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Human Relations & Public Relations in Silicon Valley

Last night PRx was able to attend an informal welcome to Santa Clara County’s new chief executive, Dr. Jeffrey V. Smith, hosted by the County Office of Human Relations and the Human Relations Commission.

The questions asked after Dr. Smith concluded his remarks were naturally tinged with concern about the future of human rights advocacy as a function of county government, given the hideous budget cuts that the County has been forced to make. Although Dr. Smith was reassuring – after all, he was literally drinking the Human Relations Kool-Aid – you have to wonder about the future for such “extras” as human rights, the arts, parks, infrastructure and nutrition.

The PRx contingent was honored to be there – it felt like being part of a family gathering. A family that is worrying about paying the mortgage next month, but still getting together to welcome a new member.

It occurred to me that our being included in the group was kind of a symptom of our problem, if it is a problem. We’re public relations people with the hearts of social workers. We really want to fix what’s wrong with our world, using the tools we have – words, ideas, stories and the knack for putting the right people in touch with each other.

Those skills literally made PRx a force as Silicon Valley was growing and booming. Then we could bring our consciences to work on behalf of some of the Valley’s biggest corporations, such as Apple, Intel, Allied Materials, Synopsys and Cypress Semiconductors. We helped these companies and their management support the health, education and human rights activities of countless community-based organizations and government entities. Nobody could do this like PRx.

And now we’re looking at a community with needs that are actually increasing, and a government and businesses that are severely stressed, with little discretionary funding. We can’t let human relations, and the public relations that we believe in so passionately, waste away for lack of funding.

We’ll be posting more about how we see this working…

How Text Messaging Is Changing Public Outreach

For many organizations that serve low income and at risk groups, it is often very difficult to establish a single channel of communications that will effectively reach all the members of their audience.

Until now, most entities have relied on broad-based print (advertising and direct mail) and broadcast campaigns—and of course most recently, the Internet. The problem with this is that although the “mass media” reach large populations, they typically provide a one-way communication channel. This means the hospital or nonprofit gives information, but the receiver has no way of interacting with the information. The internet did much to change this model. Now, organizations can develop a robust two-way communication channel online and create campaigns that augment their print and broadcast campaigns by delivering the information and give the receiver multiple ways to interact with that information.

This interaction can include anything from asking questions online, searching and finding helpful information, responding to surveys or polls, giving their name and address for future communications and more. But as I mentioned my last post, access to the Internet, let alone broadband Internet access, is far from universal, especially in rural and low-income communities.

So, organizations that are trying to reach these populations must rely on multiple channels to do so. For targeted, interactive communications, the mobile channel is becoming even more attractive than ever - especially since cellular phones are quickly approaching 100% penetration among all demographics. Enter mobile communications via SMS. Mobile marketing and outreach using SMS are becoming more affordable and mainstream.

So how are public entities such as hospitals, public health departments, schools and nonprofits using mobile communications to do public outreach and campaigns? Here are two examples (provided to us generously by Mobile Commons):

California Department of Public Health (CDPH): Find a Flu Vaccine

The CDPH launched a campaign in late 2008 that encouraged people to text in to find updated information on the nearest location offering flu shots, as supplies were short and locations changed frequently. If the callers had questions following the recording, they could stay on the line and be connected to live operators.

Calls to Action: Citizens opted in with specific keywords based on their county. Calls to action were placed on bus advertisements throughout the county.

The Facing History School NYC/Ed Text Program (Parental Engagement)

The Facing History School, a new New York City public high school, has 400 students from a diverse and frequently underserved population. It is one of the New Visions small schools that was funded by Gates Foundation and just had its first graduating class. The EdText program is launching this month, and allows both teachers and administrators to communicate directly with parents via text message.

In the past, the school has had difficulty reaching parents who are low-income and at risk. Text messages are the most reliable way to reach these parents. The teachers and administrators will be able to send reminders, alerts and any critical information to groups or individual parents. The parents can easily respond, ask questions and become more involved in their children’s education via the best channel available to them. The school believes that increased parental participation will lead to better student performance.

Calls to Action: Parents will be opted in by responding to reply cards, when calling in to make inquiries, on web forms, and during in-person meetings at the school.

For more information on how others are using mobile communications or to talk to us about how you can integrate mobile texting into your public outreach campaign, send me an email at tawnya@prxinc.com.

