May 2009 – Volume 1, Issue 3 1
In This Issue
President's Message
2009 Award Winners
Conference Wrap-Up
President's Message
Award Night Photos
Morris Gets Clark Award
Thank You Sponsors
Save the Date: 2010 Conference
PIO Insitutue Graduates 11
State of the Profession
Committee Reports
Twelve years ago, I stepped foot into Palmdale
City Hall seeking a job in public relations. The
ink on my communications degree had barely
dried, and I had little more than a brief college
internship to offer as "relevant" experience.
Despite my novice status, former Palmdale
Communications Director Barbara Vilardo put
her faith in me and brought me on as a parttime public information specialist - a decision
that I will always be grateful for.
Get 'LinkedIn'
Not knowing much about the field of public
communications, I sought the support of CAPIO and over the years the
organization has helped me develop my professional backbone.
Quick Links
That's why I am deeply honored to serve as your 2009-2010 CAPIO
President. I'm excited to give back to the association that has given me
so much over the last dozen years.
Career Corner
Official CAPIO Web Site
2009 Annual Conference Photos
2009 Annual Conference
Presentations And Handouts
(User Name: capio
Password: member)
CAPIO LinkedIn Page
Breaking News And Information
From The League of California
Cities
CAPIO has an energetic and talented board of directors in place whom
stand ready to build upon the hard work of past boards and take the
organization to new heights in the year ahead.
One key priority is to refresh the CAPIO brand to ensure the organization
is providing the utmost value and relevance to its members. The board
will better define our membership; examine our core business purpose;
explore the brand promise we make to our members; and evaluate the
actions we take to support this brand. The final step in the process will
be to refine our brand personality and translate that to a new logo/look
and Web presence.
It certainly will be a busy and exciting year for everyone involved with
CAPIO.
Thank you for your participation in this organization, and as always,
please feel free to email me here with your thoughts and feedback about
CAPIO.
-- Jenny Peterson, President
Congratulations CAPIO
2009 Award Winners
Congratulations to all the
CAPIO 2009 award winners!
Award winners are now listed
online - and many are linked
to the winning entries
themselves, so you can see
the award-winning work from
CAPIO members, including
video, web sites and more!
Click here to see the
complete list of award
winners and links.
2009 Conference Materials
on the Web
For those of you who were
able to make the 2009 CAPIO
Conference, it was a pleasure
sharing time with you in San
Diego. We kicked it off with
two amazing speakers from
the Argonne National
Check Out Awards Night Photos!
The 2009 CAPIO awards ceremony in San Diego was an amazing
event! Check out conference photos at CAPIO's Flickr page by clicking
here.
Heather Morris Receives Paul B. Clark Award
Heather Morris, director of Communications and
Community Relations for the Port of Long Beach,
received CAPIO's top honor, the Paul B. Clark award,
at the 2009 annual conference.
Morris received the Paul B. Clark Award for her
exceptional leadership, professional commitment and
contributions in the public information field. She was
also honored for her outstanding service to the public and her
profession.
"Heather is an exceptional person and well deserving of this award,"
said CAPIO President Jenny Peterson. "She has done so much for this
organization and this profession that she was an obvious choice."
With more than 30 years of experience in public relations and
government communications in California, Heather has been a
consistent model of integrity and trust in public service.
CAPIO's Paul B. Clark Award was created in 1985 to recognize
outstanding contributions of one of its members to the field of public
information. The Paul B. Clark Award is presented at the Annual
Conference to the individual who, in the judgment of the CAPIO Board
of Directors, demonstrates exceptional leadership in the field through
professional commitment, including the mentoring of others and
Laboratory and ended our last
evening with a dazzling
awards ceremony. Jenny
Peterson, our new CAPIO
president and former first vice
president, did a fabulous job
with the décor,
entertainment, and overall
elegance for this year's
awards ceremony. It was the
Oscars for the Public
Information profession, and
has set a new precedent for
future board members to
follow. Well done.
Conference Materials:
Exclusive to CAPIO members
only, we have posted ALL
session handouts and
presentations on the
web. Provided by Omnipress
for CAPIO, the site is an
organized listing of the
sessions offered at the
conference and their
corresponding materials.
Please check it out and take
away even more information
back to your agencies that
you can start applying
today. Click here for the
presentations and
handouts! (When prompted,
enter "capio" as the
username and "member" as
the password.)
fostering a greater understanding of the PIO function among
colleagues, community and the media.
The award recipient must be a current CAPIO member with a minimum
of five years public information experience. The CAPIO Board solicits
nominations from the full membership; any CAPIO member in good
standing may nominate any other member. The final selection is made
by the Board prior to the Annual Conference.
Many, Many Thanks to Our 2009 Conference Sponsors!
The CAPIO Board of Directors extends its appreciation to our
conference sponsors!
