Mideast Region Chapter Reports July 2017

Transcription

1 Mideast Region Chapter Reports July 2017 Thomas Scheidel, Mideast Region Vice President Public Information Coordinator, Allegan (Mich.) Area Educational Service Agency VP s General Overview Most state chapters in the region are doing well in financial terms, with Michigan and Ohio leading the way. However, all chapters expressed concerns about membership. The chapters that are doing the best are only maintaining their membership levels. Others are seeing an overall membership loss. The main reasons seem to be an aging membership base that has reached (or soon will reach) retirement age, and a lack of school district resources to support memberships in industry organizations. All chapters are holding some type of conference for their memberships. Continuing chapter concerns include ESSA, ADA compliance, and reductions in school funding. VP s Environmental Scan CHESPRA is looking for ways to increase their value to their members. Currently their professional development consists of two annual conferences. Because of the widespread geographic nature of the chapter, attendance tends to be the same members each time. They are currently brainstorming ways to give all members a satisfying and rewarding experience. The INSPRA (Indiana) state conference in March was well attended. The chapter is seeking to extend officer term limits to two years (instead of one) to ensure smoother transitions in the future. They will be contacting NSPRA to discuss details. KYSPRA (Kentucky) has been experiencing difficulties in attendance with their statewide conferences. They attribute this to moving away from the Lexington/Louisville/Florence area. A copy of the agenda for their fall conference is included at the end of this report. The MSPRA chapter in Michigan has once again been named as an NSPRA Exemplary Chapter. They are proposing a dual membership pilot program with NSPRA. The feeling is that this may help drive up membership numbers for both organizations. Due to budgeting miscalculations last year OHSPRA (Ohio) embarked on an aggressive campaign to garner $15,000 worth of sponsorship money. They succeeded in bringing in $16,000. Ohio also received an NSPRA Exemplary Chapter award, although they failed to mention that in their very extensive report.

2 VP s Outreach and Travel I sent a congratulation to the 35 Under 35 recipients in the region. I invited those people registered for the NSPRA Seminar to join us at the Regional Colleague Connections meeting on Sunday evening. A presentation proposal I submitted to the Michigan Association of School Boards for their annual conference was accepted. In November I will be presenting, along with MSPRA Secretary Holly McCaw, on ADA compliant web sites. Chesapeake School Public Relations Association (CHESPRA) (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, DC) Chapter well-being: CHESPRA has continued to maintain its 100+ total membership, which has helped ensure our sound finances. The chapter hosts two conferences a year for all our members one in the fall and one in the spring. Our Board will have its annual meeting later this month to help set up the calendar for the school year. Chapter projects/collaboration efforts: The Board will be looking at our organization s website to identify ways we can redesign the site to make it more user-friendly for our members and include information/data that can be helpful to them. The website is provided to us for free by Blackboard Connect, so, based on our desired changes, we will be once again working with that partnership. Professional development programs/activities: Right now, all of the professional development for the chapter comes from the two conferences that are offered throughout the year. For the upcoming year, the Board is discussing the potential of launching a CHESPRA-only Twitter chat for members monthly. Again, that will be discussed at the Board meeting. Major chapter issues or concerns: Right now, our major concern is the return on investment for our members. While we do offer conferences, each conference tends to bring in the same members, which leaves more than 70 of our members not receiving any service or return on their membership dues. Our Board wants to provide all members a satisfying and rewarding experience through their membership, and so we will continue to brainstorm ways to make that happen. State or local issues that NSPRA should keep an eye on: Chapters are still working through website compliance issues with the OCR and ADA. Even among divisions in the same region, there is disagreement about what does and does not make your site compliant. Indiana School Public Relations Association (InSPRA) Chapter well-being: The Indiana Chapter held its annual retreat on June 8th. We currently have 45 members in good standing; 1 non-paid; 16 unpaid; and six new memberships. The board voted to incorporate PayPal on the chapter website to make the payment process easier. The

