Not long ago I was whining to one of my staff that Spirit of America would see an increase in support if more people knew our story. Problem is, while most of us at Spirit of America have a surface knowledge of public relations and the tools needed to grow awareness for an organization, none of us come close to being an expert. It's especially tough these days, when it seems like every week there is new technology we should be using, but many times we don't know what we don't know.
So just when I was about to melt into a little grease spot of self-pity, the office calls to tell me that someone named Lynette Ecklund had called, said she loved our mission, and that she wanted to volunteer. Her expertise, it turned out, was in public relations. Fortunately I was in the Bay Area at the time and managed to arrange a lunch with Lynette near her home in Davis, CA.
Well, it turns out that Lynette is
much more than your average volunteer, and her assurance to us that she had experience in public relations turned out to be the understatement of the year. Lynette has sixteen years of experience in technology, public relations and event marketing, with a background in marketing program management, writing and content development. Across technology sectors, she has developed public relations speaker programs for clients and their executives. Lynette has recently been consulting as part of a virtual PR team with emerging next-generation technology startups in Europe, the U.S. and Middle East. Previously, she managed marketing and new communications programs at Microsoft and coordinated 500+ international technology authors and executives during the start-up years of the Interop networking conference, assisting in Tokyo on global expansion efforts.
Wait, I'm not done! Lynette served as a community health volunteer in rural Mexico with Amigos de las Americas, backpacked through Southeast Asia and Europe, and has supported international humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan and Malawi. She "grew up" around the aerospace and defense industry and strongly supports the mission of our soldiers, Spirit of America and all that our nation stands for. She holds a B.S. from Santa Clara University and lives in Davis, California with her husband Lon and two sons.
Obviously, this is an incredible stroke of luck for Spirit of America and the soldiers we support. Lynette has been with us for nearly a month now and has already taken the lead in helping us construct a workable public relations plan. This is my enthusiastic "thank you" to her for helping us out. I'm sure this will be a long and productive relationship, and we are happy to have teamed up with such a dedicated professional and overall terrific person.
Dennis
Not long ago I was whining to one of my staff that Spirit of America would see an increase in support if more people knew our story. Problem is, while most of us at Spirit of America have a surface knowledge of public relations and the tools needed to grow awareness for an organization, none of us come close to being an expert. It's especially tough these days, when it seems like every week there is new technology we should be using, but many times we don't know what we don't know.
It seems like whenever we put out one of our bi-weekly Email Updates, we succeed in shaking the bushes and flushing out a lot of positive responses. I've gotten many comments today about one particular article in the Email Update entitled "The Anatomy of a Spirit of America Project." I think people really appreciate knowing how we go about putting one of our projects together (from request to completion), and how fast, efficient and effective we like to be in responding to our troops. It's a good feeling to hear from folks around the country who are supportive of our mission.
US Army Chaplain Steven Dunn (left) and Specialist Jonathon Kissam were mentioned in today's edition of the West Volusia Beacon. Click here for the entire article. Both soldiers have undertaken the tremendous task of helping some of the estimated 4 million Iraqi orphans, most of whom are snubbed by their communities or used for suicide bombings. Please also visit their Spirit of American Project Page so you can learn more about how to help with their efforts. Our thanks to Chaplain Dunn and Specialist Kissam for their dedication to mission and service to our country.
US Army Specialist Gerardo Llamas, from El Paso, TX, got his deployment in Afghanistan stretched through the winter months and wondered if there was a way to make good use of his additional time. After seeing so many Afghans needing just the basics for their very survival(blankets, shoes, clothing, etc.), he decided to try to make a difference. He put up a post on Craigslist asking people to donate blankets, but didn't get the initial response he had hoped for. But SPC Llamas is an American soldier, not one to easily cut and run. He kept at it and eventually his Craigslist post was seen by Phyllis Zimbler Miller, a blogger, author and overall troop supporter. Phyllis not only posted the request on her own blog, "Mrs. Lieutenant: A Sharon Gold Novel," but she also contacted Spirit of America and asked if we could help.
Very busy day at Spirit of America as we get a large shipment ready for US Marines in Afghanistan. The recipients are Lieutenant Colonel David Odom and Major Brian Mulvihill of the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Afghanistan. Tasked with civil engagement and the training of security forces, Colonel Odom and Major Mulvihill requested supplies such as ballistic eye protection, hygiene kits, military-use first aid kits, personal hydration systems and water purification tablets. This was just a start, and more will be coming from Spirit of America thanks to the generosity of our donors.
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