It’s official, the face and voice of the Houston Independent School District, has resigned effective the end of August 31st. Often criticized for his dealings with the media, mostly by the media itself, he’s leaving to join former HISD staffer Adriana Villarreal in her PR agency.
I’m curious to see who they choose to take his place.
FYI, I think this is Adriana Villarreal’s agency: Orquesta Communications.
Source: the Houston Chronicle’s School Zone blog.
News
The New York Times ran a story on the fine art of writing a news release. It was, in my humble opinion, dripping in condescension. Just lovely.
Found via Catching Flack.
General
Houston ISD libraries get new spending
The Houston Chronicle reports that libraries in the Houston Independent School District are going to get a “$10 million infusion of books and computers, an unprecedented shot of money that administrators say should bring every facility up to state standards.” This includes funding for books and computers.
Very good news.
Great reads
Looking for a good read this summer? Entertainment Weekly has compiled the “100 best reads from 1983 to 2008.” Some I agree with, some I don’t.
News
Houston ISD to get pay raises
The Houston Chronicle reports that there’s some good news for teachers of Houston Independent School District. “After some infighting this week, the Houston school board on Thursday unanimously approved a $1.6 billion budget that includes pay raises of at least 3 percent, plus millions more for library books, computers, fine arts programs and principal training.” The good news is that this doesn’t call for a tax-rate increase.
Keep your kids sharp over the summer
Need ideas on keeping your kids sharp this summer? The Houston Chronicle1 recently ran a story focusing on tips to do just that. A snippet:
Some tips for keeping kids sharp over the summer: Visit the library: Find out what interests your child and select books on that subject. Participate in free library summer programs and make time to read every day. Take educational trips: These can be low-cost visits to parks, museums, zoos and nature centers. Plan vacations with educational themes. Practice math daily: Measure items around the house or yard. Track daily temperatures. Add and subtract at the grocery store. Learn fractions while cooking. Play outside: Limit TV and video-game time during summer, just as during the school year. Intense physical activity and exercise contribute to healthy development. Keep a schedule: Continue daily routines during the summer with structure and limits. The key is providing a balance and keeping kids engaged. Prepare for fall: Find out what your child will be learning during the next school year by talking with teachers at that grade level. Preview concepts and materials over the summer. Source: Center for Summer Learning, Johns Hopkins University
Footnotes
1 = article may expire in a few weeks.
News
The Big Green Purse is reporting that the Home Depot is recycling compact fluorescent light bulbs. Good news for those of use who have been using them but were worried about what happens when they have to be replace.
Simply bring in your expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk. The bulbs will be handled by an environmental management company that will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.
News
Track open records requests in Houston
The Houston Chronicle’s Houston Politics blog reports that blogHOUSTON has “launched a new forum to let readers post their open-records requests for everyone to read.” Worth watching, even if you aren’t subject to TPIA requests.
Recycle your compact flourescent lights
The Big Green Purse is reporting that the Home Depot is recycling compact fluorescent light bulbs. Good news for those of use who have been using them but were worried about what happens when they have to be replace.
Simply bring in your expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk. The bulbs will be handled by an environmental management company that will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.
Houston is getting a new stadium
Whether you’re a fan or not, sports attracts tourism to Houston and improves national and international perceptions of the city. The Houston Business Journal is reporting that the city of Houston and the Houston Dynamo team are proceeding with a plan to “fund development of a major multi-use sports and recreational project in South Houston adjacent to State Highway 288.”
What kind of stadium?
The complex, on a 100-acre site purchased earlier this year by the city, will include as many as 18 outdoor soccer and athletic fields with natural and artificial turf, plus recreational parks. Part of the facility will house a practice field for use by Dynamo that would include site improvements paid for by the team.
The site is bordered by Sims Bayou on the south, Highway 288 to the east and Kirby Drive to the west. The first phase of the project, worth about $10 million and to be completed by the end of 2009, will focus on infrastructure work and construction of 8 athletic fields, as well as an extension of Kirby Drive south to Sims Bayou.