3 board voted to increase chapter dues to $120/corporation; $60/Individual as of September 1, The board reviewed the Bylaws with this review the board will seek to extend officer term limits to two years (instead of one) to ensure smoother transitions in the future. Executive Director Donna Petraits will contact NSPRA regarding this. Chapter projects/collaboration efforts: The Chapter will again have a booth at the Indiana School Board/Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. We plan to partner with Blackboard to host a Lunch & Learn in the fall. And finally, past InSPRA President Susan Haynes has been invited to lead a session at the Indiana DOE Safety Academy this fall. Professional development programs/activities: The Indiana Chapter hosted its state conference in March. It was well attended; we received positive feedback from participants. Chapter member in Michigan City hosted the April Power Hour. In May, the Chapter hosted a Lunch & Learn titled Crisis Management in Real Time. It coincided with member district Mooresville Schools disaster practice drill. More than 30 people attended the lunch before participating in the disaster drill which was held at a nearby school. Our chapter is planning a Boot Camp event in September for newbies & veterans. Kentucky School Public Relations Association (KYSPRA) Chapter well-being: There has been some instability around our conferences. In the past the fall conference has typically been in Lexington, but the past two have been in Bardstown and Owensboro. While having the conference in a different location has given our members the opportunity to explore new cities, moving the conference away from the Golden Triangle of Lexington/Louisville/Florence has hurt attendance. Next year we plan to return the conference to Lexington. Similarly, the spring conference has been in flux. In Spring of 2015 we tried holding regional half-day conferences as a way to boost participation, but it was unsuccessful. In 2016 we piggybacked on a FEMA communication conference in Bowling Green, with moderate success. We were unable to stage a spring conference after the officer responsible for planning the event had a family emergency. Our fall conference awards program, OASIS, is in flux. In previous years KSBA (the Kentucky School Boards Association) has taken care of judging entries and provided financial support, but they have decided to withdraw that support due to shifting priorities. We intend to restructure OASIS this year and bring it back in Professional development programs/activities: The fall conference is our major professional development effort. An agenda is included to give you an idea of the topics we discussed. [See end of regional report.] Major chapter issues or concerns: As a board I think we are struggling with having the time and resources needed to give to KYSPRA to keep it viable and healthy. As PR professionals we are stretched thin trying to serve our districts to the best of our ability.

4 We are struggling with how to offer value to our membership. Some of our members struggle with getting money from their districts to participate in KYSPRA events. Some of members are so overwhelmed by their work that they simply don t have the capacity left over to be involved in KYSPRA. We are struggling with finding better ways to make use of digital events and collaborative PD with similar organizations so we can offer our members a broader menu of PD options. While live events have their place, we need to find ways to offer PD that s digital and personalized. State or local issues that NSPRA should keep an eye on: Implications of ESSA. Charter schools how can public schools compete with the advantages that charters offer? Continuing declines in state and federal funding, and the increasing need for local funding of public schools KYSPRA Conference Agenda: Success by Design November 10-11, 2016 Owensboro, Kentucky Wednesday, November 09, :00 p.m. KYSPRA Board Meeting, Owensboro Public Schools Central Office Location: Board Conference Room 8:00 8:45 a.m. Thursday, November 10, 2016 Check In and Registration (Breakfast on your own), Owensboro Public Schools Note: All sessions will be held at the Owensboro Public Schools Central Office, 450 Griffith Ave. All Membership Meeting (Big Conference Room) 9:00-9:45 a.m. Opening Keynote Dr. Nicholas Brake, Superintendent, Owensboro Public Schools Candace Brake, President and CEO, Owensboro Chamber of Commerce Designing a Successful School and Community Partnership Location: Big Conference Room How can PR professionals help business, government, and

5 education design a synergistic relationship that fosters economic development? The Brakes talk about their experiences in Owensboro and Daviess County. 9:45 10:00 a.m. Break Session 1 10:00 10:45 a.m. Session 2 11:00 11:45 a.m. Toolbox Sessions 1 and 2 (Pick two) First Hour Only: Jeanette Oakley Director of Education Services and Tapley Education Resource and Multimedia Center, University of Evansville School of Education A University Perspective on Public Relations with Public and Private Schools Location: Board Conference Room How do we go about building successful relationships with community partners? Ms. Oakley will share about the efforts of the University of Evansville School of Education to build the working relationships with surrounding school corporations to accommodate their staffing and student needs, while also fulfilling the university history of and commitment to training outstanding educators. Phil Eason Superintendent Services, Kentucky Association of School Administrators Designing a Communications Strategy for Your District s Strategic Plan Location: Mac Lab Congratulations! Your district has successfully completed a new strategic plan! But what s your plan to communicate the plan with both your internal and external stakeholders? Phil will share his experiences with working with the KSBA s Strategic Plan Process Initiative and help you design a plan to put your strategic plan to work for your district.

