2026 Awards for Communications Excellence Winners

ACCE is pleased to announce the 12 winners of the 2026 Awards for Communications Excellence competition. Three of these winning entries will be revealed as Best in Show within their total annual revenue range category during the July 21 Awards Show at ACCE's Annual Convention in New Orleans. Register here.

“Strong communications are central to how chambers lead, serve and demonstrate impact,” said ACCE President & CEO Sheree Anne Kelly. “This year’s Awards for Communications Excellence winners show what is possible when strategy, creativity and execution come together to engage members, elevate community priorities and tell the chamber story with clarity and purpose.” 

About the Competition

The Awards for Communications Excellence program recognizes outstanding communications and marketing work from chambers of commerce and related organizations. Winning submissions showcase innovative approaches from ACCE member organizations of all sizes across digital media, campaigns, print and electronic publications, and websites. Entries were organized by total annual revenue category and evaluated independently by two judges from similarly sized organizations.

Thank You, Judges

ACCE extends its gratitude to the 16 judges—marketing and communications leaders from chambers of commerce in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming — who generously volunteered their time and expertise to review this year’s submissions.

2026 Award of Excellence Winners 
Category One | Category Two | Category Three

CATEGORY ONE 

Digital Media 

The Great South Tampa Gavel Hunt | South Tampa Chamber of Commerce (Fla.)

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the South Tampa Chamber premiered this video at its 2025 Annual Meeting. Rather than creating a traditional retrospective, the chamber developed a cinematic, story-driven production, inspired by its centennial theme, Sailing into a New Century. Written by chamber staff, the video follows a treasure-hunt adventure across South Tampa as chamber leaders search for a missing ceremonial gavel. Along the way, viewers encounter past leaders, local landmarks and moments that highlight the chamber’s century-long impact on the community, culminating in a symbolic handoff to the organization’s next century of service and leadership.

From the Judges: "With this video, the chamber team stayed true to their history and clearly their personality. The narrative style was more inventive and engaging than a typical documentary/historical video style. Their clearly defined goal of creating a memorable, sharable story was achieved."

Campaigns  

ChamberWORKS (Video | Assets) | Seminole County Chamber (Fla.)

The video series features President & CEO Rebekah Arthur working alongside employees at member businesses, using hands-on, behind-the-scenes experiences to showcase the people, processes and stories behind some of the region’s most recognizable organizations. Designed to expand the chamber’s video presence and drive engagement across digital channels, the series offered a fresh alternative to traditional promotional content. The approach generated more than 3,500 views, grew the chamber’s YouTube subscriber base from fewer than 300 to more than 1,000, increased Facebook engagement by 11%, and contributed to a 106% increase in website traffic. The program also created a new non-dues revenue stream through sponsorships and participation fees.

From the Judges: "This campaign stood out for transforming traditional member spotlights into authentic, entertaining storytelling that showcased the people and work behind local businesses. The series created a modern, evergreen campaign with highly expandable content that delivered meaningful member exposure and gave chamber value while feeling refreshingly human in an increasingly AI-saturated communications landscape."

Publications 

Charlevoix Area Guide: A Collaborative Community Showcase | Charlevoix Area Chamber of Commerce (Mich.)

The Charlevoix Chamber of Commerce and Visit Charlevoix transformed what had been two competing community guides into a single, collaborative publication that serves residents, visitors, prospective business owners and future residents. The annual Charlevoix Guide showcases the area's quality of life, year-round amenities and economic opportunities while aligning the goals of key community organizations. The strategy expanded distribution by more than 20,000 copies for the chamber and 25,000 copies for Visit Charlevoix, while generating $3,000 to $8,000 annually in advertising revenue for each organization. Advertisers benefited from cost savings of $500 to $4,000 by replacing two separate guides with one, creating a unified publication that reduced costs, broadened reach and strengthened community communication.

From the Judges: "The design was engaging without being overwhelming. The layout clearly leads your eyes, and the publication felt active, not static. The Top 10 Page was inventive and valuable. The addition of categories in the directory made it very user-friendly, and the focus on legacy/generational businesses helped make it feel personal and warm. There were strong, clear metrics and the success of collaboration was also impressive."