Mobile Marketing Comes Into Its Own

Mobile marketing has been running under the radar, taking a back seat to the popularity of social media, but there’s something in me that says this is going to change very soon. One of the main reasons for this is that mobile phone penetration is much higher in the US and abroad than the Internet. An April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows 63 percent of adult Americans now have broadband internet connections versus more than 80 percent of Americans who have cell phones—and nearly 99 percent have access to at least one cell phone. Here’s something else to think about: 47 percent of teenagers say they can text with their eyes closed. In fact, the disparity between Internet access and cell phone use abroad is much higher.

Gen Ys and Gen Xers tend to text more than they actually make voice calls on their phone. It’s second nature to them, and so mobile marketing via SMS texting as a direct communication channel to customers shouldn’t be ignored. Already, big brand names are jumping on board. Organizations as diverse as Dolce & Gabbana, UNICEF, Virgin Airlines, Ford, Citi, the American Heart Association and Jack Daniels are finding ways of using mobile marketing to better reach their audience.

These  brand names can have large budgets for communications, but don’t think that you can’t do a mobile marketing campaign if you’re a medium to small business, local nonprofit or regional hospital. In the last two years, several mobile ASPs have developed robust backend management systems that allow you to create, distribute, track and measure the success of your mobile campaign. The key to finding a cost-effective way of trying this new channel is to partner with an agency that understands mobile technology. It’s best if the agency has an established relationship or partnership with a mobile ASP — you’ll benefit from their guidance and you only have to pay a portion of the upfront costs. Here’s an example of a test we just ran for the foundation that raises money for Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, just this week.

Of course, a larger budget means you could create your own account, with dedicated “short codes” (the six-digit numbers that people text to) that are specific to your company.

Whether going it alone or working with an agency, marketers are waking up to the power of mobile marketing and are putting this new channel at top-of-mind as a powerful, new way of reaching out to the Gen X and Gen Y demographics as well as to lower income populations. For public entities, mobile marketing offers an excellent way to do public outreach to lower-income demographics, who may not always have access to the internet and broadband, but who do have a mobile phone. Check back next week where we’ll talk more about how public health groups, hospitals and schools are using mobile SMS communications to deliver important public health information, reach out to patients and connect parents and teachers.

The 2nd Annual Silicon Valley Duck Race & Family Festival

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak launched the 15,000 Rubber Ducks That Raced to the Finish Line for Local Charities

On Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21, more than 3,000 people attended the 2nd Annual Silicon Valley Duck Race and Family Festival where 15,000 numbered “adopted,” rubber ducks raced to the finish line for local charities at Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos, CA.

The Silicon Valley Duck Race—a partnership between Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley and twenty-one other local non-profits—raised money to help provide the increase in services needed by families in this economic downturn.

Each adopted duck was numbered and entered into the Duck Race. The top placing ducks won thousands of dollars worth of prizes for their holders including the Grand Prize—a trip for four to Trocones, Mexico valued at $8,000. The Duck Race was supported by more than 100 local businesses and individuals who donated more than $30,000 worth of prizes and services to support the race.

Other prizes included a $3,000 “Year of Shoes” shopping spree from Footwear, etc., jewelry from Vardy’s Jewelers valued at $1,200, a $2,500 one-year family membership from the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center, a $1,000 “Way to Monterey” package including a foursome of golf at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach and much more!

Local companies and individuals supporting the Duck Race as Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors included Mel Cotton’s Sporting Goods, Footwear, Etc., Dr. Gordon Levin, El Camino Hospital, EBay, Jon and Marsha Witkin, Kragen Properties, Wells Fargo Bank and Allied Waste Services, to name a few.

Media partners included PRx Communication Strategists, Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, KBAY & KEZR radio stations and the Camera Cinemas.

PRx Communications Strategists has been the major media relations sponsor for the Duck Race since its inception in 2008. For this year’s festival, PRx was able to generate major TV, radio and print coverage for the event including KGO TV Ch 7 (ABC), KPIX TV Ch 5 (CBS) and KNTV Ch 11 (NBC) and the front cover of The Valley section in the San Jose Mercury News. The stories were picked up in other major markets in California including Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs.

