2023 SCHEDULE
Check for regular updates!
8 AM - 6 PM
Thursday
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
PACKET PICK UP
OPENING TALK
MORNING SPEAKER:
Cpl. Josh Lewis, Colorado State Patrol
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
CONSENSUAL IMPROV TRAINING
LUNCH SPONSORED BY CMU
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
KEYNOTE SPEAKER & MIXER:
Bengt Washburn
8:00 AM - 8:45 AM
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
10:55 AM - 12:05 PM
1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
2:00 PM - 2:45 PM
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
PACKET PICK UP
OPENING TALK
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Josh Meuwly
CREATIVE SESSIONS
MARKETING PANEL DISCUSSION
LUNCH SPONSORED BY CMU
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
8:00 AM - 8:45 AM
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
2:00 PM - 2:45 PM
3:00 PM - 3:45 PM
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
INITIATION 2023
3:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Thursday Breakout Sessions
10-10:45 AM
Why Media Training Should be a Soft Skill for Every Driven Professional
How Two Local Executives Became Media and PR Pros
An intimate discussion facilitated by Linde Marshall of Purposeful Co with Janet Rowland, Mesa County Commission Board Chair
Angela Padalecki, Grand Junction Regional Airport Executive Director
If you read the Daily Sentinel or watch the local news, not a week will go by without one of our two local executives appearing or being quoted in a media interview. Neither of these skilled women received professional PR or media training and yet they have honed their craft and excel in this field.
Come and listen to their honest and intimate conversation on lessons learned, tricks of the trade, and why any driven professional should consider media training as a necessary soft skill as they advance.
Time for Q&A included.
Linde Marshall,
Principal
Purposeful Colorado
What Do I Do With The Budget?
Business Financial Planning 101
What keeps you up at night when contemplating your business? Are you unsure of how to budget for your business? Do you worry about retaining your key employees in a competitive marketplace? Are you worried about what happens to the business if you are unable to work?
In this seminar, Jacob Scoggin and Alyson Shuman will detail the basics of budgeting, setting up benefits, and providing financial security to your business. Jacob and Alyson are business financial advisors here in the Grand Valley and have spent years assisting business owners with their financial concerns. They specialize in budgeting, group benefits, key person benefits, business investing, and business transition planning.
Jacob Scoggin
& Alyson Shuman
Managing Director
Northwestern Mutual
Communication Professional or Madhatter?
Choose the Hat and Control the Chaos
While we often wear multiple hats in our communication roles there are days when it feels like we are either the Madhatter or a guest at the tea party. This session will discuss how to take control of the chaos that can accompany wearing all those hats and instead establish yourself as a strategist and senior counselor for your agency. The key is securing a seat at the planning table to develop campaigns and advise colleagues about effective approaches to achieve shared goals. Now, who needs a party hat?
Sara Spaulding
Director of Communications
and Engagement
City of Grand Junction
Thursday Creative Sessions
10:55 AM - 12:05 PM
Improv Games
Check out Casual Improv at theconsensualimprov.com
or @consensualimprov on Instagram
Get ready to get out of your head and have fun.
Improv has been a proven leadership and business training tool used by some of the top companies in the world. In this creative session, Consensual Improv will facilitate 2-3 improv games to help you promote creative thinking and silence that inner critic.
About Consensual Improv
Composed of comedians and actors living in Colorado's Roaring Fork Valley, their shows are an interactive and hilarious journey with the audience at the helm. The group has been a regular at the Aspen Laugh Festival and shared the bill with Trevor Noah, Second City, and the late, great Norm MacDonald. Current members include Al Atkinson, Kristin Carlson, Gerald DeLisser, Eliphalet (Miller) Ford, Nina Gabianelli, Emily Henley, Ryan Honey, Brian Keleher, Mike Monroney, Zoe Rom, Jeff Patterson, Jack Trembath, and Cassidy Wiley.
