(Oct. 1) Northwest Public Power Association announced the winners of the 33rd Excellence in Communications Awards contest last Wednesday at the association’s Northwest Innovations in Communications Conference in Walla Walla, Washington. The annual EIC Awards contest honors the best communications efforts made by NWPPA member utilities and associations. This year, a record-breaking 52 NWPPA members submitted 278 entries.
“This contest is a reminder of how much we can learn from one another,” said 2026 NIC Chair Sheila Corson of Mason PUD 3. “Each year, communicators from utilities and associations across the region bring fresh ideas, new perspectives, and innovative approaches to the table. It’s a privilege to celebrate their work.”
Contestants were divided into four groups based on the amount of electricity they sell, with Group A selling the least and Group D selling the most. Nine marketing and communications professionals from throughout the Northwest volunteered their time to judge the entries. All
first-, second-, and third-place winners are listed at the end of this release.
In addition to the Excellence in Communications awards, NWPPA presented the 2026 Overall Excellence in Communications Award to Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative (Port Orford, Ore.). CCEC also received the award in 2025. Winners of the award are determined based on performance in the Excellence in Communications contest. CCEC received five first-place awards, two second-place awards, one third-place award, and an average score of 47.6 out of 50 points. Kelsey Bozeman accepted the award on behalf of the utility.
NWPPA also announced the People’s Choice Awards in photography winners, determined by the votes of NIC attendees. Kootenai Electric Cooperative (Rathdrum, Idaho) won Best Photo – Employee, Snohomish County PUD (Everett, Wash.) won Best Photo – Youth, and Benton PUD (Kennewick, Wash.) won Best Photo – Miscellaneous.
The Excellence in Communications Awards will next be presented Sept. 22 during the NIC at Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. More details about the conference will be available soon at www.nwppa.org/nic.
Download the full press release, including a list of winners →