San Jose Mercury News [6/22/09]: Woz wades in

Los Gatos Weekly-Times [6/16/09]: Ducks taking over Vasona Lake this weekend

San Jose Mercury News, Sal Pizarro [06/13/09]: Adopt a duck for a good cause this month

Mobile Donations: Raise Money From Text Messages

Mobile Giving with PRx

Haven’t heard of mobile donations? You will. This technology is on the fast track for many nonprofits and political fundraising organizations as a way to access new donors. The value of mobile donations is their immediacy and ease-of-use. Donors simply text a keyword, such as “HOPE,” to a specified “short code” number, such as 12345, and a $5 or $10 donation is automatically charged to their mobile phone bill.

Prior to 2008, mobile donations were stymied due to the high fees charged by the telephone carriers. That changed last year when the Mobile Giving Foundation (MGF), a Washington-based nonprofit, came into the picture. The MGF has been able to broker deals with all the major phone carriers in the US to waive all fees for text message donations, allowing the nonprofits to collect 90 percent of the donation (10 percent goes to the MGF).

More than 150 nonprofits such as United Way, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, UNICEF, and the Red Cross, to name a few, have already jumped on board. Versign and the MGF predict that more than $5 million will be raised this year with mobile giving.

Mobile donations won’t help bring an immediate windfall to your organization. The donation levels are small (the current limit is $10) and nonprofits are limited to 5 text donations per month. But, the technology can serve as a way to open the door to a new demographic that you might not otherwise reach. And, it is especially good for targeting the technology savvy Gen Y and, to a lesser extent, Gen X generations. Check out these stats:

WHY GO MOBILE?

• 270 million mobile subscribers
• In 2008, 3.5 billion text messages (SMS) were sent every day—that averages to about 13 messages per day per American
• In 2008, the mobile industry racked up more than $32 billion in data-service revenue
• 68 percent of people 18-24, 37 percent of people 35-44 and 14 percent of those over 65 use text messaging
  (The main target group for mobile donations is really the 18-44 age group.)

The two most important pieces of information you can gather from your donors are: 1) an opt-in email address and 2) an opt-in mobile phone number. With this information, a nonprofit has the ability to go back to its donor base time and again with complementary messages that together strengthen the donation pitch. Mobile technology can help you to get both of these.

Think about this: President Obama successfully used the mobile platform to help get him to the White House. Obama’s people had the insight long ago to realize they could leverage the mobile channel to do much more than just solicit donations. They could also engage supporters, mobilize volunteers and propel voters to the polls. And a recent article in Mobile Market says that by 2012 mobile voting could become a reality. Click here for more.

When you encourage donors to opt–in to your mobile program, you are then able to send alerts, updates and news of events through SMS messages. These personalized messages will improve the relationship between the nonprofits and the donor, and help you to push through the cacophony of marketing messages they’re already receiving to actually get their attention!

There are limitations on who can register with the MGF for mobile giving. You must meet the following requirements:

• US Non-Profit Organization registered as a 501c3 with at least $500,000 in annual revenues
• 501c3 must be in good standing for at least one year
• Patriot Act Compliant
• Must provide Form 990, Letter of Determination (Form 1045), and other documents as required

Mobile marketing, of course, doesn’t end with mobile giving. There are many other options to consider for your mobile campaign, some of which I will talk more about in next week’s post. I’ll list a few companies here, and how they used the mobile platform:

• The Secret: Premium subscription content
• Armani Exchange: Mobile coupons and promotions
• High School Musical 3: Fan engagement
• Shopaholic: Promotion, sponsorship and ticket sales
• Kaiser Permanente: Build awareness during federal open enrollment period
• The Cancer Action Network: Mobile advocacy

The ins and outs of mobile donations can be tricky. You can’t deal directly with the MGF and must work with one of its recommend providers. You should also be considering your larger donor communications strategy and how mobile marketing fits into that, especially as an adjunct to direct mail, events and personal solicitation. PRx has years of experience in philanthropy management and donor outreach.

If you’d like to set up an introductory meeting with our team at PRx to discuss the many ways you can use a mobile platform to reach out to, engage and garner support from your customers, donors or constituents, email me at tawnya(at)prxinc.com or call 408.287.1700.

Back to the Basics of Business Communications

We in Silicon Valley can run the risk of falling victim to technology, forgetting about the communication basics that make for successful business development. Dare I say it? Sometimes, we rely too much on the interface — our emails, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogs — and not enough on personal contact.

