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ITD, Stratten earn honors from
National Transportation Public Affairs Workshop

ITD earned a national award for a bicycle safety public service announcement and Public Information Officer Jeff Stratten received the Founder’s Award at the National Transportation Public Affairs Workshop (NTPAW) last week in St. Louis.

The organization for public relations professionals in the transportation industry honored Stratten during an awards luncheon. It was part of an annual workshop that includes sessions on communicating the needs and successes of transportation.

Stratten’s career dates to Oct. 4, 1985, when he was hired as the ITD’s information officer. In the past 24 years he advanced to Public Information Officer, Public Information Officer Senior, and in February became a program manager.

He is a native of Pocatello and a graduate of Idaho State University. He has held every leadership position in NTPAW, which is a subcommittee of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), based in Washington, D.C.

ITD’s video production team of Dave Tuttle and Mark Hall also received an award for a retro black-and-white public service announcement, reminiscent of the Leave It to Beaver” television era, that promotes bicycle safety for youths.

The 30-second spot features a pre-teen riding without a helmet and the artistic introduction of another teen offering a full-color helmet to the unprotected rider. The video is an excellent example of spot color in a black-and-white video. (Play the video)

The PSA was distributed to television stations throughout Idaho.

ITD also was acknowledged for several entries in AASHTO’s “Faces of Transportation.” Idaho’s entry included five images:

ITD and the Office of Communications will serve as hosts of the 2010 NTPAW event Sept. 15-18 in Boise. The event will require a broad range of ITD participation.