Communications Assistant honored with statewide Rising Star Award

Published on May 16, 2025

May 16, 2025

Kudos are in order for Communications Assistant Luke Mocherman! 

Luke is the recipient of the Florida Municipal Communicators Association’s 2025 Rising Star Award. The honor recognizes an individual with less than five years’ experience in government communications who has shown achievement, excellence and potential for future leadership in the field. 

The nomination, submitted by the City’s Communications General Manager, shined a light on Luke’s strong interest in local government, professionalism and commitment to sharing information with our community. 

A Sarasota native, Luke’s dedication was tested during our unprecedented 2024 hurricane season. With less than six months’ municipal government communications under his belt, and even less emergency communications experience, he was steady and focused as we faced three hurricanes in 65 days with major storms Helene and Milton hitting us back-to-back within 13 days. During that challenging time, Luke did more than he was asked, working tirelessly with the Communications team to create graphics, update webpages and social media feeds to provide the most current information as quickly as possible for our community. 

One year into his tenure with the City, Luke can attest that no two days are alike with municipal communications – from sharing information about tree giveaways to public parking to development applications to City Commission proclamations. This past spring, he spearheaded the successful public outreach campaign for the inaugural Shred Stock.  

Congratulations, Luke, on being recognized by fellow Florida government communicators as a rising star!