The Update

10/2005

Autumn is here and the leaves are changing color. This month we look ahead to great programs in October and November and the return of the "holiday auction" to the holiday season Dec. 1.

The topic for the Oct. 7 meeting of the Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter and the Spokane Public Relations Council will be a panel discussion of "Secrets Behind Spokane's Most Successful Events."

On hand to provide insight and advice on successful event planning will be (from left) Don Kardong, race director, Bloomsday; Megan Freehan, marketing and sponsorship manager, Spokane Hoopfest; and Chris Martin, executive director, First Night Spokane.

The breakfast meeting will begin at 7:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7, in the Cataldo building at Gonzaga University. Cost is $9 for PRSA and SPRC members, $7 for students and $11 for non-members.

About Don Kardong
Don Kardong grew up in the Seattle area, graduated from Stanford University in 1971, received a second bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate from the University of Washington in 1974, and moved to Spokane that year to take a job as as an elementary school teacher. In 1976, Don finished fourth in the Olympic marathon in Montreal, and the next spring he founded the Lilac Bloomsday Run (Bloomsday). In 1977 he left teaching to open a retail sporting goods store in downtown Spokane (1977-1986), and after selling the business in 1986 he pursued a career as a writer, primarily for Runner's World magazine, for the next 16 years. From 2002-2004 he served as executive director of the Children’s Museum of Spokane. In August 2004, after many years as a member of Bloomsday’s Board of Directors, he took over as Race Director. He is married (wife Bridgid), and has two college-age daughters.

About Bloomsday
The Lilac Bloomsday Run is a rite of spring and an integral part of life in the Inland Northwest. It was born during the running boom that swept the nation in the late 1970s. Founded by Olympic marathoner Don Kardong, the first Bloomsday was held on May 1, 1977, with over 1,000 runners participating. Since then, Bloomsday has grown to attract nearly 50,000 entrants each year, with world-class racers competing for prize money while back-of-the-packers enjoy a seven-and-a-half-mile walk with friends, family and neighbors. Since 1977, over a million runners, joggers, walkers and wheelchairs have joined the fun and collected a treasured finisher’s T-shirt, the color and design of which are kept secret until the finish line. For most residents, it's impossible to imagine spring in Spokane without Bloomsday.

About Megan Freehan
2005 marked Megan’s third year as the marketing and sponsorships manager with Spokane Hoopfest Association. Prior to accepting her current position, Megan worked as the marketing coordinator at River Park Square and organized events for Red Bull North America and area universities. Megan holds a bachelor of arts degree in public relations from Gonzaga.

About Spokane Hoopfest
Since 1990, Hoopfest has been bringing basketball to the streets of Spokane and has evolved into the largest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament in the world. With over 145,000 people including 25,000 players on 6,200 teams swarming through downtown each day of the weekend event, Hoopfest is an unparalleled basketball and community festival experience. 

About Chris Martin
With a wide and varied background in event production and marketing, Chris Martin has facilitated the growth of First Night Spokane to Event of the Year status in 2005 as named by the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. Previously the a marketing and sales coordinator for the Spokane Arena and project manager for the Arena’s Star Theater, Chris hails from the Seattle area where he was the VP of marketing and sales for a creative design and fabrication company, Displaymaker Productions, working with clients including Boeing, Microsoft, and Nordstrom. He has served as a division director for March of Dimes, the state director of the Miss Washington Pageant, as well as the assistant tour manager on the international tour of “A Chorus Line.” His most recent endeavor has been accepting the role as Chairman of the Visual and Performing Arts for the 2007 US Figure Skating Championships. Chris is also a licensed real estate agent with Tomlinson-Black, and resides in Spokane with his wife and two daughters.

About First Night Spokane
Launched in Spokane in 2001, First Night quickly established itself as one of Spokane’s most popular events. The first year was a great success with over 15,000 attendees and close to 200 volunteers. First Night 2005 attracted over 25,000 and 900 volunteers. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, nearly 100,000 members of the Inland Northwest have attended First Night Spokane. A 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization, First Night is an alcohol-free New Year’s Eve celebration of the arts. Over 130 visual and performing artists in 50 downtown Spokane locations were presented at last year’s event. In addition, 26 non-profit arts organization used First Night last year as a vehicle to promote their talents. All artists are compensated for their participation and include such things as dance, music, comedy, pottery, glass-blowing and interactive activities. This past year, First Night received the honor of being named “Arts Organization of the Year” by the City of Spokane Arts Commission and “Event of the Year” awarded by the Inland Northwest Tourism Awards. The stage has been set for First Night 2006 to introduce many new elements including an area for adults and a film festival in partnership with NXNW Productions.

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The Power of the Town Crier
By Maggie Crabtree

“It's 10 o’clock and all is well.” The Town Crier was the man who told the town what was happening before technology. But his purpose was always clear, which was to inform the townspeople. It doesn’t matter what we call the daily challenges of disasters, or how big or small they are. They all carry the same elements of unexpected changes to our best-laid plans. I contend that we can all expect that a disaster is waiting for us around the corner –- it's not if, it’s when. And that when it does, each of us needs a Town Crier to get the word to our townspeople, the internal force that is the make up of our organizations.

