Widmeyer Communications » Headlines

Statewide Poll in Tennessee, One of Only Two Winners in Race to the Top Competition’s First Round, Show Strong Support for K-12 Standards

Kabakoff Sara — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:22:29 +0000

Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), a Widmeyer client, aggressively promotes innovative education reform agendas in Tennessee, one of two states selected as grant winner in the first phase of the Race to the Top competition. Widmeyer has been helping providing SCORE, founded by Senator Bill Frist, with communications and research counsel for the past year. A statewide poll, commissioned by SCORE and conducted by Widmeyer Research and Polling, explored overall voter attitudes toward public education shows that Tennessee voters are excited by the prospect of school reform in the state, as well as encouraged by Tennessee’s selection as a Race to the Top Competition winner. Results from the poll were featured in a July 26^th article in The Chattanoogan.

View The Chattanoogan article and visit www.tnscore.org for more details on the poll.

CPSC Chairman and Pool Safely

norakubach — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:30:21 +0000

Inez M. Tenenbaum, Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, had a letter to the editor published in the New York Times on Saturday, July 24th, responding to a news article about temporary swimming pools coming to Manhattan. Tenenbaum offered a few Pool Safely safety steps, while reminding New York pool-goers and visitors to the Big Apple that there is a way to both enjoy the cool pools and stay safe this summer.

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Raising Awareness of Computer-Science Education

Kabakoff Sara — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:48:33 +0000

Widmeyer clients, the Association for Computing Machinery and the Computer Science Teachers Association, continue to support efforts such as Computer Science Education Week to increase awareness of the importance of including computer science in the national education conversation. A recent article in Education Week featured quotes from both organizations while highlighting a multitude of initiatives intended to raise awareness of computing and its role in society.

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National Oil Spill Commission Co-chairs on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown

Kabakoff Sara — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:39:17 +0000

Former Senator Bob Graham and former EPA Administrator William Reilly, co-chairmen of the bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, appeared live on “The Daily Rundown” on MSNBC on Monday, July 12^th in advance of the Commission’s two-day public meeting. Sen. Graham and Administrator Reilly discussed the President’s charge for the Commission, to address three important questions: the root cause of the catastrophe; what they can do to make sure it never happens again and the future of offshore drilling in America. In addition to the segment on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown, they also appeared on the TODAY Show, Andrea Mitchell Reports and numerous other local, regional and national media outlets.

CPSC’s Pool Safety Expert Interviewed Live on FOX 5 DC

Kabakoff Sara — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:24:23 +0000

Kathleen Reilly of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a Widmeyer client, appeared live on Washington DC’s FOX 5 Morning News on Thursday, July 8th. Reilly discussed Pool Safely: Simple Steps Save Lives – the Commission’s national public education campaign to reduce drowning and other pool and spa related incidents. She also provided important pool and spa safety tips, including installing fences, watching children when they are in or near a pool or spa and teaching children basic water safety tips. View the interview below and learn more at www.poolsafely.gov.

More Talent Joins Widmeyer’s NY Office

Kabakoff Sara — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:22:49 +0000

Widmeyer Communications announces the addition of two new staff members to its New York office: Assistant Vice President Daisy Okas in the education, arts and philanthropy practice and Senior Account Manager Jonah Fay-Hurvitz on the Health and Wellness team.

“Daisy is the consummate media professional and a veteran of some of New York’s most prestigious firms,” said Jason Smith, a principal at Widmeyer who oversees the New York office. “Likewise, Jonah cut his teeth at one of the nation’s best digital firms. We’re thrilled he wants to put those skills and experiences to use on our clients’ behalf.”

With over 15 years in the communications field, Okas joins the firm as an assistant vice president and will provide counsel to a variety of clients in the education, philanthropic and culture space. As Assistant Vice President of Communications at the American Kennel Club, Okas reinvigorated and redefined the 125-year old brand via award-winning public relations programs, creative media outreach strategies, advertising campaigns, events and public education initiatives. At Weber Shandwick, she developed, directed and managed ongoing public relations programs for the Eastman Kodak Company and educational toymaker VTech. Okas holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Boston University’s College of Communication.

In Widmeyer’s Health and Wellness practice, Fay-Hurvitz will lend his marketing communications background to clients such as Pfizer, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. Before joining Widmeyer, Fay-Hurvitz worked at Digitas, an integrated brand agency, where as a senior marketing associate, he worked with Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer and MedImmune to grow and manage their brands. Most recently, Fay-Hurvitz developed the brand platform for a MedImmune product, including consumer and professional marketing and media strategies. Prior to Digitas, he worked for Esquire Magazine, where he helped develop creative marketing programs for readers and advertisers. Fay-Hurvitz graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in History and Spanish.

“You can never know which pool safety step will save a life…until it does.”

Kabakoff Sara — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:52:44 +0000

On July 1^st, in advance of the July 4^th holiday weekend, NBC’s TODAY Show issued an urgent warning to parents related to pool and spa safety. Tom Costello reported live from a public pool in Washington, DC with details on nationwide drowning numbers over the last month. Costello highlighted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)’s national pool and spa public education campaign and the segment included the debut of the new Pool Safely PSAs. In an interview included in the story, CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said, “Drowning is the leading cause for children under 6 and those drowning are preventable.” In addition to the segment on NBC’s TODAY, the Pool Safely campaign recently garnered coverage in USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Daily News, on the Active Rain blog and in a number of other outlets.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Forbes Highlights National Town Meeting

Kabakoff Sara — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:00:36 +0000

“How to Balance the Budget? The People Speak,” written by Forbes Washington Bureau Chief, Brian Wingfield, list key recommendations from the Saturday, June 26th national town meeting hosted by AmericaSpeaks. Wingfield’s article includes comments from the nonpartisan nonprofit’s Founder and President Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer and stresses that the economy and nation’s spending will top the agenda in Congress in the coming months.

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Senators Gregg and Conrad Laud “AmericaSpeaks: Our Budget, Our Economy”

Kabakoff Sara — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:49:02 +0000

A national town meeting will be held on Saturday, June 26^th to discuss America’s fiscal future. Capital News Connection’s “Power Breakfast” on NPR affiliate WAMU featured Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), both members of the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, who expressed support for AmericaSpeaks, a Widmeyer client, and its national town meeting initiative. Per Senator Gregg, “The only way Congress acts is if it hears from people it represents.”

Listen

AEIC’s Call to Action in Bloomberg Businessweek

Kabakoff Sara — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:59:57 +0000

Under the headline “The Other U.S. Energy Crisis: Lack of R&D,” Bloomberg Businessweek this week provided additional coverage on the American Energy Innovation Council’s (AEIC) call for a tripling of America’s investment in energy R&D. The story, written by Economics editor Peter Coy, mentioned AEIC members Bill Gates, Jeff Immelt and John Doerr.

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