Houston ISD to get pay raises
The Houston Chronicle reports that there’s some good news for teachers of Houston Independent School District. “After some infighting this week, the Houston school board on Thursday unanimously approved a $1.6 billion budget that includes pay raises of at least 3 percent, plus millions more for library books, computers, fine arts programs and principal training.” The good news is that this doesn’t call for a tax-rate increase.
News
Looking to add some “bling” to your photos? Try BlingEasy.com. According to ShoeMoney, the “site lets you add some really fun and cool effects to your pictures very easily.”
I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s going on my list.
General
The Big Green Purse is reporting that the Home Depot is recycling compact fluorescent light bulbs. Good news for those of use who have been using them but were worried about what happens when they have to be replace.
Simply bring in your expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk. The bulbs will be handled by an environmental management company that will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.
Green
Tips on writing an RFP executive summary
Bloghound give us a list of the 10 Most common mistakes in writing an RFP executive summary, which makes this a tip in reverse I guess. The shortlist:
- About us vs. the prospect
- Proposal summary vs. a business case
- Opening with blah blah platitudes vs. guts and convictions
- Verbal runoff and information overload
- What’s at stake?
- General to industry vs. personal to prospect
- Educating vs. selling
- Bland writing inadvertently conveys lack of real interest
- Too many pages
- Where can I find more?
My favorite:
Effective executive summaries are about the prospect– not you. How you’re going to solve their problem. Advice on how to burn down their obstacles. How much money they are going to save. New ways for them to be innovative in their industries.
It’s definitely worth a read or bookmarking.
Track open records requests in Houston
The Houston Chronicle’s Houston Politics blog reports that blogHOUSTON has “launched a new forum to let readers post their open-records requests for everyone to read.” Worth watching, even if you aren’t subject to TPIA requests.
Public relations best practices
From BNET’s Catching Flack column:
The authors of the USC-Annenberg study of PR departments compiled a list of 13 best practices among the more than 500 PR departments that responded to their survey:
- Maintain a higher than average ratio of PR budget to gross revenue.
- Report directly and exclusively to the C-Suite.
- Optimize the C-Suite’s understanding of PR’s current and potential contributions to the success of the organization as a whole.
- Establish an effective social responsibility strategy for your organization.
- Establish an effective digital-media strategy for your organization.
- Establish an effective issues-management strategy for your organization.
- Optimize integration and coordination within the PR/Communications function, and between it and other organizational functions.
- Encourage highly ethical practices across the organization, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a long-term strategic point of view, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a proactive mindset, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a flexible mindset, beginning with communication.
- Optimize the integration of PR and reputational considerations into top-level organizational strategies.
- Measurably contribute to organizational success.
If you’re not already reading Catching Flack, you should add it to your list.
Learn better pitching from Hollywood
Another Catching Flack feature, “A Hollywood Exec Teaches Business Pros to Pitch Their Ideas.”
- It’s more important to be interested than interesting
- It might be counter-intuitive but focus more on relationship
building than the immediate outcome of a meeting
- Brevity has value, but don’t pitch your idea in an elevator (or at
the dentist, or in the men’s room)
- Traditional networking is a waste of time
- Send hand-written notes in non-business sized envelopes: assistants
will automatically put small envelopes at the top of the mail pile.
Don’t use old rules to pitch new media
Dan Schawbel give us tips to keep in mind when pitching bloggers:
- Know your blogger.
- Don’t play by the rules because there are no rules.
- Lead with your personal brand.
- Become a part of their community.
- Content is king, even with PR pitches.
- The social media release.
- Be passionate and creative.
- Relationships still trump everything.
Let me repeat that last one: “Relationships still trump everything.” Just a reminder.
Brand yourself
Looking for ways to enhance your personal brand? Chris Brogan has “100 Personal Branding Tactics Using Social Media” that has some very practical and easy-to-use tips. Even doing just a couple will help.
General
The Houston Business Journal is reporting that things are looking up, or at least they will begin to soon.
The current economic crisis is being driven more by fear than facts and should begin to ease in the second half of 2008, an economic forecaster told a group of executives in Houston on Thursday.
[snip]
Source:
News
