKoy-Noe, and produced by Sarah Wootten, took first place in CCA’s Cooperative Education category for a second year in a row.
“Wow, this has taken much time and a high level of preparation,” one CCA judge wrote. “Very impressive, well thought out and researched, involved and committed.”
An average of 59 people listened to each episode within the first three months, and a podcast awareness campaign drove a 33% increase in episode plays compared to the year before. The podcast marked 300 episodes in March, with 16,000 all-time episode downloads by June.
“The StoryConnect Podcast” plays a critical role in Pioneer’s effort to turn pioneer.coop into a free, value-packed content resource for Utility Pioneers. The podcast also won a gold NRECA Spotlight on Excellence Award for Most Innovative Use of Digital Engagement in 2024.
New episodes publish every Wednesday. Follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast and other audio outlets, and watch video versions of some episodes on YouTube.
3. “How to Talk About Raising Rates”
The guide “How to Talk About Raising Rates,” spearheaded by Justin Caudell and Anne Harvey, and designed by Emily Vance and Cherokee Spivey, took second place in the Brochures, Pamphlets and One-time Publications category.
“Great publication! It’s hard to tackle difficult topics. It’s even harder to tell others how to tackle difficult topics. This is a well-organized and well-communicated game plan that combines both the ‘why’ and the ‘how,’” wrote one judge. “The depth of thought that was put into this is incredible. It answers questions the reader didn’t even know she or he had. Unbelievable work!”
The e-book has been downloaded more than 100 times, and Pioneer has distributed a couple hundred printed versions at conferences.
Get your copy of “How to Talk About Raising Rates”
About CCA
The Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) is an organization of 300 professionals who communicate for cooperatives. The organization is unique in both its mission and membership. CCA works toward helping members excel in communications—from writing, photography and editing to video, layout and design. Just as important, CCA emphasizes ideas and strategies aimed at making communications more successful for cooperatives. Learn more at communicators.coop.
About Pioneer Utility Resources
Pioneer is a not-for-profit communications and marketing cooperative based in Hillsboro, Oregon. Formed in 1956, it provides agency-style communications services to consumer-owned utilities, broadband providers and affiliated organizations in 46 states. Marquee products and services include 11 consumer magazine brands reaching more than 1.3 million U.S. utility households. The cooperative also provides broadband marketing, social media engagement, responsive website design and hosting, podcast production and custom communications services. Pioneer is built to share member stories.
Pioneer also owns Efficiency Services Group, which specializes in energy-efficiency program support and installation services primarily in the West, and NewsData, which publishes industry-leading, independent newsletters covering the utility sector in California and the Pacific Northwest. Pioneer is also the largest shareholder in General Pacific, a Fairview, Oregon-based electric supply company. Learn more at pioneer.coop.