Franklin, TN – The City of Franklin announced today that its 2025 Franklin Special Census Video Campaign received silver and bronze awards in the 46th Annual Telly Awards. The Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television across all screens and are judged by leaders from video platforms, television, streaming networks, and production companies. 

The City entered their 2025 Special Census video campaign featuring a parody video of John Denver’s Annie's Song with rewritten lyrics to inform citizens about the census. The video was shot with a John Denver look-alike singing to residents about the special census. The communications division received a silver award in the social video, public service and activism category, and a bronze award for social video general non-profit category. “Our industry is experimenting with new technologies like never before, shaping truly compelling stories to draw attention to some of the world’s most pressing issues,” shares Telly Awards Managing Director Amanda Needham.

“It’s an honor to win two Tellys this year for our Census Campaign. This was a collaborative effort with all the communications team including Social and Digital Media Producer Stephen Price, Television and Operations Supervisor Robert Mott, Public Outreach Coordinator/Video Production employee Joey Echeverria, Public Outreach and Special Events Supervisor Monique McCullough, and myself,” said Chief Communications Officer Milissa Reierson. “We worked with a local actor Brian Jones who contributed his guitar playing, vocal talent and comedic acting skills.”

The winners were chosen by The Telly Awards Judging Council. See the full list of the 46th Annual Telly Awards winners can be found at www.tellyawards.com/winners.

About The Telly Awards

The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring video and television across all screens. Established in 1979, The Telly Awards receives over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents. Entrants are judged by The Telly Awards Judging Council—an industry body of over 200 leading experts including advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks. More information can be found at the Telly Awards Press Center: https://tlly.co/press.

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