Florida School Board Association Partners with Hennes Communications to Provide Issues Management Crisis Management & Communications Services to Members
There are scores of reasons why your district can be thrust into the news.
Lawsuit…sports controversy…social media threats…active shooter…
board-superintendent clash…criminal accusation…discrimination complaints…diversity issues…FERPA or HIPAA violation…fiscal mismanagement…protest…
sexual misconduct…student newspaper story…challenging conversations…
testing controversy…union grievance/strike…
Suddenly, there’s a TV crew in the parking lot, your local newspaper
is on Line One and the situation is already on Facebook.
The Florida School Boards Association is excited to introduce a new business partnership with Hennes Communications to provide issues management and strategic communications consulting services to public school districts throughout Florida facing sudden challenges to their reputations and operations.
Whether you are a small, rural district or a large district with a full communications department, Hennes Communications has an extensive track record of working closely with school boards, superintendents, communications professionals, and legal counsel in a cooperative framework with one goal in mind: Helping you communicate your story effectively to protect your district’s reputation in the face of today’s media and stakeholder demands for speed and transparency. We look forward to having Hennes participate in this year’s Annual Conference.
Andrea Messina, Executive Director of the Florida School Boards Association, said, “Hennes Communications offers smart strategic communication counsel to help our districts deal with a breaking crisis situation quickly and effectively. They put the truth, and the reputations of our districts, first. Equally as important, they can be brought in to develop a communication strategy for any district need. Hennes Communications understands how to balance district credibility with fidelity to community.”
“The past two years have been the most challenging many educators have ever experienced,” said Hennes Communications Managing Partner Thom Fladung. “From COVID-19 mask mandates and critical race theory to tense and contentious politics spilling into the classroom, board of education meetings that drew little attention now require a police presence. And always looming is social media, where outrage comes naturally. We’ve worked with many schools, school districts and attorneys, so it’s rare that we encounter a situation we’ve not faced before. We know the value of telling the truth, telling it first and telling it fast.”
Amie Williamson, FSBA’s Communications Manager, said, “As I embark on assisting members with their communications needs, I know that Hennes Communications will be among the most valuable tools in our toolbox. Bruce Hennes and his team have exceeded our expectations at every step. I am confident Florida’s school districts will greatly benefit from their expertise.”
Hennes Communications consultants are experienced professionals with long histories working in the news media, in industry and in law. In addition to issues management and strategic communications, the firm provides pre-crisis consulting, the creation of crisis communications plans, crisis/media training, tabletop drills, 24/7 crisis response services, litigation communications support and communications audits to schools and school districts that are likely to suddenly find themselves “on trial in the Court of Public Opinion.”
Hennes Communications can be reached at (216) 321-7774 or hennes@crisiscommunications.com
About Hennes Communications
Hennes Communications, founded in 1989, is one of the few firms in North America focused exclusively on crisis management and crisis communications. With deep, award-winning experience, the firm is staffed exclusively by senior-level consultants, working with clients across the continent and around the world. Hennes Communications has a similar “preferred provider” relationship with the Arizona School Boards Association and the Ohio School Boards Association. Learn more at http://www.crisiscommunications.com.
About the Florida School Boards Association
The Florida School Boards Association, Inc. (FSBA) is a nonprofit corporation representing the elected school boards in Florida. FSBA has been the collective voice for Florida school districts since 1930 and is closely allied with other educational and community agencies to work toward improvement of education in Florida. The mission of the Florida School Boards Association is to increase student achievement through the development of effective school board leadership and advocacy for public education. Learn more at https://fsba.org/