SELF-NOMINATE BY OCTOBER 10
Join the Board!
The 2024 election for the Midwest Chapter is VERY QUICKLY approaching! If you're interested in running for the board, please fill out the form below. If you want to know more about the direction the board is moving, check out the recently approved strategic plan that will guide us for the next five years.
The Midwest Chapter Board has nine seats with staggered terms. There are THREE seats open on the board of directors. Those elected will serve three-year terms (2025, 2026, 2027) starting January 2025 and ending December 2027. Serving on the board offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of public participation while gaining valuable leadership experience, building professional connections, and making a lasting impact on the Midwest region. While the board happily welcomes all candidates, we strongly encourage members outside of Minnesota to apply to have a greater representation across the region.
- Self-nominations are due by Thursday, October 10. Board elections will be held online. Online voting occurs October 17 through November 1.
- Results will be announced the week of November 11.
- New board members are encouraged to join the board for its final meeting of the year on December 13, from 12 pm-1:30 pm CT.
- New member orientation will be scheduled at their convenience in December.
If you have questions, please email board President Andrea Gebhart at agebhart@jeo.com.
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MIDWEST CHAPTER WEBINAR
Bites & Insights: What is Best for the Community vs What the Community Wants
Date: Wednesday, October 9
Time: 12:00 p.m. Central time
Presenter: Jordan King, Strategic Communications and Public Outreach, Kimley-Horn
Moderator: Josie Shardlow, Director Operations and Engagement – Regulatory Services, City of Minneapolis
What happens when a large infrastructure project is needed to continue to supply drinking water to a community but the community doesn’t want the project to impact recreation in a beloved canyon? We bridge the gap. We will discuss the outrage, mistrust, and pushback the City Creek Water Treatment Plant project in Salt Lake City received from the cycling community when it was determined that the canyon would need to be closed to public access for three years. How did we prepare and involve the public in the decision? How did we navigate the pushback? What did we do when the project became a key issue in a political race? And how are we repairing the damaged relationships between the public and the public utility?
Presenter Bio: Jordan has 16 years of experience in creating and marketing communication messages for both public and internal audiences. As a Strategic Communications and Outreach Manager at Kimley-Horn, he oversees a team of public participation and marketing professionals across the Mountain-Pacific region, which spans five states, with a primary focus on the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. Jordan is a strong communicator, and excels at building relationships with clients to craft marketing messages tailored to their unique needs. Jordan serves as the Vice President of the Intermountain Chapter of IAP2 USA, focusing on member engagement and networking. He is also an active member of PRSA, AWWA, and the Utah PIO Association.
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2025 Annual Midwest Conference
Proposal Submission
The 2025 International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Midwest Chapter Conference offers a unique opportunity for anyone who works in public participation (P2) and engagement to share their successes, challenges, and passion with conference attendees. Whether you are a public sector engagement specialist, nonprofit leader, government planner, community organizer, or consultant, we invite you to present and attend the conference.
Conference Date: April 23-25, 2025
Proposal Submission Date: Noon Central time on Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Venue: Metropolitan Community College (MCC) - Institute for the Culinary Arts Building
City: Omaha, Nebraska
Theme: Weaving Vibrant Networks That Energize Engagement
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LOCAL NETWORK ALERT
Submit Interest Form by October 10
Building on the success of the Nebraska Local Network, a dedicated group of IAP2 practitioners from Minnesota are coming together to form a new local network. This network will serve as a hub for relationship building, leadership development, and the exchange of best practices in public engagement across the state.
To make this vision a reality, we are seeking passionate IAP2 members in Minnesota to join the Core Team. As a member of the Core Team, you will have the unique opportunity to lead the development of the Minnesota Local Network by setting goals, creating action plans, and shaping the future of public engagement in our state. Core Team membership is open to IAP2 members.
If you’re interested in helping lead this exciting new initiative in Minnesota as an inaugural Core Team member, we invite you to complete our brief Interest Form by Thursday, October 10.
Let’s build a strong and vibrant community of practice in Minnesota!
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2024 Midwest Conference Presentation
"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...."
Presenter: Alyssa Vaughn, JEO Consulting Group, avaughan@jeo.com
Public involvement is all about connecting with the communities we serve. However, it can also feel lonely when you’re constantly receiving public complaints. Using pop culture references, we can bring fun to lessons learned and remind each other we’re not alone.
1. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie: Setting Expectations
The story goes if you give a mouse a cookie, they’ll want a glass of milk, and without setting expectations at the beginning, we continue to let the mouse ask for more and more things. We can set clear and honest expectations with the public by knowing our audience, remembering the messenger is the message, keeping it simple and clear, listening to the public, being honest, and most importantly – not making promises you can’t keep.
2. Dealing with Emotions
A person’s emotions are caused by their thoughts and present as an adaptive response to a situation. Emotions become part of our reasoning and decision-making process. A person has more than 400 emotional experiences in a day, and a P2 practitioner can receive any of those emotions at any given time. When dealing with emotions, we need to remember:
- Facts don’t make people feel better
- Tailor the approach to the crowd
- Acknowledge the elephant in the room
- Discussions need to focus on the people in it
3. Adaptability is the Game: Adapt or Die
A large part of our profession is adapting and responding to change or new conditions in our environment. Effective engagement requires a dynamic and flexible approach that can adapt to changing circumstances and unforeseen events.
4. Taylor Swift: Big Reputation, Big Conversation
Engagement and reputation are closely related—any project can have both good and bad reputations to manage at any given time. The public’s perception is their reality, so it’s important for us to be nice, authentic, open, and transparent while managing their expectations.
5. Think Boldy
Some of our best engagement comes from outside our standard tactics. Think boldly when you’re trying to engage your public – what are you trying to convey? What makes the most sense for your audience? What do you already know, and what is the community trying to tell you?
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