Fourth Day -2nd wk

Yesturday a class memeber picked the tragic story of a married couple who went skiing, and got lost for nine days.  I heard aboutt this story on the 11:00 o'clock news.  And had planned to write my blog on it, but another story caught my attention.

This article is from the Toronto Star,  The RCMP admit they should have acted sooner, in a rescue. Thank god they had the interity to own up to a decision, that cost a woman her life.  It's all well and good to say, "it was a wrong call". Someone is dead.  

The unforturnate miscommunication and the fact that the couple moved off the monitored ski trail, has left no happy end.

There's an error on the part of the RCMP for not intiating a 'search-and-recsue call-out on Feb 21 (Saturday)," 

The Resort's only comment "we didn't know of any missing or overdue skiers."  Does that excuse them?

Issue

the delay in search and recsue

Stockholders

RCMP

Resort

Message

we're sorry. (sorta)

Audience

family of the couple 

any guest and future guest of the resort

recession recession recession - third day second week

I don't recall the recessions in the 70's and 80's. What I do remember is, we didn't have as much as say, other people. Lets include the fact that both my parents where in university, so our 'poor' state could have been a student allowance. When I think about my childhood in the years my parents went to Western, we didn't want for anything, because we didn't know what we didn't have.
I am a parent now and in my thirthy-fifth year, I still don't feel it. It could be that I work for a First Nations community and don't pay taxes, or own a car. Maybe some day my family will have a car. I know it wouln't be a new model, as I can't imagine saving that amount.
This is an older article from CNBC that I found when looking for more information on another, recession related topic.

How I see whats happening is controlling the masses, makes me think back to President Obama
inaugual speech.  Hardwork, tough times, so forth.  

 
“The current situation has nothing in common with the Great Depression,” says economist Steve Hanke of the Cato Institute and Johns Hopkins University. “The sooner they [in Washington] stop spinning the bad news story and say nothing, the sooner we’ll be more confident.”

This is a scary time, and I'm trying to put myself in everyone's shoes. I can understand that economist and government, aren't really hiding the truth, in this financial crisis.

In history we know that we have the capability to learn from our past, and we always come on fine.  If I just knew what a recession felt like.

In the article it closes with a cloudy hope. "The consensus is this recession will end sometime between the second falh of 2009 and he beginning of 2010. the pessimists say wait till next year-period.  David Jones, COE of DMJ Advisors, is among those who see 'hints of stability.' By that he menas, the rate of decline in areas like retail appear to be slowing. We'll see the same thing hppening on the housing side in the next couple months," says Jones

Below our the artciles that inspired.  The people our the stockholds. 

GM Post Loss of $30.9B for 2008

GM posts 9.6B loss 

What To Do If You Get Laid Off

PR Agency in Toronto

Polaris PR 

Is a Toronto-based PR company offering a full suite of communications services.

The small long oval table - Day Two of Week Two

Dated Facebook news.  How we feel about Social Networking.  There is no privacy on the internet. Once we have agreed to the terms, we have givin up our "private life" on line.  There is a million things we can do on line. The new hang out for kids is facebook, but it isn't that new, really.  I've just heard about SKYPE - its just like MSN messenger, with webcam options. Remember msn? 

Anyways drop the fuss on what facebook is and isn't doing with our 'private information'. We all agreed, whether we read the terms or not.   There is a common sence we all need to have.  I wouldn't put my phone number up on  a public bathroom wall, so why would I put anything like that on a internet wall.  

Wiener recall - healthzone My god, do I feel bad for CEO Michael McCain of Maple Leaf foods.  This man, did a brave and humble apology to the world last summer, prefectly executed PR, and now this recall. The beginning of this artcile, is read as though is was a set up.  "Two employees of the plant have been sent home - pending on investigation".  says, Company spokesperson Linda Smith.  

I hope people can forgive a second time. Judging from this article human error and not Maple Leafs foods and not thier strigent industry-leading protocols.  

picture test

testing video link

testing link - Open child-death files: NDP

I found this interesting article in the Toronto Star today.

Start Of Second Week

There is work to be done.

The Struggle

With very basic knowledge on what public relations is, I have founded myself excited and overwhelmed. 

With only a week in, I have been struggling with time. With a full time job in communications, working for my home First Nations community Rama,  I really don't want to fail.  Not to disappoint my community, but the high standard I have for myself.    

I do learn better in a practical setting.  In my current role my responsibilities,  are limited.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the research I do to educate the community on environmental awareness, plus assembling the monthly community newsletter, is a timely challenge.  The communications department,  handles the majority of the events though out the year. I do undertake a lot of the planning process. 

In the chapters that I have read so far, 'values' sticks out - values: establish the boundaries within which we are willing to operate.

The other day Rama's Communications Department had a meeting.  What we were going to dicuss was a page layout for the Orillia Packet and Times. The Packet and Times has a yearly progress 'magazine', and because Rama is in the immediate area, we have always added a page. This process was just indroduced to me, and I have been with the department going on two years! Its as though with the recent education I am getting on public realtions, I'm aloud into a club that controls the info flow.  

The Progress Edition Packet and Times. Questions I had to think about, obvious criteria, our logo.

a side note on our logo; its been just this past year where we have dropped the 'mnjikaning' officially.  In turn every department had to change letterheads, business cards, vehicle signage, email signatures!  Purchasing and Communications where incharge of the circulation.  Only by reguest was the new logo permitted to be used by other departments.

The objectives I was to have for our brain storming session for progress edition was simple.

• To promote the Chippewas of Rama First Nation as a proud progressive First Nation community, open for business and partnership opportunities
• Vibrant community continues to foster growth
• Future home of major regional health care training facility
• Commited to environmental awareness
• Creating opportunities for individuals to grow and succeed 

I thought about my values, how I see my community, I thought about the role of values in public relations.  I thought about values - driven management of realtionships between an organization and the public...that can affect its success.

My formal training was as a Native Social Service Worker, part of my training was personal healing, and inward elvaluation.  Now I am far from being an expert on any one elses personal healing/healthy states. But I know that my community is not a proud progressive community, in the sense that I know these words.  That was my struggle, and I dealt with my perosnal feeling and still produced two layouts. Layouts my manage praised, and will take forward, for approval from Chef and Council.  

How far do I bend my own values?