Newsletter, Website Win National Awards

Hardy Telecommunications won two national awards May 2 when its newsletter and website were honored at a conference in Las Vegas.

It was the fifth straight year that the newsletter has been honored at the national level, and the second consecutive win for the website.

Hardy Marketing/Human Resource Director Derek Barr accepted the awards at the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association’s annual marketing/public relations conference. NTCA represents about 600 telecommunications companies across the United States, and each year the organization honors its members’ marketing and public relations accomplishments with the TeleChoice Awards.  Derek writes and designs the Hardy newsletter.

Hardy Telecommunications Marketing/Human Resource Director Derek Barr displays the company’s 2011 NTCA TeleChoice awards for Customer Newsletter and Website.

Hardy’s newsletter, The Communicator, won its category for Customer Newsletter for the fifth consecutive year.  For the past two years, a panel of industry experts not affiliated with NTCA did the TeleChoice award judging.  The first three wins came from peers, as other marketers at the NTCA conference voted anonymously.  The Communicator was entered in the category for newsletters designed in-house for companies with up to 5,000 access lines.

“I’m very honored that Hardy’s newsletter was recognized by NTCA,” Derek said.  “I’m always inspired by the quality of the entries across the country, so to receive this TeleChoice award … I just don’t know what to say.”

The judges, who are not identified, complimented the Communicator’s focus on its involvement in the community and the quality of the writing.

“Nice length and great articles,” one judge wrote.  Other judges commented that the newsletter “focuses on the community and the telco well,” has a “nice balance of text and graphics” and that the copy is “well done.”

“Loved this newsletter,” another judge stated.

Hardy’s website, www.hardynet.com, was awarded First Place in the Website “Outsourced” category for companies with up to 5,000 access lines.  The website was redesigned in late 2009 by JCI Media in Winchester, Va.  Derek since has kept the site updated.

The judges praised the website’s “great use of colors and navigation buttons” and “wonderful use of graphic and photos” and said the site’s “text is nice and clean and isn’t distracting from the information.”  One judge specifically cited the website’s “About” page: “Wonderful page with clear copy and header stating your telco’s mission, vision and history.”

“Beautiful site with fun use of colors!” wrote another judge.

Derek said keeping a website fresh is a challenge.

“Websites can become stale pretty quickly, so this TeleChoice Award is a tribute to our employees that we’ve been able to keep it relevant in the industry,” he said.

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