The NIOA Board members are working hard to prepare for the 2011 conference in Phoenix, Arizona. We know that there are budget concerns for many agencies, travel monies are few and some agencies are not providing funds for training.

We also believe that this conference is the finest conference available for PIOs to hone their skills, receive new insights to help them improve themselves as PIOs and therefore benefit their agencies, and of course, to build networks with others that can help when help is needed.

As past NIOA Presidents have done, I am providing a letter for members to share with their chief or administrator to help show the value of the annual training conference. Please download, print and present it to your leaders so that they might better understand the overall value of this conference.

We look forward to seeing you in Phoenix.

Jack Goldhorn
2010-2011 President
NIOA

Two candidates have met the June 1st deadline established by NIOA by-laws* to declare their intent to seek the Vice-Presidency – Joe Laud and Chuck Allen. Both positions will be up for election at the annual Training Conference in Clearwater in late August.

If you would like to vote for one of these candidates, but are unable to attend the conference, absentee ballots are available.

The ballot must be mailed to Executive Director Lisa McNeal and be postmarked by August 1, 2010 to be accepted. Please follow the directions* on the ballot clearly, or the vote will not be counted. Download the ballot form here.

Candidates for NIOA Vice-President

Joe Laud, City of Houston Emergency Center/Office of Emergency Management

“Greetings to all! My name is Joe Laud and I am seeking your support to help acquire the Vice President position in the upcoming election to be held in this year’s National Information Officers Association (NIOA) training conference in Clearwater, Florida.

I have been an active member of NIOA since 2005 and currently serve as a Co-Regional Director for Region 6.

On a local level, I have been with the City of Houston for approximately twelve years and I am the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the City of Houston Emergency Center and Office of Emergency Management. Prior to accepting this position, I was a PIO for the Houston Police Department.

In addition to my daily duties, I co-chair the Houston/Galveston Regional PIO Network and serve as the PIO for the Greater Houston Local Emergency Planning Committee.

NIOA is a great organization which has allowed me to develop friendships, networking opportunities, and the ability to stay current in the field of public affairs. It is for these reasons that I am compelled to seek a leadership position within the organization to apply my experiences for the benefit of NIOA.

Your support of my candidacy for Vice President is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration and I hope the conference treats you all well.”

Chuck Allen, Nevada Highway Patrol

“To give you some background about myself, I have been with the Nevada Department of Public Safety-Highway-Patrol Division for twenty years and have spent the past six plus years as the spokesperson for my agency. I am also a twenty-six year member of the military and am currently assigned as the Human Resource Advisor for the 152nd Airlift Wing, Nevada Air National Guard, and report directly to the Wing Commander.

I have been a member of the NIOA since 2004 and have attended every annual conference since then. Additionally, I assisted with a presentation detailing the lessons learned regarding the Steve Fossett search at the Sparks conference in 2008 and spoke at one of the breakouts in Nashville last year about doing more as a PIO.

The core values for my full time career are Dedication, Pride, and Service, and my Air National Guard core values are Integrity, Service before Self, and Excellence in All We Do. As a public information officer I live by the core values of Approachability, Availability, and Visibility. With a belief system in applying all of these values, I truly believe I represent my agency in the most professional manner and believe that by building and maintaining relationships with the media is the key to being successful.

As for my involvement in the community, I have been a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Nevada Humane Society for 4 years and am currently assigned as the Secretary. I am also heavily involved in the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) in Nevada and coordinate and participate in a number of fundraisers every year benefiting the athletes in the Special Olympics Nevada program. I also sit on the board of directors for the Sparks Traffic Survival School, a non-profit group involved with providing teen and adult driving safety training.

If elected, I will work as hard and as passionately as possible in promoting and expanding the growth of the NIOA. I love this organization immensely and will continue to be a proud member and a hopeful officer of the board at the conference in Clearwater this year. I will be happy to elaborate this desire when delivering my speech.”

