Emery County Sheriff’s Office employee and Public Information Officer (PIO) Janalee Luke was recognized during the Utah PIO Association Annual Conference held in St. George the end of September.

She was presented with an Award for Excellence in Crisis Communications for her dedicated work during the Trail Mountain Fire by keeping the public informed with clear and concise communication. Community members that followed the fire updates on the ECSO Facebook page, found that Luke went above and beyond to ensure that she reported much more than the fire growth and percentage contained by including topics that she felt were relevant to the public. One of which was sharing insight on the inner workings of the Incident Management Team and Fire Base Camp, and made trips up the canyon to capture photos of fire crews in action. This gave community members a deeper appreciation for all of the hard work that was being put in by the many firefighters and support crews.

When asked about her Award for Excellence in Crisis Communications she said, “I prefer working behind the scenes, tucked away in my office without fanfare, but I will admit that it was fun seeing Utah news stations and newspapers sharing my photos and stories.” Community members who see Luke around town be sure to thank her for a job well done.

To keep up to date on the comings and goings at ECSO visit their Facebook page.