ELEC825 Garners International Accolades for Infrastructure Storytelling

The Springfield-based labor-management trust, which represents 8,000 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, earned top-tier recognition across three major competitions this year: the Telly, Questar, and Hermes Creative awards. The accolades highlight the group’s commitment to demystifying critical infrastructure through high-production television and digital content.

ELEC825’s flagship program, Our Infrastructure Matters, captured the Questar Festival Grand Award, while targeted productions like Understanding New Jersey's Natural Gas Infrastructure and Method to the Madness: NJ Roads Are Anything But Boring secured multiple Gold Telly and Hermes Creative awards. According to Executive Director Mark Longo, the initiative was born from a desire to bridge the knowledge gap between technical construction projects and daily public life. Mike Makarski, the organization’s External Affairs Director and executive producer of the series, noted that the awards validate the team's effort to humanize dry regulatory and economic development topics. These productions serve a dual purpose: educating policymakers and business leaders while fostering a deeper public appreciation for the essential work performed by the cooperative’s 1,000 union contractors.