Honored to be serving as the emcee, and to be providing some media relations support, for StorySlam: A Benefit for Farther Foundation. It’s coming up fast–on Thursday, October 11th, at FitzGerald’s Nightclub. Tickets are $50 and include food and all the entertainment. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to www.fartherfoundation.org or call 708-497-7240. Founded in 2008, the […]
Soliciting donations is an art form—there’s no single scientifically proven method that’s best in all situations and for all causes. Ideally, you want to hone a message that lies between these two extremes: A) Craft a pitch too subtly, and folks won’t even realize you’re raising money. B) Arrange words that conspire to push too […]
The term “mic drop” is a relatively recent addition to our language. It refers to the dramatic gesture of punctuating the end of your remarks with the action of dropping your microphone—a bold statement that declares “what else is there to say?” While the brashness of that gesture may be a turn-off to some, it […]
Voicing a fierce yearning for equity, justice and building bridges between those who are divided, Kevin Coval delivered a stirring presentation at the Oak Park Public Library on Wednesday evening. He brought to life a sampling of the 77 pieces (one for each city neighborhood) in his 2017 book of poetry, “A People’s History of […]
“The problem with most news releases: they mimic other news releases—which fall far short of furthering organizational goals.” That was my closing remark in an email last week to a senior executive with a company that appears to be kicking butt in business. Alas, it is struggling to communicate its rapid growth–and the reasons behind […]
Our minds have infinite imagination. Words effectively and artfully aligned can move us powerfully as we imagine, or picture, a scenario unfolding. That’s how books have “unlimited budgets”—grander than anything Hollywood could muster. In the reader’s eye, action plays out on a boundless platform. Still, there’s nothing quite like actually “seeing it” with our eyes […]
The car horn was relentless. For at least 30 seconds this morning, someone in downtown Chicago was leaning on theirs to send an urgent message. With ample time between meetings, I stopped walking to see what the fuss was about. A few car lengths past a busy intersection, just north of the Merchandise Mart, an […]
Nearly three years ago, my interviews of local Oak Park notables for the village’s local cable access channel shifted gears. While I have continued the Q & A format that encompassed my smattering of segments dating back to 2009, the program’s alliterative hook has gone from “Oak Park’s Own” to “A Beer With Baron.” In […]
Last week, three fellow Advisory Board “sharks” and I returned to Oak Park and River Forest High School for three half-days to evaluate the 16 student teams from the Business INCubatoredu at OPRF as they made year-end pitches. There were many terrific ideas that stemmed from months of hard work, so it wasn’t a simple task. We […]
It’s an inspiring and humbling thing to be providing public relations and media relations support for the Guinness World Record Attempt: Living Donor Rally on Saturday, April 21st at Millennium Park in Chicago. Through contacts I have made in myriad media markets around the United States–all after gathering information from organ donors who are attending […]