in the Economic Development industry. Chosen from submitted nominations by a team of industry thought leaders, past winners have proven success records of influencing the economic development of their regions. Evolving with the times, DCI added a full service digital team to its agency in 2018. Having helped navigate its destination clients through the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, DCI identified and acted on shifting workplace dynamics, including remote working and second tier cities. With so many destinations looking to attract workers, DCI officially launched its talent attraction practice in 2022. The agency affirms that this formalized service sector was a natural progression, with talent attraction falling at the intersection of both its economic development and tourism marketing efforts. Today the agency continues to prosper, and its leadership team continues to share their professional expertise at major conferences like the International Economic Development Council and Destinations International. Awards & Rankings Outside Magazine choose DCI as one of the "100 Top Places to Work" in 2014 and 2016. According to O’Dwyers, in 2016 DCI was ranked as America's fourth largest tourism and economic development marketing firm based on net fees and 42nd largest overall in fees of major independent US public relations firms. The company received PR News’ Community Relations award in 2006 for its efforts to help the Baton Rouge community recover from the effects of hurricane Katrina. DCI received an Adrian Platinum Award in 2015 alongside MCA Namibia/Namibia Tourism Board. In 2016, the agency also received the Adrian Best In Show in partnership with the Huntington Beach Big Board Campaign by building and launching the world’s largest surfboard. In 2016, DCI received a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America for their media relations work on behalf of the city of Salinas, California. Forbes ranked DCI as one of America’s Best PR Agencies in 2021. The Diversity Action Alliance awarded DCI 2022 Best Internal DEI Initiative in the boutique agency category for championing equity and inclusion. Research & Reports DCI often conducts research and releases studies that provide insight into economic development and tourism marketing trends. Economic Development Research The Tweet Elite: 25 Mayors Who Have Mastered Twitter- By looking at the mayors of the 250 largest cities in America and ranking them in five important categories of Twitter usage (audience, frequency of tweets, responsiveness, engagement and influence), DCI developed a list the top 25 mayors