The following was transcribed from a recording of a CAPC workshop Feb. 27
The City Advertising and Promotion Commission met for a workshop Feb. 27 at the Auditorium where Chair Carol Wright began by discussing a March 6 workshop, a listen and learn session to help the CAPC hire the best-qualified candidate to fill the executive director position due to the retirement of Mike Maloney.
The CAPC will be accepting suggestions from the public for the “skills, experience, and personality” they seek in the next director. Wright said a press release would set forth “the rules of the game” for how the public should formulate their three-minute recommendations. The CAPC placed these instructions in the special meeting announcement sent to their tax collectors, “Please craft your statement in the form of a recommendation or suggestion, the CAPC will appreciate that i.e. “I/we recommend that, going forward, the CAPC… I/we suggest that, going forward, the CAPC…” Wright said she only wants positive language.
Commissioner Bobbie Foster asked who was going to facilitate that meeting and Wright responded, “At this point, I am.” Wright said they were looking for someone to help facilitate but no one was selected. Foster said she felt like it would be important to find someone else to facilitate, “because it could easily get out of control.”
Wright then spoke to CAPC employees to let them know how important they are. “We want to make sure that we make a really good transition,” she said. She assured employees that the commission would let them know what the public wants and will keep in communication with them.
Commissioner Terry McClung said he would like to know from the employees what improvements they see could be made within the budget and the daily operations. James DeVito responded, “I think it’s important that we keep the staff in the loop because they are the ones who have worked with the director way more than any of us as commissioners.”
Foster said she would like better communication between the staff and the commission, and Wright said she would like to see the CAPC choose someone good at communicating with both governments and private organizations.
Wright said that after speaking with citizens she realized how few people really know what services the CAPC provides. DeVito said the CAPC drives the city’s economy, and Chamber Interim Director Damon Henke reminded the commission that many Eureka businesses invest in their own advertising to promote the economy, stating it is not just the CAPC.
In discussing the business at hand, Foster said she would like to explore hiring an agency to handle some or all of the advertising. Staff stated they would like to see events presented to the public in a more-timely manner, improved communications, and improved promotion of the people within the community.
It was suggested that commissioners and the director attend local functions and events for the local businesses. Henke stated that the CAPC has allotted no time to interact with the people of the community and that the local perception of the CAPC is that they don’t want to be bothered. He asked the commission to even consider the underground placement of the organization, “You are in the back of a shopping mall that is even difficult to access.”
Wright stepped in and said again that she only wants to hear positive language. Wright quoted her mother, “Don’t air your dirty laundry in public.” Wright said they need to get rid of the pettiness and “try to be as positive as possible. Everybody wants the city to be successful.”
Henke asked his last question to the staff and the commission regarding the ad agency roles that are currently being utilized. “Our interest is getting through this year to next year’s budget,” Wright said. “but until then we’re kind of, I won’t say on auto pilot, but with some exceptions we are kind of into this budget year and we are committed on a lot of our contracts.”
The listen and learn workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, March 6 at the Inn of the Ozarks, 6 p.m