The city of Sugar Land’s videography team, comprising Jake Schnitzer and Roman Perez, won five TATOA Government Programming Awards for their efforts to make local government more accessible and transparent.
The TATOA or Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisor awards recognize excellence in video programming in Texas. Sugar Land won first place in three categories.
Schnitzer and Perez took home the following recognitions:
Sugar Land’s Memorial Day 2020 event video took first place in the Community Event Coverage category. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the video allowed the Sugar Land community to safely honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Sugar Land scored first and third-place awards in the public education category. The city won first place for its “Best Tasting Water in America” announcement and third place for a “Mobility Master Plan” video intended to educate residents on the project’s background while also empowering them to take the city’s mobility survey.
“Where does Sugar Land’s water from?” won first place in the Documentary category. This video educates residents on how the city infrastructure takes water from the Brazos River and transforms it into the Best Tasting Water in America.
“Do the Math” took third place in the Public Service Announcement category. The video was part of an outreach effort that resulted in Sugar Land leading the state in census participation.
Sugar Land also received two honorable mentions in the humor and partner production categories.
The TATOA Government Programming Awards are among the most prestigious honors in government communications, the city of Sugar Land said in a release.
A record 341 entries were submitted for this year’s competition from 31 cities across Texas.
“Jake and Roman are professional storytellers whose creative contributions to our city are indispensable,” said Doug Adolph, communications director at city of Sugar Land. “They work collaboratively with employees throughout the city to produce creative, professional content that provides awareness of important services and programs, contributes to around-the-clock updates during emergencies and highlights the efforts of our champion employees who deliver the quality services our citizens expect.”