Websites  

Scioto Valley Forward | Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)

In response to the closure of the Chillicothe paper mill, the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce helped launch Scioto Valley Forward, a public-private coalition focused on supporting affected workers, businesses and the regional economy. Built in partnership with more than a dozen organizations, the website launched less than two months after the closure announcement and was a central resource, providing access to events, job postings and business incentives. From June 9 through December 31, 2025, it generated more than 12,000 page views from 9,600 visitors, including 8,600 unique visitors, demonstrating strong community engagement and establishing a lasting workforce development resource for the region.

From the Judges: "In reviewing the website, it is evident that all aspects of the paper mill closure, from direct to residual impacts, were taken into consideration. It is a clean website that's easy to navigate, provides a wealth of information and gives clear directions to users, regardless of their reasons for visiting the site."

CATEGORY TWO 

Digital Media 

Forward Opelika: Launching a New Hub for Business, Tourism and Community | Opelika Chamber of Commerce (Ala.)

The Opelika Chamber produced a strategic launch video to introduce its transformed 15,000-square-foot facility. The campaign used cinematic storytelling to highlight the facility as a catalyst for economic growth, collaboration and enhanced visitor experience. Distributed across digital channels, newsletters, events and tours, the video became the chamber’s top-performing asset, generating 18,532 views (highest in chamber history), 196.7 watch hours and a 77.8% average view rate with a 1:27 average view duration. It reached a new audience—99.9% non-subscribers, including 60% aged 25–34—and drove measurable impact, contributing to $28,000+ in rental income, 10 bookings in the first month and 52 new members within 90 days.

From the Judges: “Highest viewed video in chamber history” – WOW! That’s a measurable metric. The video is beautiful, high quality and certainly shows off the space well. They demonstrated their stated goals of showcasing the culmination of their capital campaign to the investors, the business community, and residents, while simultaneously building awareness and driving utilization of the facility."

Campaigns 

They Did What (English | Spanish) | Vail Valley Partnership (Colo.)

This destination stewardship campaign in Eagle County, Colorado, promotes responsible outdoor recreation to protect the region’s natural environment, wildlife and community quality of life amid growing visitation and tourism. Built around humor-driven storytelling, bold visuals and 20 practical outdoor recreation tips, the bilingual (English and Spanish) campaign uses partner toolkits and shareable assets to extend its reach across visitors, residents and local organizations. A multi-channel strategy drove broad reach across print, transit, airport, digital and community touchpoints. Digital and social efforts added nearly one million paid impressions, 24,000 video views and 4,400 organic impressions. TheyDidWhat.org generated 660 visitors with a 6% pledge conversion rate. Earned media and local partnerships further extended campaign reach and engagement.

From the Judges: "Vail Valley Partnership identified a real and pressing issue and responded by engaging community partners in a campaign that is beautiful, fun, creative and bilingual. The result is a truly successful 360-degree campaign that speaks to both residents and visitors in a way that feels authentic, inclusive and genuinely inspiring."

Print & Electronic Publications 

Reimagining Membership | Opelika Chamber of Commerce (Ala.)

The redesigned Prospective Member Packet addresses a key communications gap: helping businesses better understand the chamber’s role as a driver of economic growth. The resulting piece is a clear, narrative-driven recruitment tool that positions membership as a strategic investment and guides prospects through who the chamber is, why it matters, what it does and how to engage. Since launching in May 2025, it has generated 1,276 digital views, been used in 100% of prospect meetings and contributed to 169 new members and $58,807 in revenue, including a 22-member gain in a single month. It also improved message consistency, reduced staff explanation time and strengthened the chamber’s positioning as a strategic economic partner.

From the Judges: "As a piece that was produced in-house, Reimagining Membership reflects a high level of strategy, writing and design, delivering a polished and professional recruitment tool. It features an engaging and well-organized design, great local photography, with impressive measurables for the project’s impact on the chamber."

Websites 

All in Overland Park | Overland Park Chamber of Commerce (Kan.)

The website was launched as part of the chamber's initiative to address regional talent attraction and retention needs. It showcases career opportunities, lifestyle amenities and community connections to position Overland Park as a place to both work and live. The site features employer storytelling, job search tools, a cost-of-living calculator, relocation resources and SEO-optimized content. Since launch, it has generated more than 1,000 active users across 40+ states, 700+ job searches, nearly 3,000 social media connections and 200+ newsletter subscribers, with growth driven largely by organic traffic. The results demonstrate strong early traction as a scalable workforce and community branding tool, with partners also reporting positive recruitment outcomes through platform visibility.

