Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas update: The Texas Department of Transportation’s land purchases for the expansion of Interstate 35E in North Texas are part of
a federal grand jury’s probe into potential criminal activity, according to state records obtained by
The Dallas Morning News. Details here. ... University of Texas regent Wallace Hall, appointed to the board by Rick Perry in February 2011, likely committed impeachable offenses, including abusing his
office and possibly breaking state and federal law, in his campaign to oust UT
Austin President Bill Powers, according to a draft report prepared for the Texas House committee
investigating Hall. The 176-page draft alleges that Hall leaked confidential
student information in apparent violation of state and federal law in an
attempt to silence critics in the Legislature. The report accuses him of
manipulating the House investigation and coercing witnesses, activities “particularly troubling and potentially criminal in nature.” Details here. ... For nearly two years, Deion Sanders’ Prime Prep Academy has been plagued by allegations of financial and academic mismanagement. Last fall the Texas
Education Agency opened an investigation, but the state education commissioner
now says it’s too early to intervene. Details here.
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Mayor’s Key Tactic: More Listen, Less Talk
Listening, listening, listening. That’s the fundamental communications component around which Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price has built her administration — and it serves her well — her chief of staff told the April 15 meeting of IABC Fort Worth on the campus
of Texas Wesleyan University.
Jason Lamers said Price emphasizes building trust and that she has succeeded with the public
“simply by listening and being a communicator.” The mayor is “an amazing connector,” said Lamers, who also worked for Price’s predecessor, Mayor Mike Moncrief. “I thought he knew a lot of people, but Betsy knows a thousand times more people
than Mike.”
Lamers, a Texas Wesleyan journalism graduate, addressed IABC professional and
student chapter members, as well as journalism, communications and marketing
faculty. His presentation was the keynote of the IABC student chapter’s annual luncheon, which featured an exhibition of student projects.
He said Price’s rolling and walking town halls provide opportunities to connect and listen at
the same time. “People are dusting their bikes off … and coming out riding with the mayor. We’re going to them where they want to be. We’re not asking them to just come to City Hall or to some boring town hall
meeting.”
The mayor still schedules traditional citizen input gatherings, in Lamer’s words “caffeinated town halls,” but the mobile approach is working. As a byproduct, he said, “people are getting to know their neighbors” as well as the mayor.
Price has established two targeted advisory groups — Steer Fort Worth, which challenges 18- to 40-year-olds in a young leaders
program to develop workable ideas on issues like sustainability and water
conservation, and the Mayor’s Faith Leaders Cabinet. She also has encouraged the use of technology to
connect and listen.
She has an active Facebook page and a Twitter handle, @MayorBetsy. And the city
promotes yourfortworth.org, a website dedicated to collecting feedback. Lamers
said around 70 percent of the input about the city’s May 10 bond election came through the site.
“We’ve got one person now … and that’s all she does, is she looks at the e-mails, she looks at Facebook, she looks at
the social media and she’s responding. She’s getting answers and she’s responding.”
Despite having a dedicated responder, Lamers said not enough staff is available
to accomplish all that the mayor wants. In 2008, “the city really just gutted the whole communication department,” he said. “But now Mayor Betsy has brought a new vision for communication,” resulting in creation of the Office of Public Engagement.
“So we’re building that back up … with the idea that it’s not communication, it’s public engagement that we’ve got to be focused on. Not just communicating with citizens but listening to
citizens.”
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PEOPLE & PLACES
Author/writing coach Carmen Goldthwaite will illuminate and amplify her book “Texas Dames: Sassy and Savvy Women Throughout Lone Star History” for the Junior Twentieth Century Club at noon and again at 3:30 Wednesday, May
14, at the Museum of History in Brownwood. Her next book on Texas women, “Texas Ranch Women: Three Centuries of Mettle and Moxie,” will be available Sept. 23 from The History Press.
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GET A JOB
The Star-Telegram seeks a designer for two new lifestyle magazines (print),
similar to the paper's Indulge section. Job is 48 hours a month, $25 per hour.
Day hours, and the weeks vary. E-mail digital portfolio plus a résumé to Sarah Huffstetler, shuffstetler@star-telegram.com. ...
Reuters is looking for an experienced correspondent to join its Houston team
covering companies in the booming U.S. energy sector. Info here. ...
Longtime Texas law firm Jim S. Adler & Associates wants a PR/social media person for its Houston office. Will handle
in-person charitable events and engaging the public online. E- Bruce Westbrook, bwestbrook@jimadler.com.
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NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS
PRSA ... Amanda Willadsen, Cadence McShane Construction ... Kara Park,
Omni Hotels and Resorts
=======================================================
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Richie Escovedo, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
A mid-April Star-Telegram headline caught my attention because it concerned my
previous employer. “Leadership to Change at Nolan Catholic High School” details an amicable decision by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth and the
Marianists of the Society of Mary to part ways regarding management of the
school.
Nolan Catholic will always hold a special place in my heart for being my first
PR gig. I was the school's PR manager and then communications director under
excellent leaders.
Among the lessons learned that helped shape the professional I am today is a
thought from one of the five characteristics of a Marianist education — educate for adaptation and change. That one really resonates. Learning to adapt
and change has been a tremendous asset for me.
A little advice to new PR pros and students preparing to enter the industry: As
the media landscape shifts, more communication tools become available and
opportunities arise for strategic thinking, be flexible and never stop
learning. Choosing to adapt and change will serve you well.
-----
OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
One hundred five of us had a grand time handing out scholarship money ($22,000!)
and slapping each other on the back at the annual awards gala April 18. The
write-up is here, complemented by Arlington photographer Paul Knudsen’s splendid visual account here. Next year make sure you’re in the picture. ...
Engage with members, resources and the “journalism culture” (not sure what this is; hope it’s not mold growing on an old Smith-Corona) at the SPJ Pinterest site, national’s latest foray into social media. You’ll find photos, award collections, journalism tools and a platform on which to
explore industry developments and trends.
Caught my eye. Renewables = 92.1% of new US electricity capacity so far in 2014. ... US greenhouse gas emissions fell 10 percent since 2005. ... This solar graph is so wicked it's titled ‘Welcome to the Terrordome.’ ... 10 breathtaking natural tree tunnels you have to see to believe. ... Novel technique produces ethanol from carbon monoxide.
Closing words: “If I’d written the truth I knew for the past 10 years, about 600 people — including me — would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a
very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.” — Hunter S. Thompson to Rolling Stone in 1973
Closing words II, ignorance vigilantes let guard down, education happens
division: “Unanimous is beautiful.” — Tony Diaz, a college professor and Mexican-American studies advocate, on the approval of
a resolution supporting Mexican-American studies in Texas public schools by the
board of the Houston Independent School District
the LaRocque Family catalog ...
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