That’s why I found my conversation so interesting with Steve Tully, former Chair to the Silicon Valley Capital Club Board of Governors and Founder of Advantage Office Furniture which resells used (Fortune 100) and remanufactured office furniture. Steve is a firm believer in “constant contact” (and I’m not talking about the email service provider).

It’s serving him well. When most businesses are losing clients, Steve’s revenues are actually going up. (And that’s for someone who’s selling office furniture to businesses in a down economy — go figure.) So what’s he doing? Well, I asked.

You mentioned that your business is actually doing well despite the economy. What are the top three things you’re doing that is making it possible for you to increase sales while everyone else is struggling?

1. I daily track people I meet into my contacts file and follow–up with them with an email the same day.
2. I daily place 20 to 25 listings on Craiglist and follow up on reply responses I receive back. (You can replace Craigslist with your own sales channel.)
3. I daily see ten clients face–to–face (eyeball–to–eyeball).

What would you recommend people “change” that would make them more successful with business development?

1. One needs to be totally honest with themselves and the team.
2. Members should share business projects.
3. Keep a 12–hour workday.
4. Divide your workday into four segments — 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• Three time slots for email communications
• Personal contact and communication with clients three or four times daily
• One daily outside group meeting — other than your business
• Close two deals a day (receive payment) and present two deals per day (viable sales presentations)

Here’s another interesting tidbit about Steve. He’s now in his seventies, but had no problem jumping in when it came to adopting new business channels for his company. He’s got videos on YouTube, is running ads on Craigslist and more. He says that the majority of his sales now come from online channels.

Check out more of Steve’s YouTube videos. It just goes to show that anyone can get started, and you don’t have to be a pro.

Steve Tully
Former Chair, Board of Governors, Silicon Valley Capital Club
Founder, Network Today,  Young Executives Club and Kiwanis Executive Club for the Silicon Valley Capital Club
Founder, President and CEO, Advantage Office Furniture, Inc.
www.advantageoffice.net

Mercury News Columnist Sal Pizarro Reveals His Biggest Surprise about the Newspaper Business

Sal Pizarro is a columnist for the San Jose Mercury News. Previously a sports writer and editor, he took over Leigh Weimers’ column in late 2005.

PRx: Is your role changing at all with the economic downturn? You write a lot about nonprofits and arts groups, about their events and promotions and about the companies that support them. Is that the mission of your column?

Pizarro: Certainly one of the roles I and my column have, especially in this ever-shrinking economy which has severely impacted newspapers, is that I’m getting more things on my plate. My role has expanded over last few years. We used to have a dedicated philanthropy reporter and there were business reporters who covered corporate philanthropy as part of their beat, whether they were covering Applied Materials, eBay, Apple or any of a lot of companies.

That role has shrunk along with the staff, and more nonprofit stuff has come my way. It’s one of the surprising things about how the column has evolved. We emphasize the good news that our corporate citizens are doing and there’s a lot out there and that balances what we see on the front page and in the business pages.

The column was kind of nebulous when I took over from Leigh. One of the goals was to continue the legacy, to report on community organizations and highlight community names, and while corporate figures were part of it, they were not as big a part because we had other reporters covering them. So if NVIDIA or Applied made grants, that hadn’t been on my radar until now. Now we have a lot of news from the corporate community relations field in the column because no one else is covering it.

PRx: Can you tell if the economic slowdown, the recession, means that corporations are doing more or less?

Pizarro: It’s a little bit of both. One thing I’ve seen is that corporate sponsorships are way down across the board when it comes to events and other campaigns. The economy just isn’t there for them and they’re pulling back, but many of the companies are still continuing their programs. We’re seeing a lot more involvement on the employees’ part, that they’re volunteering more and doing more when their employers are able to do less.

Where it really hurts now is event sponsorships, like the San Jose Jazz festival and other big sponsored events, where they’re looking for sponsors for the bigger levels, the title and presenting sponsorships, and are now getting smaller sponsorships from the same companies. They’re still sponsoring but at lower levels.

PRx: What about the media companies? Have they cut back, too?

Pizarro: Yes, we get that question. When the Merc’s old parent company Knight Ridder went away, that was a big loss to the community in terms of grants and sponsorships. But our sister papers, the community papers, still do a lot of that, and the Merc still acts as a media sponsor for many events and nonprofit promotions, but we’re missing the corporate support Knight Ridder showed, especially as it was headquartered in San Jose. Our new owner, Media News, encourages the newspaper to do a lot, but it doesn’t have the ties Knight Ridder did since it isn’t headquartered here.

