Roanoke County Website Honored with State and National Awards

ROANOKE, Va., Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors today recognized Roanoke County's Communication and Information Technology team, which earned three prestigious awards in the past three months for the County's newly redesigned interactive website launched last spring.  Designed in concert with the government website experts at CivicPlus, a leading developer of community engagement platforms, the County's website (http://www.roanokecountyva.gov) has received the 2011 Governor's Technology Award, the 2011 Best of the Web Award and second place in the Center for Digital Government's annual Digital Counties Survey.

For 14 years, the Governor's Technology Awards program has honored outstanding achievements and recognized innovative technology initiatives in the public sector throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. On behalf of Governor Bob McDonnell, Virginia's Secretary of Technology Jim Duffey and Chief Information Officer Sam Nixon presented the award to Roanoke County's Director of Communication and Information Technology, Bill Greeves, at the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) in late September.

"We are extremely proud of the job Bill and his team have done to make our County website a national model for innovation, community dialogue and cost-effective government," said Clay Goodman, Roanoke County Administrator. "The newly redesigned site improves citizens' electronic interaction with government and promotes the availability, usability and transparency of County information."

One of 24 winners in nine categories, the County's website won for the category "Online, Not In Line," which recognizes the innovative use of the Web to improve citizen access to and service from governmental entities of any type. An independent panel of Virginia government executives judged the entries.

"These awards reflect the hard work of dozens of employees across nearly every department in the County as well as our partnership with CivicPlus," Greeves said. "The CivicPlus team's methodical and effective project management process integrated our ideas and kept us on track. They came in on time and on budget, despite mid-course changes we threw at them."

The County also earned a top spot in the 2011 Best of the Web awards competition, which judges state, county and city web portals throughout the United States. Best of the Web spotlights government websites that demonstrate the highest levels of innovation, functionality and efficiency. Websites are judged by a panel of experts in a wide range of categories including site accessibility, innovation, cost savings, ease of use and exceptional service to the public. Best of the Web is a joint project between Government Technology magazine and the Center for Digital Government.

Roanoke County also tied for second place in the 2011 Digital Counties Survey, marking the eighth consecutive year the county has appeared in the Top Ten List of digital counties across the nation. The Digital Counties Survey is conducted by the Center for Digital Government and Digital Communities program, in partnership with the National Association of Counties (NACo), to identify the best electronic practices among counties nationwide.  

"We congratulate Roanoke County on winning these three prestigious awards," said CivicPlus CEO Ward Morgan. "The more a local government can offer residents electronically, the easier they make it for people to access services and get the help or information they need. Roanoke County is setting a new standard that will impact what residents across the country will expect from county government in the future."

Contact:

Teresa Hamilton Hall
Roanoke County Public Information Director
Office: (540) 772-2010

Lynette Viviani
for CivicPlus
(973) 534-1004

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SOURCE Roanoke County Communication and Information Technology