Thursday Lunch Hosted By CMU
11:45 AM - 12:55 PM
Thursday Breakout Sessions
1 - 1:45 PM
Media Interview Training
Are you afraid of the camera and get star struck? Do you pull a "Ricky Bobby?" and aren't sure what to do with your hands?
This limited seat session will help you overcome. Get first hand experience being interviewed on camera. Leave feeling empowered about how to do your next interview.
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Sarah Gray &
Heather Benjamin
Maximizing Engagement:
Using AI to Create Social
Media Copy
According to ChatGPT, which took less than 5 seconds: "AI can be used to create social media copy by analyzing data on language patterns and user engagement. This can include analyzing data on which types of content and language are most likely to generate engagement and interaction, as well as identifying patterns in the types of posts that are likely to be shared or generate sales. With this information, AI can generate text that is optimized for maximum engagement and reach, making it a valuable tool for businesses and brands looking to promote their products or services on social media. Additionally, AI can also be used to automate the process of creating and scheduling posts, allowing businesses to more easily manage their social media presence."
In this session, you will engage with an AI chat generator, learn how to use AI chat generators to create social media copy, and discuss the ethics of using AI generated content. By the end of this session, you will have a list of varying free to paid AI generators for copy writing and best practices on how to use AI copy.
Dr. Elaine Venter
Professor of Mass Communications and Esports
Colorado Mesa University
The value of a Crisis Communications Plan: Utilizing solid relationships and existing tools to be prepared for any emergency
Tracy Trulove, Principal of Trulove Strategic Communications and former Public Information Officer for the Colorado Department of Transportation, will walk you through a strategic overview of how to plan for a crisis.
Her work has spanned both the public and private sectors. Through examples she shares of events, including the Grizzly Creek Fire, subsequent debris flows in Glenwood Canyon and ESPN’s X-Games to name a few, Tracy will walk you through the planning and communication that takes place during emergency events to support strong public information practices to inform impacted communities.
Tracy Trulove
Owner
Trulove Strategic Communications
Thursday Breakout Sessions
2 - 2:45 PM
Keeping It Real
This session will focus on interactions between public information professionals and journalists.
We will dig into the best ways to get coverage, the big no no’s and do some role play.
Cyndy Koures
News Director
KKCO Gray TV
You're Simply The Best:
How Plain Language Helps Your Audience Find, Understand, and Use Your Content
We all want our audience to find, understand, and use our content. In this skill-building session you will learn the science behind the Plain Language movement and how it relates to the success of your written content. You will identify concepts in your industry that are frequently misunderstood and workshop alternate ways to communicate them. This is a session that will change the way you think about writing and leave you with tools to become a cleaner communicator.
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Alli Howe
Communication Manager
Mesa County Public Health
Branding is Not a Logo
At the heart of your organization should be a solid brand strategy that will guide your marketing and communication tactics.
Bring your notebook, laptop, or napkin as we have an interactive break-out session where we talk about relevancy, research, and re-evaluation.
Mistalynn Meyeraan
Account Supervisor
Miles Partnership
Thursday
Keynote & Mixer
3 - 6 PM
Bengt Washburn
Grab a beverage and settle in for a final session of laughter.
Bengt Washburn will perform, and do a short Q & A session afterwards.
This flows right into the afternoon networking mixer with your fellow attendees.
2023 FRIDAY SCHEDULE
8 AM - 4 PM
FRIDAY
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
PACKET PICK UP
OPENING TALK
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Josh Meuwly
MARKETING PANEL DISCUSSION
CREATIVE SESSION
LUNCH SPONSORED BY CMU
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
INITIATION 2023
8:00 AM - 8:45 AM
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
3:45 PM - 4:00 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
2:00 PM - 2:45 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
3:00 PM - 3:45 PM
Friday Creative Session
11 - 11:45 AM
The Business of Giving Back
Gather with your new conference pals and get ready to put together your pitching skills in this fun and impactful creative session.