PRx: You’ve been a reporter for a long time, belying your youthful good looks. What still surprises you, or is there nothing new in the news business?

Pizarro: The No. 1 thing that surprises me, especially after I started writing this column, is how much volunteering people do in this valley. A lot of it is really invisible, but you have a lot of people who work crazy hours as it is in whatever field they’re in and then put in time at soup kitchens, schools, nonprofit agencies and the like. Nobody gets enough credit for that.

As for the news business itself, we’ve got new surprises all the time, but most of them aren’t good. I am, however, continually surprised by people who don’t realize that most of the news they read on the Internet, whether it’s through Google News or links from a blog they like, originates at a newspaper company. You can endlessly debate the virtues of print vs. the web, but right now, without the print product, the companies that produce that news can’t stay in business and that’s not good for anyone.

Longtime Community Activist/Leader Mark Walker Talks About Media Change

Mark Walker is the Managing Director of Global Community Affairs for Applied Materials. He’s been a leader in the business and non–profit communities in Silicon Valley for years and is well respected as an experienced, authoritative voice in the industry who can get things done. Prior to working with Applied, he was the CEO of United Way Silicon Valley where he played an instrumental role in transitioning the agency to its new funding model—a monumental task. Before that, he was in charge of SBC’s community relations in Silicon Valley.

We asked Mark for his thoughts on the changing landscape of media and how that affects his ability to do public outreach.

PRx: The San Francisco Chronicle’s recent announcement that the paper is in dire trouble is further evidence of the media industry’s deeper problems. The traditional channels of communication are closing as new ones are opening up, and this is changing how we as communicators get our message to the public.

—As we continue to lose our newspaper base (and for that matter, local TV and radio as well), how does that affect corporate community relations, i.e. in terms of how you deliver your message to various audiences (employees, the public, etc.?)

Mark: Adding value to the brand through community involvement has always been a challenge. Often, “traditional” media is reluctant to use “soft” news and unwilling to give identity to the company name behind community activities. The erosion of our newspaper base speaks less about corporate messaging but speaks volumes about lost opportunity for deep dialogue about civil society.

PRx—Are you doing things now that you weren’t doing five or 10 years ago? If so, what are they?

Mark: Today we are more focused on environmental philanthropy that we were 10 years ago. Setting company goals to reduce our carbon footprint 20 percent and leverage philanthropy to support our environmental business objectives is very new.

PRx—How do the Internet and social media affect the way in which you communicate and do outreach with your audiences? Do you feel it is easier or more difficult?

Mark: Our CEO started a blog more than a year ago for employees to engage in issues every couple of weeks. It has become a successful communication tool. We use our Intranet almost exclusively for employee communication and use video as a medium frequently.

The Slow, Sad Death of Newspapers

The Hearst Corp. made a huge announcement yesterday—quite a shocking one for those of us in the Bay Area. According to execs, The San Francisco Chronicle is on the verge of total collapse and is at risk of disappearing.

Hearst said that if the savings cannot be accomplished ‘quickly,’ the company will seek a buyer, and if none comes forward, it will close The Chronicle. The Chronicle lost more than $50 million in 2008 and is on a pace to lose more than that this year.

Some Web purists may be saying, “Good riddance! Newspapers are a product whose time has passed. They use up paper, are inky and messy, and they were simply arrogant with their high-priced advertising.” Hold on folks. Let’s really think about this.

• Newspapers (and other ‘old–school’ media channels) still play an essential role in the online/offline mix, as they provide the root content that thousands of bloggers and aggregate sites pull into their site and comment on, mash–up, etc.
• Newspapers maintain professional journalistic standards that are still very much needed in this world. Now more than ever, when hundreds of different versions of a story—true and untrue—can propagate throughout the Internet instantaneously, we need a reliable source to go to. Here’s a shocker—most bloggers aren’t journalists and don’t abide by journalism standards of professionalism when reporting a story.
• Newspapers are a “centralized channel” through which we can disseminate information to a large audience. The online world is splitting this channel into a thousand tiny pieces—blogs, Web sites, aggregate sites, social media profiles and more—many of which are obscure and hard to find. How do you reach a mass local or regional audience? There isn’t yet a single blog site or Web site that can reach the depth and width of people that a newspaper can–especially on a local level.
• Newspaper stories are still the most credible in the eyes of the public. The impact of having a story in the paper is huge compared to having something on a blog site or Web site. In fact, it is that story in the paper that is often pushed out through the online channels.
• The death of newspapers (along with radio and television) means the age–old PR relationship between companies and the media is breaking down. Some may say this is a good thing, but hold on. Like it or not, PR serves a valuable role in pushing out information on what’s new and what’s happening. Reporters and PR people have always had a love/hate relationship, but it was one that was mutually beneficial. Most bloggers don’t understand that value of this or simple don’t care because they’re blogging from a very self–focused perspective. That’s bad, in my opinion. Everyone benefits when there is a strong channel for pushing out information. No one benefits when that channel closes down.