6 Sharon Fields Kentucky Educational Development Corporation Outlook Tips and Tricks Location: Big Conference Room For most of us, Outlook is our desktop pc personal assistant. Sometimes, though Outlooks begins to control us rather than us controlling Outlook. Sharon will help you tame the savage beast that Outlook can grow into with her tips and tricks. Lunch and Learn Hosted by eschoolview Speaker: Patti Koslo, Strategic Communications Consultant eschoolview Location: Big Conference Room 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm Enjoy a delicious lunch courtesy of eschoolview and let s lunch and learn! Patti will provide of the latest information on the following topics while we eat: Web Site ADA Compliance What Story Is Your Website Telling? Beyond the Logo- Branding Your District Toolbox Sessions 3 and 4 (Pick Two) Session 3 1:30 2:15 p.m. Session 4 2:30 3:15 p.m. Media Panel: Packaging Media Friendly Content Genevieve Postlethwait, Education Reporter, Paducah Sun Jayme Jones, Public Relations Director, McCracken County Erin Meyer, Anchor/Reporter, WFIE Television 14 News Evansville Dave Kirk, Public Relations, Owensboro Public Schools Location: Big Conference Room What can PR professionals do to cultivate a good working relationship with reporters and give them content that has a good chance of being used? Come talk with our experts to find out. Leslie McCoy Director of Communications, Bowling Green Independent Schools

7 Using RPIE (Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation) to manage PR Projects Location : Mac Lab How can the RPIE (Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation) process be applied to PR projects? Leslie will share what s she has learned in using the RPIE process and how it can help you guide your projects from start to finish. (Session 3 Next Page) Brad Hughes Member Support/Communication Services, KSBA Dealing with Difficult People Location: Board Conference Room Do you have any difficult people that you have to work with? Brad shows you how to navigate the tricky issues that can arise when we work with people who may need a little extra TLC. 6:00 p.m. Oasis Banquet, Holiday Inn, Owensboro Riverfront 701 West First Street, Owensboro Friday, November 11, :00 8:45 a.m. Check out (Breakfast on your own), Owensboro Holiday Inn Riverfront Note: All sessions will be held at the Owensboro Public Schools Central Office, 450 Griffith Ave. Closing Keynote: Designing a Successful School and Parent Partnership Owens Saylor Superintendent, Daviess County Public Schools 9:00 9:45 a.m. Location: Big Conference Room Superintendent Saylor will share what he s learned about building successful relationships between parents and schools and how PR professionals can help.

8 9:45 10:00 a.m. Break Toolbox Sessions 5 and 6 (Pick two) Heather Warrell, Kentucky Department of Education Online, Virtual, and Distance Course Leader Designing A Successful Social Media Strategy Location: Big Conference Room School social media strategies are essential and unique. Find out how to design a social media strategy that works for you, your audiences, and your schools. Session 5 10:00 10:45 a.m. Session 6 11:00 11:45 a.m. Carl Roberts Public Relations and Grant Writing, Carroll County Managing Workflow Using GTD (Getting Things Done) Location: Mac Lab GTD is all about intentionally recording, prioritizing, and organizing your life so that you get things done on purpose, not on accident. Carl will share an introduction to the Getting Things Done methodology. And how it can help you accomplish long-range PR objectives and goals. Justin Willis Parent Relations Specialist, JCPS Revitalizing the Newsletter Location: Board Conference Room This session will explore how an eight-page newsletter (and its readership) benefit from a much-needed design and technology makeover. We ll discuss how layout, franchise features, stories, and social media interactivity are designed to improve accessibility and grow the audience, ultimately promoting the benefits of family involvement with the PTA.

