Great River Energy was recognized for achievements in communications and marketing by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) for its “Be the One” safety campaign, which focuses on speaking up for safety and using stop work authority. Great River Energy received the Silver Award in the Best Strategic Communications Campaign category in NRECA’s Spotlight on Excellence Awards.
“This is a great example of Great River Energy’s safety culture coming together with our value of collaboration,” said Lori Buffington, Great River Energy’s supervising manager of communications and leader of the safety communications team which developed the campaign. The safety communications team is made up of employees in various roles from around the cooperative.
“What made the campaign effective was a variety of perspectives and diversity of thought,” Buffington added.
The goals of the Be the One campaign were to further ingrain speaking up and stop work authority in Great River Energy’s culture, to support safety as a core value at Great River Energy and to empower employees to take action if they feel something is unsafe.
“We wanted to make sure the communications resonated with all employees whether they work in the field, at a plant or in the office,” Buffington said. “Safety should always be top of mind and everyone should feel comfortable and supported when speaking up and stopping work anytime they feel unsafe.”
The Be the One campaign was kicked off by Great River Energy’s President and Chief Executive Officer David Saggau at an employee meeting in January 2024. Saggau has always regularly spoken to employees about the importance of speaking up and stopping work anytime something feels unsafe. The campaign included a variety of communications tactics, highlighted by Be the One testimonials, which featured employees sharing times when they spoke up for safety or stopped work.
The Spotlight on Excellence Awards program recognizes exceptional work produced by electric cooperative communications and marketing professionals across the country by showcasing the creativity and ingenuity of co-op communicators that continue to inspire the co-op community.
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