Communications professionals across campus and throughout the University of Illinois system have nominated this small team for an ACME award every year since 2008, when we started giving them. We have an unwritten rule that we never give these awards to Public Affairs employees, since we are the ones who select the winners. Year after year, we politely explain that to the various people who continue to nominate them, but the next year it invariably happens again.
This year, we actually received a petition signed by no fewer than 30 Chief Communications Officers from academic and non-academic units that almost demands that we honor the small-but-mighty Web Services team for an award. The nomination was so heartfelt and, ultimately, so compelling that we felt we had little choice but to capitulate.
Here are some of the comments people offered about Web Services
- I’m a huge fan of Webtools! Use them practically every day – I could probably be president of their fan club…
- ALL of them are incredibly responsive, and Julie McMahon makes time to bail me out every single time I get in a jam with my online invitations/cards, newsletters, you name it.
- In managing a recent issue within [my college], I needed a quick, easy, and functional way of communicating with faculty, staff, and students all at once. Web Tools provided me that capability. I know this represents just one small component of what Web Services does, but it was a huge help to me at a time I needed it.
- Our department uses web tools on a daily basis, and much of our web presence and customer service abilities would not be possible without these tools.
- The Web Services team of Jim Wilson and Lance Campbell is invaluable to me. Without them, I couldn't do my job. Considering how many clients they serve, I am always impressed with their speedy customer service, their willingness to entertain new ideas, and their ability to translate our questions and to find answers. I consider them part of my team, my colleagues, and my Illinois family.
- I just made my first ecard and it looks like a professional produced it. An attractive ecard would have been impossible for me to create without the Toolbox and the Web Services team.
And that’s just a bit of the feedback we’ve received. Every year, thanks to Web Services’ good work, that list of tools has grown and the existing tools have grown more sophisticated, more beautiful and easier to use. They have become ubiquitous among communications professionals on the Urbana campus, and they have been heavily adopted on the Springfield and Chicago campuses plus University Administration too. So, many thanks to all of you who wouldn’t take “No” for an answer – and contratulations to the Web Services team as Communicator of the Year.
