City Communications Team Earns National and Regional Recognitions

The City of Las Cruces is proud to announce Communications Office employees Nathaniel Bitting and Celso Acosta have earned a Government Programming Award of Excellence and two Awards of Distinction from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA).

The NATOA Government Programming Awards honor excellence in broadcast, cable, multimedia, and electronic programming produced by local governments nationwide. Recognition in these competitive categories highlights the City’s commitment to creativity, education, and community connection.

This year the City won Awards of Excellence for the following submissions for content that had been originally produced between April 2025 and April 2026:

Award of Excellence: “Las Cruces Fire Department – The Fire Family”
Category: Profile of a City/County Dept. or Employee
Watch LCFD-The Fire Family video here.

Award of Distinction: “LCFD Physical Ability Test”
Category: Instruction/Training
Watch LCFD-Physical Ability Test video here.

Award of Distinction: “Crusaders of the Lost Art Scavenger Hunt”
Category: Event/Program Promotion
Watch Crusaders of the Lost Art Scavenger Hunt video here.

In addition to the NATOA Government Programming Awards, the Communications Office was also nominated for a Regional Emmy Award through the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Nathaniel Bitting, Media Production Specialist, is nominated in the categories of Informational/Instructional for “LCFD Physical Ability Test” and in Branded Content-Short Form and Photographer for “LCFD – Fire Family”.

The Rocky Mountain Southwest Regional Emmys are awarded to television stations, organizations, and individuals in all industries in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Southeastern California. This year’s winners will be announced in November.