Schoenherr named SMMPA Chief External Affairs Officer

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) has named Christopher P. Schoenherr as Chief External Affairs Officer.  Mr. Schoenherr joined SMMPA in January of 2015 as Director of Agency and Government Relations.

“We are happy to recognize the contribution Chris has made to our organization in his first two years by naming him an officer of SMMPA.  Chris joined our team to fill the open spot created by the retirement of the person that had done an outstanding job in that position for years.  With Chris in that role now, we haven’t missed a beat and the outstanding work continues,” said David P. Geschwind, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to joining SMMPA, Mr. Schoenherr was a member of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s cabinet serving as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Administration.  He spent the first thirty years of his career in various capacities at two different Wisconsin investor-owned utilities.

SMMPA Annual Report Wins National Award

The American Public Power Association (APPA) selected Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) to receive one of its Excellence in Public Power Communications Awards. The award was presented at the APPA Customer Connections conference in Nashville. The 2015 SMMPA annual report received the Award of Excellence, APPA’s highest award for public power communications. SMMPA's Manager of Communications and Renewable Energy, Dan Hayes accepted the award on SMMPA’s behalf.

 

SMMPA’s 2015 Annual Report, which was distributed in April of 2016, takes a unique approach to telling the story of SMMPA and its Members.  In the style of graphic novels, the cover illustration portrays a fictional SMMPA character as an action hero who represents all Member communities.  Inside, each spread features a 3-panel scene with rapid-fire dialogue.  The report grabs attention with unconventional graphics and a creative writing style to complement the graphics.

 

Submissions for the APPA awards are judged on the following criteria:

  • Well designed, visually engaging, creative
  • Aligned with organization’s core brand and mission
  • Customer-friendly, sharing useful resources and information
  • Relevant, engaging, action-oriented content — text and graphics