JUNKING THE JUNKET MYTH
Hometown reaction scaring you away from conferences?
By NICK GOBLE Reprinted from Texas Town if City
Do you stay home from conventions and conferences that might be helpful to you as a public official
because you're worried about criticism from constituents? If the answer is "yes," you may find these tips for a
successful conference useful.
Writing for members of the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association, Nick Goble, public relations director for that organization, offers these pointers for what
to do after attending conventions and conferences:
COMMUNICATE what you learn at meetings regardless of where they are held. Current trends, opinions, facts and quotes are newsworthy. Special attention to your local problems — and what you learned
about them — is very significant to the news media and
various community groups. So, do your homework!
DON'T USE "canned" news releases. Each news
outlet prefers original, timely material with a local flavor. So don't fill in the blanks. Rather take whatever
paragraphs you want to use, retype them on your own
stationery and incorporate your own personal observations and quotes from the convention into a complete
news release. Perhaps you may want to consider inviting news representatives to an informal "debriefing"
upon your return.
BE PREPARED. Don't apologize for the costs of
your trip if you are asked. But be ready to answer these
questions: what did this trip cost for your delegation
compared to the total budget? What is the cost of this
in-service training for you as a council member compared to the governmental unit's in-service training as a
total? Check the dollars and the percentages. You'll find
it is relatively small. And as elected municipal officials,
setting policy and goals for a multi-million dollar public
service, are you expected to operate in a vacuum? No,
you're not. Don't be defensive, but just lay out the facts.
What you learn at such meetings may easily save your
municipality thousands of dollars. But more importantly, you're trying to do a better job for your community by learning. And that's what it's all about.
These are a few things Mr. Goble feels will help you
get ready to answer questions when you get home:
TAKE TIME to review the entire program carefully. Read it thoroughly. Make notes and map out your
time. Allow time for informal discussions. Some of the
best thoughts and ideas come from such dialogue.
DETERMINE which workshops you plan to attend. Which will have the most benefit to your community? If there is more than one person in your delegation, get together and try to get the widest possible
exposure to the available programs and seminars.
BE PREPARED to take notes or tape various
speakers and presentations.
VISIT THE EXHIBITS and gather literature on
significant products and services. Ask questions, take
notes and allow enough time to cover the entire display.
KEEP A DAILY LOG or diary of what you did
each day. You'll be surprised how much you've covered. This will be a handy reference to substantiate
your "positive" participation in the convention. Of
course, allow some time for rest and relaxation. Learning and leisure are compatible.
MAKE ONE PERSON (if more than one delegate
is attending) responsible for summarizing notes,
speeches, literature and other items before you leave
the conference.
AFTER YOU RETURN home, the various findings
should be typed and summarized in a succinct written
report.
COPIES of the report should be reproduced for
government personnel, other governing body members
and key audiences in the community. Certainly, editors
and news directors of the local media should get copies.
HAVE COPIES of the report available for the public at the next council meeting. Be prepared to respond
to the news media on what the delegates learned that
relates directly to local problems.
REMEMBER — conventions and conferences are
necessary for local government members. Such state
and national conferences are the only places where you
can get the background and understanding needed to
deal with current problems. The future of municipal
government depends on informed public officials.
Your participation needs no apologies. •
June 1991 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 25