Northern Lights Special Achievement Awards and Ceremony Information!
Nominate your colleagues for a Northern Lights Special Achievement Award!

None of us are in this for the fame. In fact, more often than not, we’re the ones behind the scenes ensuring events, celebrations and milestones are given the recognition they deserve. We spend each day protecting, defending and lifting up the community we love dearly because, if not us, then who? We elevate our organizations – and the people who make it successful – despite the fact that we receive little input from our superiors, we deal with a lack of engagement from elected officials, and we claw for even the smallest amount of creativity from our fellow employees. And shall we mention fending off the nay-saying keyboard warriors?

Being recognized through a Special Achievement award isn’t about the applause. It’s about the affirmation that we’re anchored in purpose rather than driven by praise. What we do, and how we do it, matters.

Nominating someone for the 2025 Communicator of the Year Award, New Communications Professional Award or the Scott Pengelly Lifetime Achievement Award is easier than ever. It will only take a couple minutes out of your day to help recognize an individual that’s doing tremendous work day in, day out.  

You just need to fill out a short nomination form, including the name of the person you're nominating, the award you are nominating them for, and a short explanation of why the person should be considered. If the selection committee chooses your nominee for consideration as a finalist, MAGC may contact you for additional information. The deadline has been extended to May 26.

In a world where negativity reigns, let’s lift each other up. Consider nominating a colleague today.

The awards ceremony will be held on July 30th at Plymouth Parks and Recreation - click here for complete information.

Learn more about the Northern Lights Contest.

With questions, contact Brad Phenow at bphenow@faribaultmn.gov.

Communicating with Style and Substance

If you’re passionate about communicating, you’ve come to the right place. The Minnesota Association of Government Communicators is a peer organization of professionals dedicated to improving public-sector communications.

We organize thought-provoking workshops, an annual conference and various other activities to improve our communications skills and to strengthen our peer networks. We share our best work through our annual Northern Lights Awards Contest, we celebrate our accomplishments and learn from each other's successes at the annual Northern Lights Awards Ceremony.

Our members represent all levels of government—federal, state, regional, county, and local—as well as school districts, universities and colleges,  nonprofits and agencies serving these organizations. 

Our members are...

• Writers and editors.
• Graphic designers.
• Publications staff and managers.
• Marketing and public relations specialists.
• Web designers.
• Public information officers.
• Media relations specialists.
• Teachers and professors.
• Photographers.
• And more.

Do we sound like your kind of people? Join us!