Her Voice Blog

The coronavirus impact continues to infiltrate the globe … and the “new” front lines of the battle are beginning to emerge in smaller, more rural communities.

But are those communities prepared with health systems that can respond? In the U.S., the fact is that in huge swaths of non-metropolitan, smaller communities, the answer 10 years ago would have been “yes,” but today, the answer may be a definitive “no.”

For one smaller community immediately south of the Knoxville, Tennessee DMA, in Blount County (Maryville / Alcoa), citizens are fortunate to have a well-sustained, forward-thinking hospital that's addressing the crisis head-on and in a well-planned manner (full disclosure: #MsInterPReted co-host Mary Beth West serves as a volunteer on the hospital’s foundation board).

On this episode of "Ms. InterPReted," two top administrators from Blount Memorial deep-dive into challenges and concerns smaller communities and their health infrastructures face, across Tennessee and the nation – particularly in the face of COVID-19.

Topics:
business, Fletcher, tennessee, PR, public relations, #MsInterPReted, planning, coronavirus, continuity, crisis communications, COVID-19, Blount, community, Blount Memorial, Connie Huffman, healthcare, hospital, Blount Chamber, Don Heinemann

As the public relations profession absorbs its share of the COVID-19 impact with job, contract and revenue losses, most practitioners are still seeking to help their clients and employers craft truthful, productive and forward-looking messages.

Topics:
business, Fletcher, PR, Communications, #MsInterPReted, Crisis, coronavirus, COVID-19, Molly McPherson, Julia Angelen Joy, #PrimeTimePRChat, #PRfail

SUMMARY

Topics:
Fletcher, PR, coronavirus, COVID-19 aid legislation, crisis communications, COVID-19, Woolf McClane

On Wednesday, March 25, #MsInterPReted hosted our monthly twitter chat. Our guests were @nickyregazzoni and @GeorgeBlizzard of The PR Network and PRCA's Virtual Group Leadership. The topic was Virtual Working From Home best practices in PR and beyond. 

Topics:
Fletcher, PR, #MsInterPReted, PRCA, Twitter Chat, Working from home, virtual working, The PR Network

As worldwide business, governmental and organizational entities face crisis-preparedness demands for coronavirus contingency planning – and as crisis issues and incidents of all forms are part of each daily news cycle – CEOs, management teams and boards of directors must stand accountable to make sure their organizations are prepared for the completely unexpected… or, in the coronavirus case, a fast-evolving and foreseeable disruption with a full-scale impact that is yet unknown.

Topics:
business, Fletcher, PR, Communications, public relations, #MsInterPReted, Crisis, planning, coronavirus, emergency, continuity, plans, training

#MsInterPReted Co-Host Mary Beth West made history in February 2020, by being officially banned by the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management (GA) – a move the GA admonished Mary Beth in its written reprimand to her as being unprecedented.

Topics:
Fletcher, PR, public relations, #MsInterPReted, PRethics, EthicsMatter, EthicsWashing

On Wednesday, February 26, #MsInterPReted hosted our monthly twitter chat. Our guest was @laurafromaura Laura Sutherland, the leader and founder of @ThePRFest and the topic was "Advocating for Ethical PR."

Topics:
PR, #MsInterPReted, PRCA, PRethics, EthicsMatter, ethics, EthicsAdvocate, Laura Sutherland, ThePRFest

#MsInterPReted welcomes another guest from “across the pond” in the U.K., Shayoni Lynn, FCIPR, CM-PRCA, of Lynn PR, based in Wales – an industry expert in data-management and insight-driven communications, strategic stakeholder engagement, measurement and evaluation.

Born in India, Shay holds Associate Lecturer status at Cardiff University and shares membership with Kelly and Mary Beth in the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA-UK) – in which Shay is spearheading ethics initiatives in 2020 for PRCA’s PR Council.

Shay’s expertise spans numerous behavioral-science topics, including the emerging area of “nudge” communications. Shay is also a regular speaker at industry events in Europe. Last year, Shay was recognized in the WalesOnline “35 under 35” list of top young business and professional women in Wales. Early in 2020, Shay’s firm, Lynn PR, was named “One to Watch in 2020” by PRWeek UK.

Topics:
marketing, PR, public relations, #MsInterPReted, PRCA, PRethics, EthicsMatter, LynnPR, Shayoni Lynn, Wales, Cardiff, Nudge, ethics, UK, nudgetheory

In the category of female mentorship and the servant-leader model, there could be no more compelling a duo than these two guests, who’ve advised countless organizations and mentored hundreds of colleagues in their careers . . .

Topics:
Fletcher, PR, public relations, #MsInterPReted, Diversity, MarketingToWomen, PRdiversity, ShannonHannum, JoyBishop

On Wednesday, January 29th, #MsInterPReted launched our first Twitter chat. Our guest was Ella Minty, founder of the U.K.-based #PowerAndInfluence online PR community, and the topic discussed was "Women Driving Thought-Leadership," which focused on how women can drive thought-leadership conversations that are clearly heard, accurately understood and given fair consideration in the marketplace of ideas.

View the recap of our Q&A below:

Topics:
women in leadership, Fletcher, PR, podcast, #MsInterPReted, thought-leadership, Women in PR, PowerandInfluence, Twitter Chat