I have been struck by the power of having one communicator in our system that has been the Town Crier to the rest of the system, and its positive impact. And how communications that is constant, direct, timely, invites action and shows a plan and positive progress, however small, will succeed. It has been amazing to see the ways that the communications this designated person provides has continued and been shared so that we all understand the impact and the problems and see the solutions that are emerging through this recent trial of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

More importantly, the Town Crier was designated in advance and had sent messages before this disaster ever struck. He knew to begin communications and has continued to keep all of us at our organization in the loop. So when three of the Shriners Hospitals were directly impacted by the hurricanes, his role was clear and we all knew we could count on him for news.

Our Galveston Hospital that treats critically burned children had to be evacuated completely, our Houston orthopedic hospital left behind just two volunteers and our Shreveport, La., orthopedic hospital was impacted by both storms. We were kept up to date with everything that could be shared. Within our hospital system we have all felt the impact in a multitude of examples -- through the disappearance and displacement of patient families, staff and supporters, the destruction of homes and personal belongings, and looting. In the midst of these personal challenges we see the organization trying to pull together staff, systems, transportation and supplies, maintain the safety of the buildings and coordinate communications!

This Town Crier -– a steady voice who has been assigned to this task alone -- has been thoughtful in making sure that not only the physical needs and accomplishments of our organization in this disaster have been discussed, but the emotional stories of teamwork, kindness and selflessness are all included as examples of the core values we try to live up to daily through the work at Shriners.

These messages have not all been perfectly written; in fact, a few have been cut-and-pasted messages from folks throughout our systems, bringing the whole experience down to a very personal level of communicating we could all only hope for in our daily lives. The communication has been constant, direct and timely. It hasn’t made the disaster any less horrible, but our Town Crier has given our system comfort and strength with simple communication.

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It's time again to recognize those communicators, educators and leadership among us who exemplify the best in communications. The deadline for this year's awards entries in Oct. 31.  Download the paperwork at http://www.prsaspokane.org/news.asp?id=84.

Degerness Awards for Excellence in Communications

Named for PRSA member Ken Degerness, this award honors a local PRSA member who has delivered outstanding service in support of the community through significant work in the community through their public relations efforts and chapter activities. The 2004 recipient was Jim Desautel of Desautel Hege Communications.

Educator of the Year Award

This award recognizes an educator who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of public relations through a college or university setting. The 2004 recipient was Erica Weintraub Austin of Washington State University.

Communicator of the Year Award

The award honors excellence in communications leadership by a CEO whose achievements include the effective use of communications to reach business objectives. The 2004 recipient was Scott Morris, senior vice president of Avista Corp. and president of Avista Utilities.

These recipients demonstrate that mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics play a critical role in maintaining long term relationships.

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Mark your calendar for Dec. 1, when the PRSA Holiday Auction returns to the holiday season. Our Magnum PR event will take place at the Corbin Art Center, 507 W. 7th Ave., Spokane.

The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. and conclude at around 8 p.m. Featured again will be wines, auction items and festivities.

Proceeds provide scholarships to PRSSA student chapter members in our service area. It's not too late to join the auction committee. For more information, contact Maggie Crabtree at (509) 623-0471.

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The Power of Two collaborative program of the American Red Cross and PRSA has inspired local PRSA volunteer Jennifer Simmons of Northern Quest Casino to respond to the current disaster areas caused by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Simmons joined the training with the first PRSA group earlier this year. In order to qualify to go to the hurricane relief Simmons took additional Red Cross training in Mass Care and Shelter Ops, got a tetanus shot, a physical and renewed her CPR/First Aid certification. She expects to deploy beginning Oct. 8 for three weeks to a location still unknown.

Simmons is not sure exactly what she’ll be doing since her first role with the Red Cross is in public affairs.  Mostly, Simmons said, “I’m excited to go and I think the experience will prove invaluable overall.”

Anyone who can find the time to volunteer locally and give the Red Cross a call at (509) 326-3330, check out the web site at http://www.spokaneredcross.org or call 1 (800) HELP-NOW.

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Morgan Beidleman writes with good news from New York City:

"Guess what!!!! I got the position with Ruder Finn here in NYC!!! I have been signed onto their executive training program for four months (the length of the program) and am working on the Zelnorm® healthcare account!!!!!  I am so excited.  Bruce and Lisa, thank you very much for writing letters of recommendation for me.  To everyone, thank you all for being so supportive!  It has meant the world to me."

The Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter awarded a PRSSA scholarship to Morgan in 2004. She is a graduate of Washington State University. The scholarship program is funded with proceeds from the annual auction. This year's "Magnum PR" event will take place Dec. 1.

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Sallie Sargent
448 W. Wilson Ave.
Spokane, WA 99208
Phone: (509) 466-3496
Fax: (509) 466-2893
sallie@daveradcliffe.com

Walter Neary
Public Relations Manager
Comcast
410 Valley Ave. NW, Ste. 9
Puyallup, WA 98371
Phone: (253) 864-4660
walter_neary@cable.comcast.com

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