Community Connections

Fresno Irrigation District’s Centennial Celebration Campaign

By Kassy D. Chauhan, P.E.

BETWEEN THE SAN JOAQUIN AND KINGS RIVERS, STRETCHING WEST FROM THE SIERRA NEVADA’S LOWEST FOOTHILLS, IS A LAND OF INCREDIBLE CHANGE. TODAY, IT’S THE HEART OF THE NATION’S GREATEST AGRICULTURAL GEOGRAPHY, AND SO MUCH MORE. WITHIN 250,000 ACRES OF THIS LAND HAS RISEN ONE OF CALIFORNIA’S GREATEST URBAN CENTERS, PULSING WITH COMMERCE, CULTURE, AND EVER-GROWING POPULATIONS.

These farms and cities, so fortunately sited, are the product of generations of determined human motivation and struggle, as they are matched and paralleled by the development, management, and availability of the region’s most crucial natural resource – water. For 100 years, management and delivery of these life-giving supplies of water have been the responsibilities of an important and remarkable public agency that has evolved over time but continues to make advances in achieving its mission. This is the Fresno Irrigation District (FID) and its 100-year story.

To celebrate the Centennial Celebration and share their story, the district developed a consistent, high-quality outreach program to communicate with FID’s growers, municipal partners, and internal and external stakeholders. The strategy was to develop FID’s capabilities to communicate across digital channels while maintaining its traditional communication channels.

The district developed three main arteries of communication to expand its reach: a video, social media channels and a website complete with storyboards to highlight the 100-year history, and a publication piece.

Centennial Video:

The cornerstone of this effort was the development of FID’s Centennial Video, created and produced by acclaimed producer Jeff Aiello with 18THIRTY Entertainment. This visually stunning nine-minute video chronicles the history of FID with a series of interviews along with narration by local historian Randy McFarland. The video starts with photos from the mid-19th century, and the story begins by describing the origins of FID’s water rights and the official formation of the district. Throughout the video, voices of FID growers, agency leaders who describe the functions of FID and FID frontline employees who are the backbone of the operations were included along with testimonials from municipal partners – all while highlighting FID’s importance to the region.

Always focused on the stakeholder audience, the goal was to celebrate 100 years of conveyance, commitment, and customer service by telling the water-rich story that laid the

foundation for the development of the greater Fresno area and its agriculturally-based economy. This was accomplished by focusing on FID’s founding, purpose, people, and partners – all of which point to why FID is still going strong 100 years later.

In 2020, FID hosted an online Centennial Video Launch Event as the district pivoted its outreach in response to COVID-19. This allowed FID the opportunity to explore a deepening in digital fluency. The program was hosted by FID Board President Ryan Jacobsen, FID General Manager Bill Stretch, and video producer Jeff Aiello, allowing for an insightful discussion about the Centennial, FID, and the production of the video. Over 350 stakeholders attended the virtual event, and it was covered by multiple local news media outlets.

A video of the panel discussion including the reveal of the centennial video can be viewed on the website at www.fresnoirrigation. com/centennial-video. Centennial Website and Social Media:

FID created a page on its website to highlight the celebration of the centennial. Through the creation of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube accounts, this information is being shared while always pointing back to FID’s website to encourage stakeholders to engage. These channels are useful for the Centennial Celebration and will allow FID to deepen connections to stakeholders long after the celebration subsides. The centennial website includes vintage photos and showcases a variety of topics covered throughout the year. This photo collage provides website visitors with a peak into FID’s rich history and incorporates details on many topics in an easily digested format.

Centennial Storyboards:

Beginning January 2020, FID released historical and informational banners monthly digging into eras of importance to FID, what FID does, and explains in lay-fashion the water’s journey from the snow-capped

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Sierra Nevada mountains to its final destinations. The topics of the storyboards are aligned with the topics on the centennial website. Each month a new storyboard was posted to the website and a new banner was created. The banners allow FID’s story to be taken on the road for years to come.

Centennial Publication:

“A Century of Excellence” was authored by local historian J. Randall McFarland, and is a full-color publication detailing the FID story. It was recently awarded the coveted Tractor Award from the Fresno County Farm Bureau – Journalism Award. FID’s centennial caught the attention of many local, state and federal elected officials and it was an honor to have many of them join into the celebration.

Results

The results from this extensive outreach and education have been evident by increased social media followings, increased unique website visitors, increased e-news subscribers, and invitations by local media and service groups regarding speaking events.

Transparency

A large majority of water conveyance work goes unseen, leading stakeholders often wondering what FID does yearround, and especially during water delivery’s off-season. Taking time to illustrate that work in the context of FID’s history allows for telling a more complete story, providing stakeholders a broad picture of how FID continuously supports life and agriculture in the district.

FID’s centennial website can be viewed at www.fresnoirrigation.com/centennial.

The centennial publication was published in fall 2020 and a digital copy is available on the district’s centennial website at:

www.fresnoirrigation.com/ centennial-publication.

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