Government award season unofficially kicked off with the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (TATOA) awards, held this year at the 27^th annual TATOA conference in downtown Dallas.

TATOA, the Texas chapter of NATOA, is a professional organization of individuals and organizations serving citizens in the development, regulation, and administration of cable television and other telecommunications systems.

On November 2^nd, the Southlake Police and Fire Departments were recognized for their excellence in social media campaigns at the The Quixotic World Theatre House in Deep Ellum.  Amongst other awards, the Departments took home the top honor of the evening with “Overall Excellence under $250,000.”  Southlake beat out the other two finalists, the City of Bryan and the City of Mckinney.

Southlake’s videos this year continued with the successful blend of nostalgia, humor, and safety, even including a cameo from WFAA’s celebrity meteorologist Pete Delkus.  Videos were watched over 2.5 million times and garnered national attention for the George Strait lookalike hiring video.

TATOA stated 2023 was the largest amount of video submissions they’ve ever had, with 469 entries sent in throughout the state.  In addition to the Overall Excellence Award, the Southlake Police and Fire Departments also took home the following awards:

1^st place in Weather with “Southlake Just Wants to See Sun”

1^st place in Public Education Below $250K with “An Acronym for Roundabouts”

2^nd place in PSA Campaign with “Southlake Police Are Hiring”

2^nd place for Best Use of Video for Social with “Southlake Just Wants to See Sun”

3^rd place for Best Use of Video for Social with “An Acronym for Roundabouts”

3^rd place in Public Education Below $250K with “A Very High End ‘Traffic Break’”

“I’m grateful for the giant amount of grace and creative flexibility Chief Brandon allows me to have with our videos,” Public Information Officer Brad Uptmore said.  “I’m also so thankful that the officers, firefighters, and Emergency Manager Amanda Meneses continue to trust me and work with me on whatever weird and wonky things I come up with.”