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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) – The Colorado Springs Police Department’s 2021 K-9 calendar won first place in the National Association of Government Communicators’ Blue Pencil and Gold Screen awards.

“The photography is beautiful. The juxtaposition of the dogs with the backgrounds, especially the graffiti, is very interesting, even for people not normally interested in dogs. The calendar is well designed and easy to read. Kudos to Explorewithmedia.com,” commented an awards judge.

“We are incredibly honored to receive an award for our K9 Calendar. This is one of our favorite fundraisers of the year, with 100% of the proceeds going to our Cadet Program. The Cadet Program is designed to develop young leaders who become active in our community. While some cadets do go on to become CSPD officers, or work in the criminal justice field, our main goal is not to recruit, but rather to help equip some of our youngest community members with strong leadership skills and knowledge that they can take with them in the future. In order to keep this program free for everyone, we rely on fundraising and generous donations from our community. I sincerely want to thank our community for helping support the youth in our community. I would also like to thank local Photographer and Designer Stephen Martin for bringing our vision to reality,” said Chief Vince Niski, Colorado Springs Police Department.

The NAGC is a not-for-profit association promoting, advocating and recognizing excellence in government communication.

The Blue Pencil & Gold Screen awards program recognizes local, county, state, tribal and federal agencies for excellence in government communications.