OKEECHOBEE — Okeechobee County Tourism Coordinator Sharie Turgeon and Passport Publications President Robert Kirschner made a surprise announcement and presentation at the beginning of the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Aug. 27 that the Okeechobee County Official Visitor’s Guide had been awarded not one but three Charlie Awards.

The Charlie Awards is a competition conducted by the Florida Magazine Association (FMA) that recognizes achievements by Florida magazines since 1957. The FMA’s annual Charlie Awards competition crowns publishers, writers, editors, artists, photographers, printers, marketers and others as the best among their peers in scores of categories. Juried by recognized out-of-state magazine and newspaper professionals, and college journalism professors, hundreds of entries vie for first, second and third place awards: the Charlie, Silver and Bronze.

The beautiful Visitor’s Guide that invites people to Come Outside and Play was awarded a Silver Award for Best Cover Photography, photo credit Kim Seng. The judge’s comment stated that it was a “nice photo to set the tone for the topic, and placement of type gives the photo room to breathe.” A Charlie Award was received for Best New Magazine. The judge’s comment stated that the publication had a “very clean presentation with beautiful and interesting photography.” Photography credit Robert Clark and Sharon Cannon (rodeo). A Charlie Award was received for Best Visitor Publication. The judge’s comments for this award was that “this is a comprehensive visitor guide that pairs historical information about the area with detailed information for amenities. Great photography.”

The Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners and the Tourist Development Council are proud to have received this acknowledgment and look forward to sharing this award-winning publication with visitors and residents.

Request your Award-Winning Visitor Guide today at www.visitokeechobeecounty.com.