From the by-laws

*XII. ELECTIONS
C. Proxy votes may be cast by filling out a form provided by the Executive Director, and will only be counted if received by mail (USPS or commercial delivery service), postmarked by August 1st. No email proxy votes or proxy votes presented via other members at the Annual Training Conference will be accepted.

You can now download the 2010 conference registration form. Please note that this is form-fillable. It is best for the Executive Director that you fill in the information on your computer before printing the document. Hand-written forms are often difficult to read and may result in incorrect information being recorded.

Download the registration form.

The NIOA Board members are working hard to prepare for the 2010 conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida. We know that there are budget concerns for many agencies, travel monies are few and some agencies are not providing funds for training.

We also believe that this conference is the finest conference available for PIOs to hone their skills, receive new insights to help them improve themselves as PIOs and therefore benefit their agencies, and of course, to build networks with others that can help when help is needed.

As past NIOA Presidents have done, I am providing a letter for members to share with their chief or administrator to help show the value of the annual training conference. Please download, print and present it to your leaders so that they might better understand the overall value of this conference.

We look forward to seeing you in Clearwater Beach.

Marlee Boenig
2009-2010 President
NIOA

Enclosure: 2010 NIOA President Letter to Chiefs

The NIOA board members have worked hard this year (and continue to do so) to prepare for the 2009 conference in Nashville. We know that there are budget concerns for many agencies. We know that travel expenses are tight and that some agencies are not providing funds for “extra” training.

We also believe that this conference is the finest conference available for PIOs to hone their skills, receive new insights to help them improve themselves as PIOs and therefore benefit their agencies, and of course, to build networks with others that can help when help is needed.

In past years the NIOA presidents have presented a letter for members to share with their chief or administrators. This letter helps to show value for the annual training conference. I have provided a letter for you to use, this year, as well. Please download, print and present it to your leaders so that they might better understand the overall value of this conference.

We look forward to seeing you in Nashville.

As we move toward the Nashville conference we must also prepare for a new year for the leadership of the NIOA. Nominations for Secretary and also for Vice-President are being accepted. The deadline for submissions is fast approaching.

Here is a quote from VP Marlee Boenig as it appeared the March/April 2009 issue of the NIOA News:

With the conference comes the important matter of electing officers. At this year’s event, we’ll be holding elections for Secretary and for Vice-President. The NIOA Secretary serves a two-year term, while the Vice-President serves a one-year term as VP, followed by a one-year term as President and a one-year term as Immediate Past President.

If you’re interested in running for either of these positions, you MUST declare before June 1, 2009. A Letter of Intent, a short biography and a photograph must be submitted to your Regional Director [or any member of the executive board] and Don Kelly, our outstanding NIOA News Editor, before June 1. This allows the membership time to get to know the people running for office so they can make an informed decision at election time.

Now is your opportunity to get involved in the NIOA. If you’ve been waiting on the sidelines for the perfect moment, here it is. If you’re not interested in running for office, that’s perfectly ok. Instead submit an article for the newsletter, make a worthwhile suggestion to improve our organization or encourage someone to join that isn’t already a member. There are tons of ways you can support the NIOA. Just find your place and help make the NIOA even better.

At the 2008 NIOA conference in Reno we introduced a “Best Practices” session.  This was a well received addition to the conference.  We would like to carry it on to Nashville in August 2009.

In these best practice sessions we will highlight four case studies from our members that feature unique and successful ways NIOA members dealt with a particular issue that is relevant for first-responder PIOs.  Each case study is 45 minutes in length, with a short Q&A.

If you would like to be considered as a presenter, please send a one-page (maximum) synopsis of your case scenario to me at rpalmer@washingtontwp.org by March 6.  The Board will choose a cross-section of cases and four people will be asked to present at Nashville.

Please use the following headings in your synopsis:

Organization name & presenter:

Incident type & date:

Type of organization:

Synopsis/overview of case/event/incident:

Challenges/Issues:

Solution/How you dealt with it:

Outcomes & Results:

Lessons Learned:

It is always a great opportunity to learn from one’s colleagues. On behalf of the entire board, I look forward to your submissions!