From the Judges: "This entry was dynamic, engaging and a valuable resource for the community. The website is successfully selling the area from multiple viewpoints. The photos and testimonials from community members are a standout feature, as is the movement and navigation of the site."

CATEGORY THREE 

Digital Media 

Weekly Buzz | Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership (Fla.)

The Weekly Buzz is a weekly video series that delivers timely chamber news, event updates and partner spotlights in a concise, engaging format. Serving as a modern alternative to traditional email announcements, it helps the chamber connect with partners across multiple digital channels while reinforcing the organization’s voice and personality. Each video, like the one featured, is intentionally brief—always under five minutes—allowing viewers to quickly absorb key information while maintaining strong audience engagement. Shared through social media, newsletters and partner communications, the series has become a key communications tool, transforming routine announcements into accessible, highly shareable content that strengthens brand visibility and partner engagement.

From the Judges: "This video broadcast is produced with a consistent cadence and strong production quality. We appreciated the engaging intro and the hybrid setup between studio and event coverage, which, in this video, effectively highlights the student programs. It's impressive that they produce this segment in-house on a weekly basis."

Campaigns 

We Know Canadians As... | Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce (N.Y.)

This campaign is a cross-border initiative that reinforces the long-standing relationship between Northern New York and Canada through fact-based storytelling and shared history. At a time of heightened political tension, it reframed the narrative around documented moments of collaboration and mutual support to emphasize people-to-people connection and regional goodwill. A coordinated strategy used bilingual assets, a collective video and shareable content distributed through a broad coalition of partners, including the Federation of Chambers of Commerce in Quebec, the Consul General of Canada in New York, Québec’s Delegate General in New York, tourism agencies and elected officials, ensuring consistent binational amplification. The campaign generated 100,000+ video views and extensive local and international media coverage, alongside strong partner and government amplification that drove sustained engagement and visibility.

From the Judges: "This was a really creative and well-executed campaign, produced in French and in English! It was sensitive, subtle and an example of successful collaboration across many agencies. It was a powerful one."

Publications 

Navigating Historic Industry Transition: State of Automobility Report | Detroit Regional Chamber (Mich.)

MichAuto, the Detroit Regional Chamber’s statewide automotive and mobility affiliate, repositioned its 2025 State of Automobility report as a data-driven thought leadership platform addressing technological disruption, global competition and evolving industry demand. The strategy transformed the 32-page report into a multi-channel experience, launching at the State of the Industry event with 100+ leaders, supported by digital landing pages, targeted email campaigns exceeding benchmarks (+15% opens, +9% clicks), and coordinated social content. The report delivered 722 views, 521 readers, nearly 27 hours of engagement, 4,143 social impressions, 205 engagements (4.9% vs. 2% avg), and 113 clicks, reinforcing MichAuto’s role as a leading industry voice.

From the Judges: "The depth of research behind this piece is exceptional. It tells the story of an industry with clarity, detail and purpose while remaining accessible and easy to digest. The charts and graphs are especially effective, vividly conveying complex information in a way that supports the report’s larger narrative. We also appreciated the chamber’s willingness to address industry challenges head-on, with both care and confidence — something that can be difficult for a chamber to do. Combined with colorful photography, strong graphics and a clean, well-flowing layout, the report stands out as a polished, thoughtful and award-worthy product."

Websites 

Greater Des Moines Partnership Website Redesign | Greater Des Moines Partnership (Iowa)

The Greater Des Moines Partnership launched a redesigned website in October 2025, taking an audience-first approach to better align content, navigation and user experience with the needs of key stakeholders. The project began with audience research, data analysis and focus groups to map user needs and restructure how information is organized and accessed, resulting in a streamlined, single-navigation system and a more intuitive site architecture. The strategy combined quantitative website analytics with qualitative insights to guide a full content and design overhaul, including updated pages, new modular design capabilities and refreshed storytelling across the platform. In total, the site includes 92 updated pages and 29 new pages, supporting a more dynamic and flexible user experience. It has had over one million sessions and nearly 800,000 users in 2025.

From the Judges: "You could really tell they took their time with the redesign. The videos and photos really showcase the community and makes you feel like you're part of the Des Moines area. It’s a very solid, clean and fresh website that’s easy to navigate, with the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s mission and values clearly visible throughout. We were impressed by the user experience and functionality. The home page and clear sub-categories really stood out."