Back to SearchThe Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) is proud to announce that Cherri Greeno of the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) is the recipient of the 2021 OACP Catherine Martin Award of Excellence in Media Relations.
This Award recognizes a sworn or civilian member who has demonstrated consistent dedication and professionalism in the strategic use of media and/or social media to educate and showcase the profession of policing in the community, supporting public safety or advancing investigations in the Province of Ontario.
Media Relations Officers (MROs) are critical in building trust between police services and their communities. With more than 25 years of experience working in the field of media relations – the last five years in WRPS’s Corporate Communication and Public information Unit – Cherri Greeno is a leader within policing in this field.
Greeno continually works to foster a professional relationship with local media. Through her leadership, the WRPS now facilitates monthly media briefings with local news organizations to review and mitigate any issues that have arisen and created bi-annual media roundtables where media outlets attend WRPS facilities for updates from the Chief of Police.
When media outlets were not permitted to enter WRPS buildings at the height of the pandemic, Cherri routinely provided photographs of significant drug seizures and evidence to the media to ensure they were kept up-to-date. Most recently, she completed the first-ever Corporate Communications strategy for the WRPS.
As the Manager of Corporate Communications, Cherri Greeno has grown the profile of WRPS in the community exponentially. Under her guidance in 2020, the WRPS Public Information Unit has attracted 20,000 new social media followers (28% increase), saw 5,000 social media posts published (54% increase), had 4.4 million total engagements (21% increase), had 61.5 million total impressions (42% increase), had 730,000 visits to the WRPS external website (33% increase), and amassed a total social media audience of just over 158,000 compared to 2019 totals.
Greeno also dedicates a considerable amount of time to mentoring and teaching both internally and externally. She is the Vice-Chair of the Ontario Media Relations Officers Network (OMRON) and a member of the Program Advisory Committee at the Conestoga College, where she mentors students in communications and public relations.
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Portrait - Ms. Cherri Greeno, Waterloo Regional Police Service
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This annual award is made possible by the generous support from McMaster University.
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