9 Michigan School Public Relations Association (MSPRA) Chapter well-being: Michigan School Public Relations Association (MSPRA) membership remains steady at about 170 members. The MSPRA Board continues to meet monthly via phone and quarterly via face-to-face meetings. Fiscally we are in good shape with conference revenue this year a little under $20,000. Our sponsorships are up $2,500 due to an additional conference and the intense efforts of our President Elect, Karen Heath, and Executive Director Gerri Allen. Chapter projects/collaboration efforts: We are beginning a new consulting project with Michigan State Education Network, a high-level organization working to design and connect a fiber network with every ISD and school within Michigan by leveraging the current networks to create more secure, dependable, and cost-effective Internet services. This includes working with leadership from the Michigan Department of Education and others to provide the messaging and tools to communicate this ground-breaking work to a wide audience. We are nearing a signed contract for business services with the Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA). This continues to be our most politically impactful connection to Superintendents. We have begun a new peer-to-peer program which connects members with others for purposes of sharing best practices and networking. The program was kicked off with a speed-dating type event at our annual conference that generated a lot of energy and sparked conversations that otherwise would not have happened. We generated an annual report to celebrate our work and presented it to our members at the Annual Conference. We celebrated our Mark of Distinction Award as an Exemplary Chapter for our outstanding professional development offerings by sharing the news with our members and posting it on our website. A high school student group from a Tech Center submitted an entry for MSPRA s Gold Medallion Award. The entry is quite well done and we will assist the students in promoting their work at our annual conference and with the Michigan Career and Technical Association. Our Facebook Group continues to grow with more interaction and posts. Board members are engaging in the Facebook Group regularly. Professional development programs/activities: Our Annual Conference in March was a great success with 70 attendees and 8 sponsoring vendors. NSPRA President-elect Tom DeLapp, APR, did an excellent job as our keynote speaker and special agent from the Detroit FBI office presented on active-shooter training. We also had break-out sessions and networking opportunities. The new participant passport that also served as the name badge was a hit! Our summer drive-in conference on How to Create ADA Compliant Documents is fast approaching on June 29 at Ingham ISD in Lansing. It is sponsored by Foxbright. Currently there

10 are 33 registered to attend. Our members asked us to provide more of this type of training after our Fall 2016 drive-in conference. We are planning a fall drive-in conference regarding strategic communication planning and the RACE formula. National Conference Attendance 18 Michiganders have registered for the Annual NSPRA Seminar in San Antonio Texas in July Woo Hoo! Major chapter issues or concerns: We are struggling with trying to identify those entering the school PR profession in our state. We are concerned, as more and more of our members and even board members are retiring, that we are losing the historical perspective, knowledge and resources of our veterans. Succession planning and reaching out to younger members to serve on the board are on the docket for the retreat. Issues or areas that could use NSPRA regional or national support: Our leadership is wondering if NSPRA would consider two suggestions to help us identify new school PR professionals/potential members. 1. Would NSPRA consider adding a link to the webpage where folks apply to become new NSPRA members? Perhaps there could be a suggestion that they become a member of their local chapter as well with the ability to click on your local chapter web link to learn more. 2. Would NSPRA consider a dual membership pilot project with Michigan similar to what PRSA does? There would be some details to work out in how this would work financially and operationally. State or local issues that NSPRA should keep an eye on: Teacher recruitment in light of reduced retirement benefits. Additional items of note: Our Executive Director continues to enjoy a strong relationship with state education leaders through an ongoing consulting relationship with the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and this connection continues to pay off for MSPRA in terms of visibility, connectedness, and reputation. Ohio School Public Relations Association (OHSPRA) Chapter well-being: OHSPRA membership has declined slightly over the past year. So far this year, we have 142 current members and 42 who have not renewed. Last year, we had 160 members at the end of the fiscal year. Many of the non- renewals are members who have retired or left their position during the school year. After the new school year begins, we plan to be active in recruiting new members from these districts. Our director of membership has been very aggressive by sending extra reminders to those who have not renewed yet touting the benefits of membership.

