The communications and design division of the Lake County Forest Preserves earned two national awards through APEX, the Annual Awards for Publication Excellence Competition.

The awards are related to Horizons, available in print and online. The free quarterly magazine features articles and news about conservation, wildlife, trails, recreation, nature and history education.

The Forest Preserves earned a Grand Award–the top honor–for the fall 2022 issue of Horizons in the “newsletters” category. 

An Award of Excellence was garnered for a feature story, “Growing Through Change: Preparing for the Future Climate” in the spring-summer 2022 issue of Horizons. This was entered in the “environment–climate change/eco-friendly” category.

The APEX Awards recognize excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communications excellence.

With more than 1,100 entries, competition was intense. 100 Grand Awards were presented to honor outstanding work in 14 categories, and 453 Awards of Excellence recognized exceptional entries in 100 subcategories.

“It is gratifying to see the team’s talent and expertise recognized at a national level,” said Rebekah Snyder, director of community engagement and partnerships. “The awards reaffirm what our readers already know: Horizons is a highly professional and beautiful publication that informs the public about programs, events and initiatives as part our 100-Year Vision for Lake County."

Communications and Design Manager Jeanna Martinucci is the editor and designer of Horizons and has worked for the Forest Preserves for six years. She studied graphic design at Columbia College in Chicago and has been a professional graphic designer for more than 17 years. At the Forest Preserves she specializes in print and digital communications, brand management, marketing campaigns, social media management and photography.

Kim Mikus writes for Horizons magazine and a variety of other resources promoting the Forest Preserves. An award-winning newspaper reporter and editor, Mikus joined the Forest Preserves as media and community relations specialist nearly five years ago.

Here are links to the winning entries:

• Grand Award for fall 2022 issue of the magazine: https://issuu.com/lcfpd/docs/horizonsmag-fall2022

• Award of Excellence for Growing through Change feature article: https://issuu.com/lcfpd/docs/horizonsmag-spring-summer2022_2

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