Regional Association of Public Information Officers

Please join us for our next RAPIO meeting, Friday, May 24, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., at the Overland Park Fire Department’s Media Center, where Jason Rhodes will provide a tour of the department’s TV studio, share samples of their media products and discuss how they use media tools to complete our mission.  As a bonus, we’ll take a tour of the 9/11 Memorial and talk about this unique effort.

Location:
Overland Park Fire Administration & Training Center (Multi-Purpose Room)
12401 Hemlock, Overland Park, KS 66213

Directions:
I-435 to 69 Hwy South, then take the 119th street exit; go left (east) on 119th to Antioch; go right (south) on Antioch to 125th St.; go left (east) on 125th St. to Hemlock; go left (north) on Hemlock to the Fire Admin. & Training Center

RSVP:
Please RSVP to Lisa Elsas, lelsas@marc.org, and let her know if you plan to attend and whether you wish to have a lunch ordered for you. Lunches cost $8 each. (If you order lunch and your plans to attend change, you must notify Lisa by noon on Thursday, May 23, or we will still have to charge you for the lunch.)

March Meeting Recap

Presentation:
Cheryl Burbach, a partner with Hovey Williams, talked about intellectual property law and social media.

Keeping your Social Media and other Online Campaigns on the Right Side of Intellectual Property Law
With an endless amount of photos and other content available at our fingertips, it’s important that you know enough about intellectual property law to make sure your organization’s social media campaign is lawful. What about the content your coworkers prepare and ask you to disseminate? Might they have copied an image from a Google search for their latest blog post or PowerPoint? If so, they may have violated a copyright law and might be exposing your organization to civil penalties.

Cheryl L. Burbach, a partner at Hovey Williams, has focused her practice exclusively on trademark, copyright, trade secret and related intellectual property matters. Cheryl's business counseling practice has helped create company-wide intellectual property identification and protection programs, comprehensive employee trade secret protection programs, and licensing programs.

Please RSVP to Lisa Elsas, lelsas@marc.org, and let her know if you plan to attend and whether you wish to have a lunch ordered for you. Lunches cost $8 each. (If you order lunch and your plans to attend change, you must notify Lisa by noon on Thursday, or we will still have to charge you for the lunch.)

February Meeting Recap

Presentation:
Lezley Mix, manager of the Kansas City Aviation Department Airport Security Program, presented information about what you and your organization can do to prevent and prepare for an active shooter situation. She provided tips for recognizing potential workplace violence indicators, telling you what actions to take when confronted by an active shooter and suggested ways to manage the consequences of an active shooter incident.

Panel:
The presentation was followed by a short panel discussion to talk about how local police departments might work with PIOs during and following an active shooter incident.

• Lt. Kelli Bailiff, Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office
• Major Richard “Rich” Lockhart, Kansas City Police Department

Resources:

• Lezley’s presentation was based on the Emergency Management Institute, IS-907 — Active Shooter: What You Can Do. Learn more»
• The International City/County Management Association has collaborated with the Alliance for Innovation (AFI) to develop a topic page for local governments to prepare for a mass shooting in their communities. Learn more»

Recap and resources from the Jan. 25, 2013 meeting on government blogging:

The Jan. 25 RAPIO meeting consisted of a panel discussion on government blogs. Participants included:

Sarah Boyd, Public Relations Specialist, City of Kansas City, Mo., Kansas City Police Department
The KCPD Chief’s Blog provides the public with an inside look at crime and policing in Kansas City, Mo., from the point of view of the Chief of Police. It features news about enforcement efforts, crime trends and the Chief’s take on issues the department is facing. The media is eager to pick up information and quotes from this blog.

• http://kcpdchief.blogspot.com/

Marsha Bennett, Community Relations Manager, Johnson County Library
The Library has a Staff Picks Blog, up and running since 2009, which provides book reviews contributed by library staff. This is an important communication vehicle and serves as an extension of the work that librarians provide. Community residents are engaged with the blog and offer feedback for an interactive dialog.