Alpine Bank is in the business of giving back, and to help celebrate their 50 years of giving back to our local communities, we will be partnering with them to do something really special!
Thursday Lunch Hosted By CMU
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
Friday Breakout Sessions
1 - 1:45 PM
Brand Commitment:
Create, Initiate & Manage
Tonya Maddox, CEO of marketing, PR & events firm, Our Town Matters, explores the importance of driving brand commitment through a dynamic, entertaining, and practical presentation. Tonya believes that driving brand commitment has never been more important. During the presentation, she suggests success to building brand commitment, organizations need to create an emotional connection with their customers. This can be accomplished through effective marketing and branding strategies, such as creating engaging content, developing a strong brand identity, executing memorable campaigns, and leveraging customer data to personalize customer experiences. Additionally, organizations should focus on building relationships with customers through customer service, providing quality products and services, and supporting customer loyalty programs. Implementing these strategies in an integrated way will help organizations create a strong bond between their brand and customers.
Tonya Maddox
CEO
Our Town Matters
Marketing Research
It is critical for managers to conduct marketing research to gain insightful
information to help solve specific marketing problems, such as customer
satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Both the quantitative method and qualitative method will be introduced in this
session to demonstrate how marketing research was executed and applied in the
industry.
Dr. Shiang-Lih Chen McCain
Assistant Professor of Business
Colorado Mesa University
Marketing Automation
with a CRM
Have you ever wanted to set up a CRM to help automate your marketing but need help figuring out where to start?
In this breakout session, we will go over all the components of a CRM, using a CRM to automate your marketing, and how the automation can benefit the entire organization.
Matthew Breman
Vice President of Marketing
ProStar Corporation
Friday Breakout Sessions
2 - 2:45 PM
The Do's and Don'ts of
Google Ads
How to effectively use Google Ads and optimize every dollar you spend.
Brandon Gunny
Paid Search Specialist
Long Point Digital
Colorado Mesa Content Creation
Dare. Develop. Distribute.
All local organizations have a need for creative and distinctive video content.
Leaving behind the forms, formulas and templates takes time and justification that isn't always easy.
Colorado Mesa University's Media Asset Coordinator Bronson Henriques is joined by Vice President for Communications David Ludlam to discuss developing creative.
Do more with less by multi-purposing content, multi-layering messaging and making meaning through narrative structure.
Bronson Henriques &
David Ludlam
Colorado Mesa University
Legal Issues in Marketing
& Communications
Intellectual Property (IP) is at the core of all marketing and communication efforts – but the misuse of IP can derail even the best of campaigns. The goals of this session are to help you understand the forms of IP (copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents) and to anticipate some of the landmines from unauthorized use of IP and wrongful use of comparison claims.
Catherine Norton Breman
Attorney, Business Law
Friday Breakout Sessions
3 - 3:45 PM
Employee Branding:
What Is It, and Why You Should Care
Employee branding is more than a feel-good initiative. In today’s tight labor market, recruiting and keeping top talent impacts your business and your bottom line.
In this session, we will cover employee branding, how to improve your employee brand, and how it will directly affect your business success.
Matthew Breman
Vice President of Marketing
ProStar Corporation
Are Your Legs Tired?...
Because You’ve Been Running Through my Mind All Night.
We will explore the worst and best pick-up lines as we discuss the common
denominator of powerful marketing campaigns and partnerships.
*Politically Incorrect Warning Label Goes Here.
Solomon Liston
Owner
SRL Relations, LLC
The Video Strategy
Crash Course
This session will discuss the effectiveness of video marketing, solution-oriented video strategy, and current video trends.
Drew Loewen
Drew Loewen Creative
Friday INITIATION!
3:45 - 4 PM
Join us as we close out our two-day, power packed conference! Enjoy one last creative push into your best year!
Initiation for 2023