Advice and Counsel

Public relations counsel formed the heart of several assignments that cannot appear in our physical portfolio. Here is a summary:

Major Regional Vocational Technical School District The District School Committee and Superintendent-Director proposed to the 13 constituent towns a $36 million upgrade and expansion program for an aging campus.  These communities vary in their socio-economic makeup.  Several communities were either proposing simultaneous local school building commitments or had recently done so.  Many towns chose to use the Proposition 2½ process.  A variety of local considerations ebbed and flowed in their importance while a cast of community leaders, particularly among 13 boards of selectmen, 13 finance committees, 13 school committees, 13 town administrators and 13 building inspectors underwent ongoing change in composition.  The project, as proposed, was adopted.  Remarkably, in one of the 13 constituent towns the client’s proposal passed in a balloting in which that town’s local school building proposal was defeated.  Public-sensitive communications (through the media, directly to voters and directly to elected and appointed government officials) were coordinated with school and municipal officials, leading parties in the private sector and the project’s architectural firm.  Communications included message definition and development, creative expression, production, placement, calendaring and budgeting.  These responsibilities were refined in ways that accurately matched the understood educational needs and interests of the 13 communities with the project’s purposes and value.

Greater Boston Facial Paralysis Center In a strategic alliance with a major healthcare provider, we scripted, directed and produced a set of television and print announcements, and edit a quarterly newsletter and bi-monthly newspaper column all in distribution in an ever-growing number of markets across the country.  The focus of the highly customized public information program is the treatment of Bell’s Palsy, which is a form of facial paralysis.  The strategic alliance, developed with healthcare professionals, equips such practitioners to reach local audiences, chiefly in the nation’s top 40 markets.

Municipality Though a public school system had much improved in recent years, parents were inclined toward home teaching, outbound transfers to other school systems or enrollment in private schools. Tuition-related costs to the community threatened to jeopardize other municipal spending.  After researching and documenting parent perceptions of the schools, we constructed a novel communications plan adjusting and matching parental appreciation of the school system's capabilities, and calculating the point when the municipal budget would accommodate the residents' expectations.

Wal-Mart A New England annual town meeting vote registered 600-22 against the construction of a 100,000-square-foot store. Our guidance contributed to a remaking of public opinion so that, by a ratio of 3-2 in a subsequent balloting, the store and its surrounding shopping center, which survived a legal challenge taken to the State Appeals Court, is now open for business.

Department of Defense Worldwide Center for Financial Management Education and Training The first and only operation of its kind, the DoD Center owes its existence to the end of the Cold War and the national policy mandate to reduce the federal budget deficit. That circumstance created competitive conditions in which we linked a program of public information with the state and federal election cycles and with the garnering and projection of grassroots support. As a result, the Oval Office became directly involved. The Center is open.

Center for Advanced Fiberoptic Applications A global consortium of fiberoptic manufacturers and research and teaching institutions, CAFA required an introduction as well as continuing press/media attention, particularly in its governmental dimensions. CAFA develops ideas and converts them into marketworthy applications.

Quinebaug-Shetucket National Heritage Corridor and The Optical Museum of America This historic preservation-ecotourism-economic advancement project is a work-in-progress at the state and federal levels. We provide historical research and curatorial services in addition to community and press relations support. The Optical Museum of America, the nation's first community-corporate heritage museum, possesses the world's only eyeglass frame designed by Madame Elsa Schaparielli (garnished with 201 diamonds) and the original print of the film Oklahoma! which was the first movie made in Todd-AO.

Cellular One A fluid public mood needed crystallizing in favor of the installation of a tall tower. We provided researched insights enabling the construction project to successfully make its way through a myriad of municipal reviews.

Municipality Though a public school system had much improved in recent years, parents were inclined toward home teaching, outbound transfers to other school systems or enrollment in private schools. Tuition-related costs to the community threatened to jeopardize other municipal spending. After researching and documenting parent perceptions of the schools, we constructed a novel communications plan adjusting and matching parental appreciation of the school system's capabilities, and calculating the point when the municipal budget would accommodate the residents' expectations.