Without them, the CAPIO conference receptions and other
special memorable conference events would not happen. They make
the accommodations possible and it's sincerely appreciated. Special
thanks to:
Gold - Katz & Associates, SiteImprove, Vision Internet
Silver - BW Research Partnership, Inc., BrandEndeavor,
BrandStrata
Bronze - CodeRED, SimpleSend
Save the Date: Santa Barbara 2010 CAPIO Conference
Even though we
just wrapped up in
San Diego, CAPIO
is already
Conference Evaluations:
looking ahead to
There's still time to provide
the 2010
feedback on this year's
conference in
annual conference. We have
beautiful Santa
posted a conference
evaluation form on the CAPIO Barbara, scheduled for April 13-16. The location will be Fess Parker's
Doubletree Resort, located only steps away from the beach and a halfWeb site for you to print out
mile away from historic downtown Santa Barbara, Stearns Wharf and
and send back to the CAPIO
the Santa Barbara Zoo.
office. We'll be excepting
evaluations for the next two
weeks. To ensure your
satisfaction with CAPIO,
PIO Institute Graduates 11 Members in 2009
simply complete the form so
we are aware of your
concerns, likes, and dislikes.
This will help us better
prepare for next year's annual
conference. Thank you for
taking the time to complete
the evaluation forms and
provide us with your input.
Looking Ahead: And for
those who managed to stay
with us until noon on Friday,
a conference destination for
2011 was chosen:
Sacramento here we come!
Thank you again for
entrusting CAPIO to provide
you with the latest and
greatest in the
communications profession,
and we'll see you next year in
Santa Barbara!
Congratulations to the 11 PIO
Institute graduates of 2009, who
completed the 10 required courses
for this program. There were four
courses offered at this year's
conference, and the
following members met the
requirements needed and received a
certificate recognizing them as
graduates. A special congratulations
to: Steve Concialdi, Kathy Coulter, Nanci Erven-Collins, Linda
Fisher-Helton, Frank Jahn, Erik Johnson, Kathie Martin,
Heather Morris, John Pope, Martin Quiroz, and Sierra Webb.
-- Angela M. Frost, 20082009 Second Vice
President/Conference
Chair
How We Compare: First 'State of the Profession' Survey Results
One of the highlights of this year's CAPIO conference was a presentation
on the first-ever "State of the Government Communicator Profession
Survey" by Michael Stover, who led the survey team that polled 141
CAPIO members. The survey was released at the 2009 annual conference
and is now posted on the CAPIO Web site.
Among the survey's findings:
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"Getting everything done" and "declining communication budgets" are the top job challenges
faced by members. By a wide margin, respondents say more duties are likely to be added to
their responsibilities rather than decreased or eliminated in the next year.
Agency communication budgets are forecasted to remain the same (37% of respondents) or
significantly decreased (36%) in the next fiscal year. Seven respondents indicated their agencies
are actively considering the elimination of one more communication positions because of tight
finances.
The median years of respondents in the communication profession is 11 to 15 years. The
median monthly salary of respondents is $7,000-$7,999.
Three out of five respondents anticipate leaving their current agency for a promotional or lateral
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position in the next five years.
Two-thirds of respondents report that they are "likely" to be invited to attend senior-level
meetings in their agencies dealing with matters that may have communication implications. On
the other hand, 10 percent say they are not likely to be invited to such meetings while 25
percent of respondents say they are only "sometimes" invited.
Performing PIO-type duties is not the principal focus of their jobs for one out of five survey
respondents.
78 activities that CAPIO should create or emphasize for members were suggested by
respondents.
Prepared by a Working Group comprised of Michael Stover (retired) and Cheryl Golden
(Fremont), the survey was intended to identify challenges affecting CAPIO members, determine
member perceptions on professional issues and benchmark for future comparisons the
membership's principal duties, work products and demographic information.
For the full survey results, click here.
League of California Cities Committee Reports
This month, Kathleen Fariss, Director of Development for the city of Fontana,
reports on the League of California Cities Housing, Community & Economic
Development Policy Committee. The Committee reviews both state and federal
legislation as it relates to issues of planning and zoning, housing, economic
development, eminent domain, residential care facilities, development fees,
annexation and incorporation, building standards, and sign regulation. The practice of the Committee is
to recommend to the League board preliminary positions on legislation, based on existing League
positions, adopted annual conference resolutions, and the collective knowledge and experience of
Committee members.
Fariss reports:
1) The discussion of the state budget remains a topic of interest to the Committee members and the
jurisdictions they represent. As part of the budget discussion, Dan Carrigg, the League's legislative
director, discussed that Proposition 42 funds were not touched, but in September 2008 the "overall hit" to
Redevelopment Agencies (RDA) truly impacted many cities. Dan further discussed the pending litigation
between the California Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the state of California. The next update on the
status of this case should take place in August 2009. The League is planning to launch a community
outreach program to educate communities on the role RDA plays in cities and to create a RDA coalition
with a mission of protecting RDA funds moving forward.