To read about what’s happening with The Chronicle, click here.

California Construction College

For all the bad economic news we’re hearing daily about the U.S. economy, we at PRx had the opportunity to put forth some very exciting news that will have a permanent positive effect for multiple sectors of our workforce.

We coordinated the launch of the California Construction College, which has been a labor of love for Neil Struthers, labor chief, for nearly four years.

The College makes possible a Bachelor of Science degree for those who choose construction as a career, and it does so in innovative ways.

One development of recent years that has been less than helpful to many students is the parallel action of eliminating “shop” or industrial development from high school curricula while simultaneously putting out a message that college should be a goal for all students regardless of their aptitude or interest. What’s being recognized now is that many graduating high school students either need or want to go to work right away. Before California Construction College was created, these students would begin work “in the trades” and generally stay there, prohibited by lack of higher education from rising to middle or top management, at least in big construction companies.

Now, after years of planning and collaborating among the Unions, educators, contractors, developers and others who are trying to improve the economy and the lives of Americans, a new model is being launched that permits high school grads to work in the trades for a few years to gain an apprenticeship, then go to California Construction College where their past work will be recognized for some college credits, and their academic career will begin to provide them the knowledge they need to grow to the next level in mid-management or upper management.

Now, that’s helping the workforce from the “bottom up,” to use a popular label. However, California Construction College also provides a new career path from the other direction, for those who’ve been in the labor pool, working daily, year after year, but, again, with no way to a desk job because they didn’t get the academic exposure required. To create an example of how this works, let’s imagine a guy named Sam who became a roofer at the age of 18. Problem is Sam is still a roofer at the age of 36 and his body has taken a bit of a beating over the years. Sam’s new option, thanks to the California Construction College, is to go back to school and learn how to do the things he didn’t learn, like how to budget for the roofing jobs, how to create timelines, how to deal with bank loans, how to hire employees and and grow a business. Sam has lots of choices now because California Construction College will provide some college credits for the knowledge he gained on the job over the years, plus help him fulfill the academic requirements to get a Bachelor of Science degree. Once in hand, Sam can become a teacher at California Construction College, or seek a middle management job in a roofing company where he’ll be an expert, or even start his own company.

The California Construction College is a model program that will be replicated in certain other community colleges throughout California, and plans exist to roll out the program nationally through the National Labor College which is the official entity that bestows the 4 year Bachelor of Science degree in the community college setting, which is traditionally a 2 year degree. Thanks to its statewide and national promise, the event brought John Duncan, Director of California’s Department of Industrial Relations.

PRx helped create and coordinate the small launch event on October 23rd to spread the news. We helped with the op-ed piece authored by Chancellor Rosa Perez and businessman Tony Mirenda of TBI Construction. We created the theme “Nailing Down The Future” and the collateral pieces that helped attract people to the event. On the “Day Of,” in addition to event logistics and coordination, we had some wonderful press coverage. KGO Channel 7’s Karina Rusk came with cameraman Guy Hall, KTVU’s Robert Handa came, plus Mike Colgan of KCBS Radio and Rob Artigo of KGO Radio.

KGO 7: Article and Video

KCBS Radio: Article and Mike Colgan report

And, it was a great boon for the event to have Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, California State Assemblyman Joe Coto and Liz Kniss, incoming chair of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, attend the event.

We had the good fortune to work with some great folks on this assignment. In addition to the “job boss” Neil Struthers, we worked with Kathy Werle, Ph. D., Carole Cassidy, and Rosa Perez, Chancellor of the San Jose City/Evergreen City College District.

Right now, our Daniel Garza, formerly of NBC11, is putting the finishing touches on a video we are doing of the event and the California Construction College itself. We’ll post the video soon.