11 The chapter continues to be fiscally viable and responsible. With a membership rate increase, a slight increase in the cost of entering into OHSPRA awards, the elimination of mileage reimbursement for the chapter manager, and an aggressive goal to solicit $15,000 or more in sponsorship dollars, the chapter has been able to recoup funds lost due to budgeting miscalculations last year. The chapter s director of partnerships has done a wonderful job soliciting sponsorships and has brought in the $16,500 over the past year! Unfortunately, however, the director of partnerships did not run for re-election. Erin Gadd from Lorain City Schools ran for the seat and won the election. At the board retreat at Deer Creek State Park on June 8 and 9, Erin was trained and fully briefed on the director of partnerships role and is eager and excited to get started. The board also welcomed Erika Konowalow of the Pickaway-Ross Career Technical Center to the board at retreat. Erika is assuming the role as secretary after a successful run for the spot in the April election. Tracey Carson of Mason City Schools did not run for re-election as secretary. At retreat, even though she was not in attendance, the board thanked Tracey for her service over the past several years. Also at retreat, the board participated in team building exercises and spent time strategically planning goals for each role for the coming year. BYLAWS/POLICIES/PROCEDURES At retreat, the board discussed a few possible revisions to the bylaws including: A possible change to election dates (need to check with NSPRA about this) Language change regarding the nominating committee BUDGET/FINANCES Checking Account for May: Beginning Balance: $29, Checking Account for May: Ending Balance: $32, Savings Account for May: Ending Balance: $20, At retreat, the board also developed a new spreadsheet to clarify the actual cost of putting on Spring Conference over the past few years. Some board members have previously said that the financial worksheets confused them. This new spreadsheet reinforced that OHSPRA is on the right track with conference expenses and that the association is charging enough for conference to make a small profit. Here s that spreadsheet: 2016 Spring Conference Location: Hilton Polaris Attendees Thursday Only Attendees 14 Friday Only Attendees 2 Full Conference 75 Lunch Only Attendees 3 Total Number of Attendees 94 Comp'd Attendees Scholarship 1 OHSPRA Board 10 Sponsors 8 Total Comp'd 19

12 Total from Paying Attendees $15, Cost Full Conference Early Bird $ Full Conference Early Bird $ Full Conference Member $ Full Conference Non- Member $ Day Early Bird Member $ Day Early Bird Non- Member $ Day Member $ Day Non-Member $ Lunch ONLY $50.00 Total Cost $18, Cost Per Person $ Spring Conference Location: Nationwide Hotel and Conference Attendees Thursday Only Attendees 12 Friday Only Attendees 3 Full Conference 79 Lunch Only Attendees 4 Total Number of Attendees 100 Comp'd Attendees Scholarship 2 OHSPRA Board 11 Sponsors 8 Total Comp'd 21 Chapter projects/collaboration efforts: OHSPRA has been asked to have two members speak at a media relations workshop in June 2018 by the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA). This is a new relationship that we are establishing with BASA! A member of BASA came to our OHSPRA/OSBA Fall Workshop and liked it so much that they wanted to replicate it. Additionally, via a partnership with the Ohio Department of Education, the school communication officer contact information database was updated within the past six months. This is a major goal accomplishment for the director of memberships! Using this updated database, we will be better able to communicate with the chief school communication officers across the state and we plan to use this list heavily as a recruitment tool.

13 Professional development programs/activities: SPRING CONFERENCE The 2017 OHSPRA Spring Conference was held on March 23 and 24 at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center. There were 100 attendees (see numbers in the spreadsheet above). OHSPRA annually seeks to award a scholarship to the Ohio School Public Relations Association Spring Conference to a deserving member(s). This special Conference Scholarship was established in 2014 and is used to assist an OHSPRA member in covering the cost of conference registration and one night s lodging at the Spring Conference. The OHSPRA Board of Directors reviews the chapter s budget each year and, as long as the budget allows, sets aside funds to administer the scholarship annually. Eligible candidates must hold a membership with OHSPRA and the recipient is selected by the board. OHSPRA is pleased to have been able to award one 2017 Spring Conference Scholarship to a deserving member. CAPITAL CONFERENCE SESSIONS OHSPRA has been selected to present two sessions during OSBA s 2017 Capital Conference. The details on these presentations will be provided in the next chapter report. CONTEST AND AWARDS The chapter used Google forms for all online entries again this year. It was easy for members to fill out and the spreadsheet auto populated. The forms were tweaked from last year. We are pleased to report that the number of award entries more than doubled this year 113 as opposed to 57 last year. The board believes more frequent promotion played a large role in the increasing the number of entries. The director of contest and award s recommendation for next year: Keep using online Google Forms Review each entry form to see where further tweaks can be made to continue to improve them Review website & social media forms in particular award entries Consider new entry categories may form a committee to do this Jazz up awards lunch presentation and conference packets Major chapter issues or concerns: Snapshot newsletter we appear to be having issues with MailChimp newsletter delivery. The director of communications is going to look into the matter. There were some issues with awards during the Spring Conference. Accordingly, the board will look at revamping and improving all aspects of the awards program over the course of the next year. State or local issues that NSPRA should keep an eye on: The continuing heroin epidemic what role schools will play in education, prevention, treatment? ESSA

