Aug. 4, 2021 – GoTriangle’s Transportation Demand Management team was one of two finalists for two Association for Commuter Transportation awards at the group’s international conference in Florida this week.
GoTriangle was recognized in the National Marketing & Outreach Awards – Best Overall Marketing Campaign for its Mission Impossible series of online webinars and in the National Commuting Options – Telework category. CATS of Charlotte won the first award and TRAFFIX of Hampton Roads, Virginia, the second.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused businesses and workers to stretch, grow and pivot in numerous ways, says Michelle Parker, GoTriangle’s Sustainable Travel Services manager.
“When it became clear that teleworking and online webinars were the new normal, we were there with strategies, information and resources for our community,” she says. “To have our work recognized nationally is so satisfying and just reinforces the importance of what Transportation Demand Management teams offer.”
The Mission Impossible series has offered quick 60-minute discussions with experts on topics relevant to employers and workers during the pandemic. Topics have included cybersecurity with an IT expert, mental health with the executive director of the Wake National Alliance on Mental Illness, return to the worksite with the executive director of the University of North Carolina Occupational and Health Education and Research Center and ergonomics for the home office with the executive director of The Ergonomics Center of North Carolina.
Find recordings of the sessions and RSVP for the next Mission Impossible webinar on employment law and COVID, set for Aug. 12, here.
Criteria for winning the ACT award were that a campaign demonstrated a high level of creativity and originality and could show measurable results including increased audience engagement, increased brand awareness, mode shift or significant behavior change.
The Mission Impossible series was one part of the entry that won GoTriangle the telework category award as well. Other parts included:
- When all K-12 public schools in North Carolina transitioned to remote learning in March 2020, GoTriangle identified a gap in materials to assist parents and guardians in setting students up for success – and in recommendations for supervisors of employees in these situations. GoTriangle developed the guidance document Strategies for Teleworking Parents with Students in Remote Learning.
- The GoPerks Incentives Program pivoted to provide more support during the pandemic, adding teleworking as a qualifying smart commute mode. Previously, those noncommute trips counted only during the month of March with the promotion of Telework Week.
- The GoPerks Achievement Awards made a flawless transition from an annual in-person event to a virtual celebration, recognizing employees who had reached personal greenhouse gas reductions of two tons, five tons or 10 tons through their participation in the tracking and incentive program. The program offers gift cards to local small and minority-owned businesses and tickets to local events.
Gaining national recognition is a special feat because it was a year when every Transportation Demand Management program across the country was transitioning or emphasizing telework program due to the pandemic, says Charles E. Lattuca, CEO and president of GoTriangle.
“We’re all very proud of our TDM team,” he says. “Their services and programs have significant impacts on commuting patterns, traffic congestion, personal health and air quality in the Triangle, and they consistently expand the reach of GoTriangle in excellent ways.”