• http://blogs.jocolibrary.org/

Jen Houston, Public Affairs Coordinator, Mid-America Regional Council
MARC currently has four blogs. Jen explained how and why each blog is managed differently based on its audience, subject matter and content contributors. One blog has replaced a print newsletter.

• http://www.environment.marcblogs.org
  
• http://www.transportation.marcblogs.org
  
• http://kceconomy.com/
  
• http://greenimpactzone.wordpress.com/

Links to current blogging topics:

• Seven ways to whip up blog posts – fast
• The 10 commandments of blogging
• How to manage a government blog

Another government blog to check out:

• http://blog.usa.gov/

Post-Game Analysis: All-Star Social Media Efforts

At the July 27 RAPIO meeting, members heard an excellent presentation by three panelists on the Social Media Command Center mobilized during the five days before and during the All Star Game.
Our All-Star panel:

• Alan Carr, director of Communications at Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association
• Aaron Deacon, owner of The Curio Lab and active leader in The Social Media Club
• Danny Rotert, communications director, Office of the Mayor, KCMO

Here’s what we heard:

• What was the Social Media Command Center? How did it get started? How was it organized? (Info: http://visitkc.tumblr.com/)
• What technology was used to monitor social media during the All-Star Game? Is this technology attainable/worth it for local government? What were some of the innovations of the technology used?
• What was its impact on KC and the All-Star Game?
• How did residents and visitors react to this use of social media?
• How is social media transforming customer service for cities?

The panelists shared an excellent PowerPoint with more information about the center. You’ll find those resources here.

• Post-Game Analysis: All-Star Game Social Media Efforts - July 27, 2012
  • Social Media Command Center Key Takeaways (3.4MB pdf)
  • Social Media Command Center Preview Deck (2.4MB pdf)
  • http://visitkc.tumblr.com, the Social Media Command Center website

Resources

• Media Monitoring Presentations 1/27/12
  • Spiral16, Social Media Monitoring
  • Media Library, Print and Electronic Clipping
  • Free Monitoring Services
• Webinar materials from 11/18/11 – What Not to Web: Plain Language and Writing for the Web Made Easy
• Digital photography presentation from 1/28/11
• RAPIO slate of officers and committees (12/10)
• A New Way to Communicate with Residents: Local Government Use of Social Media to Prepare for Emergencies - ICMA (2.4MB pdf)

Minutes:

• January 18, 2011
• April 22, 2011
• May 20, 2011

2012 Midwest Disasters 2.0 workshop presentations

If you would like a copy of the presentations from the February 2012 workshop, please email Lisa Elsas.

Social Media Guidelines Workshop

Thanks to all that participated in our Social Media Guidelines Workshop on June 30, 2010.

Documents:

• Max and Kathleen's PowerPoint (3.2MB .pdf)
• Sample Social Media Guidelines (.doc)

RAPIO Co-chairs:

Duane Hallock
American Red Cross

Sharon Watson
Kansas Adjutant General’s Office

About RAPIO

The Regional Association of Public Information Officers (RAPIO) was formed in 2000 to give area PIOs an opportunity to share information, work cooperatively on regional issues and network with their peers.

Members meet monthly (usually on the fourth Friday of each month) at the Mid-America Regional Council offices, 600 Broadway, Kansas City, Missouri. The informal meetings are held over box lunches, and may involve a speaker or presentation, or may be casual exchanges between members.

Meeting notices are emailed in advance of each meeting to those on the RAPIO listserv. All local government employees who are full or part–time PIOs in the metropolitan area — and other local government employees who are regularly called on to serve in a public information capacity — are welcome to attend.

Membership List
PIOs' contact information:

• Excel format

Join Our Discussion List

Members may send a message to the entire listserv by emailing to: rapio@lyris.marc.org. When replying to a message, the "reply" function will send your email to the sender; the "reply to all" function will send it to the entire list. If you experience any problems with the listserv, please contact the list administrator.