Entries in the Communicator Awards are judged by industry professionals who look for talents that exceed a high standard of excellence and work that serves as a benchmark for the industry.

Trying to describe ARM and ACRF to an educated audience is hard enough; imagine explaining it to someone who knows next to nothing about atmospheric science! Judges of the 2005 Communicator Awards print media competition apparently got the message, as they gave awards to four ACRF entries in various categories. One entry, the 2004 ACRF Annual Report (PDF, 916K), received the prestigious Crystal Award of Excellence, given to those entrants “whose ability to communicate places them among the best in the field.”

More than 5,000 entries from throughout the United States and several foreign countries entered this year’s competition. Out of those, approximately 13 percent received the Crystal Award of Excellence, while 19 percent received an Award of Distinction. This award is given for work that “exceeds industry standards in communicating a message or idea.” ACRF products that received an Award of Distinction included the following: ACRF Website—featuring the extensive homepage redesign completed last year; ACRF Climate, Coloring and Crosswords…and Other Fun Stuff—an activity book for students; and the ACRF Operations Update—an online newsletter published every two weeks (you’re reading it now!). Earlier this year, the Operations Update also received a “Distinguished” award in the category of technical marketing from the Puget Sound Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication, qualifying it for the international online communication competition.

Creating understandable public information is one mission of the ACRF Communications Team. They are responsible for maintaining display materials used at conferences throughout the year, keeping the website up-to-date, and producing a variety of other targeted information products. They also provide graphics, editing, and production assistance to the ACRF Education and Outreach Program. This facet of ACRF focuses on providing learning tools to students and teachers, and promoting awareness about climate research among communities that host ACRF sites.