14 Website accessibility (ADA compliance) Low income, multilingual, cultural differences and how to best handle them in school districts Additional items of note: CHAPTER MANAGER The board is very happy with the work of Mary Beddell, public relations director, Plain Local School District, who serves as chapter manager. At retreat, the board voted to award Mary with a 3% raise. COMMUNICATION TO MEMBERS Newsletters: Our Snapshot newsletter, which was first published in August 2015 continues to do well and has been published over the last quarter according to the following schedule: February 2017 Spring Conference promo, awards promo, member spotlight, Resource Center promo May 2017 Spring Conference survey promo, award winner promo, membership renewal reminder, election results announcement, Resource Center promo Social media: Twitter We have added 26 followers for a total of 1,286 (between Feb. and June). Facebook We have gone from 255 to 260 likes (between Feb. and June). ELECTIONS OHSPRA held elections for two open seats in April 2017, including Director of Partnerships, Director of Memberships and Secretary. The results of the 2017 OHSPRA Elections are as follows: Erin Gadd, director of communications and community engagement at Lorain City Schools, was elected as the Director of Partnerships. Erika Konowalow, Communication & Marketing Coordinator at Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center, was elected as Secretary. Lou DeVincentis, director of communications for Orange Local Schools, was elected as the Director of Membership. Patrick Gallaway, director of communications at New Albany-Plain Local Schools, will continue the duties of President-Elect. Josephine McKenrick, director of communications at Mariemont City Schools, continued the duties of Treasurer through June 12. She is leaving school PR and is no longer on the board. Patrick Gallaway, OHSPRA president-elect, was appointed interim treasurer by President Crystal Davis at retreat

15 Kurt Moore, communications coordinator for Marion Local Schools remains in the position of Director of Communications. Amy Rutledge, coordinator of communications for Brunswick City Schools, continues her duties as the director of contest and awards. Kari Basson, coordinator of community relations and auxiliary services for Kettering City Schools, continues her duties in the position of director of professional development. Patrick Gallaway, president-elect is also serving as interim treasurer. However, an offer has been extended by President Crystal Davis to a current OHSPRA member who she would like to appoint as treasurer. Confirmation of that appointment is expected within the next week. Doug Baker with Dublin City Schools and Roseanne Canfora with Cleveland Municipal Schools served on the 2017 OHSPRA Nominating Committee, whereby they reviewed the ballot and the election results. All newly elected or appointed Board members began their terms on the OHSPRA Board of Directors on June 1, Full Board: President Crystal Davis, deputy director of communications, Ohio School Boards Association Past President Erika Daggett, communications coordinator, Forest Hills School District President-Elect Patrick Gallaway, director of communications, New Albany-Plain Local Schools Treasurer Vacant as of June 12 Secretary Erika Konowalow, Erika Konowalow, communication & marketing coordinator at Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center Director of Membership Lou DeVincentis, Communication Coordinator, Orange City Schools Director of Communications Kurt Moore, director of communications, Marion City Schools Director of Professional Development - Kari Basson, community relations coordinator, Kettering City Schools Director of Contests and Awards Amy Rutledge, communications director, Brunswick City Schools Director of Partnerships Erin Gadd, director of communications and community engagement, Lorain City Schools Mary Beddell, public relations director, Plain Local School District, serves as chapter manager (not a Board position). GOALS More info will be provided in the next chapter report as the minutes from retreat are not yet finalized. However, here are a few of the goals that were accomplished over the course of the last year: Better manage the new online membership area of our website by working with SchoolMessenger/West

16 Exceeded the goal of $15,000 in sponsorships by bringing in $16,500 Clarified the menu of sponsorship levels and brought in several new sponsors Established a main point of contact for sponsors and streamlined the sponsor application process Published quarterly Snapshot newsletter on time and with a good read rate Regularly promoted the new website with e-blasts Improved the website s online resources area Provided regular social media updates