The Monmouth County Department of Public Information is the recipient of two national awards from the National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO), an arm of the National Association of Counties (NACo).

In addition, public information officer Laura Kirkpatrick has been elected to serve on the board of the National Association of Government Communicators.

"This is great news for Monmouth County," Monmouth County Freeholder Director Barbara J. McMorrow said. "Designing and writing the newsletters and submitting articles to the local newspapers about county government are good examples of what this department does, and they do it well. We are so pleased they are being recognized by their peers for the work that they do."

The department won in the "External Publications, Newsletter Format" category for the fall 2008 edition of Monmouth In Focus. The issue featured news about the county's strategic plan, shared services and a consumer item on how the county inspects gasoline pumps for accuracy.

William K. Heine, director of the Monmouth County Department of Public Information, also won individually in the Persuasive Writing category for an op-ed piece that was published in a local daily newspaper. It presented the county's position on some of the positive strides being made at the county's reclamation center in Tinton Falls.

"The newsletter is one of our many efforts to reach Monmouth County residents with information they can use about the many services Monmouth County offers," Heine said. "We also produce a monthly television show on county services, issue press releases and radio clips to traditional news outlets and maintain and produce videos for the county's website. Soon we will begin exploring a number of social media outlets to help get the county's message out."

Kirkpatrick, a 22-year county employee who started with the park system, is now membership and volunteer director for the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC).

"It's an honor to serve on the board of such a prestigious organization," Kirkpatrick said. "NAGC goes beyond local and county government and includes state and federal communicators such as the USDA and the U.S. Census Bureau. Members include media officers, speechwriters, editors, graphic artists and website developers who work to improve communication within government and between government and the public."