2) Richard Lyon, Legislative Advocate, California Building Industry Association (BIA) addressed the
Committee asking for support of AB 333 (Fuentes). AB 333 deals with land use and the subdivision of
maps. The bill, as written, automatically extends the life of certain pending subdivision maps for six
years. A motion asking League staff to bring back updates on a few items from BIA at the next meeting
regarding this topic passed.
3) A motion to support state Assembly Member Caballero's AB 300 was presented and the committee
voted in favor of this bill with some wording changes in order to make the bill clearer to understand. The
committee members also voted to oppose AB 408 (Saldana) and AB 408 (Krekorian).
4) Assembly Member Mike Feuer was unable to attend and present on AB 109, Outdoor Advertising:
Digital Advertising Displays. AB 109, if passed would place a two-year moratorium on the construction,
conversion, or alteration of a digital advertising display along a state, county, or city highway; and the
enhancement to allow commercial advertising on a digital display that provides the public with traffic
operations and public safety information. The committee voted to place this item on the June 25th, 2009
agenda for discussion and possible action.
5) Wind generation was one topic that had some lively discussion. This topic was part of the discussion
under AB 45 (Blakeslee) if passed, is to support the state's ambitious renewable energy procurement
requirements by developing and adopting ordinances that facilitate the installation of small wind energy
systems. Some of the feedback was that this bill is a "one size fits all" solution and may not be in the best
interest of all cities.
6) The committee discussed AB 47 (Ma and Niello) which provides income tax credit for adoptive parents
that select to adopt minors who are over 12 years of age, or minors of any age living in group homes or
residential treatment facilities. The motion to support this bill was unanimous.
For the copy of the TCPW meeting report, contact Kathleen Fariss.
The CAPIO Communicator will provide regular updates from members on the League of California Cities
various policy committees. If you are a member, please submit your reports to CAPIO Secretary John
Pope for inclusion in the newsletter.
If you are interested in serving: Each year the CAPIO president is asked to appoint CAPIO members
to the League of California Cities Policy Committees. The committee memberships include city officials,
elected officials, affiliate appointees and more. Their purpose is to help to make League policy by
reviewing legislation, suggesting broad new policy guidelines and studying key issues impacting cities.
You must work for a city and be able to commit to attending three of the four policy committee meetings
throughout 2009 (schedule and sites can be found on the League Web site at www.cacities.org). After
each of the committee meetings, we ask that you prepare a brief summary for The Communicator and
the CAPIO Web site, for the benefit of your co-members. Please contact CAPIO President Jenny
Peterson to join a committee, or for more information.
CAPIO is Here for You!
CAPIO Membership, $175*
Having CAPIO Members as a Resource....Priceless
As a CAPIO member did you know that you have a state-wide back up
organization? When your back is against the wall, you can call on CAPIO! For
sample reports, documents, and policies or advice on what to do next in a difficult
situation: At least one member and probably many have either seen it, done it,
wrote it, or dealt with it.
Right now everyone is feeling the strain on resources. But one resource that is
always available is the knowledge and experience of CAPIO members. Membership
in CAPIO provides you with a state-wide network of knowledgeable and well-trained
communication professionals who return their e-mails and pick up their phone messages in a timely
manner. In addition, there is the CAPIO Training Institute, regional trainings, recognition/awards
programs for your agency, the listserv, membership/resource directory, mutual aid, and much more.
Please feel free to contact me at any time regarding your CAPIO membership, referrals, or dues. I would
be happy to speak with you!
Linda Fisher-Helton
Membership Chair
805-480-9991 ext. 235
[email protected]
* Public Sector Information/Communications Professionals
Career Corner
In a tough economy, it's more important than ever that employers make the
right choices when it comes to hiring. Be sure to list your job openings and
professional growth opportunities in the CAPIO Communicator. Send your
job listings to CAPIO Executive Secretary Emily Cole for inclusion in
future issues. Also, please send news of CAPIO member promotions,
retirements and other career information to share in future issues of the
newsletter.
Get 'LinkedIn' with other CAPIO members
CAPIO is now on LinkedIn! If you're a member of LinkedIn - or thinking about
joining - we'd like you to join our LinkedIn group. It's a great way to start or join a discussion within the
membership, share news or just put a face to the CAPIO membership. The service is free. Search for
"The California Association of Public Information Officials" in the groups directory after you log in. We
look forward to seeing you -- click here to get started!
About the CAPIO Newsletter
The CAPIO Communicator was relaunched in 2009 as an electronic-only version
to bring CAPIO members regular news and information about the organization. Our
goal is to keep members up-to-date on CAPIO events, workshops and conferences, as
well as provide professional growth and development opportunities. To make this
newsletter the best it can be, we need your help! We are looking for "how to" articles,
case studies, lessons learned, success stories, professional development opportunities, job listings and
more. Please contact CAPIO Secretary John Pope to submit an article.