Public Relations And YOU

Too often public relations is thought of as being only publicity. And too often, publicity is thought of as merely manufactured or planted "news".

Manufactured news is publicity, but only a small part of it. Publicity includes any newspaper article about your people or your activities, any radio or TV report, any brochure you mail or hand out, any paid (or free) advertisement you place, any word of mouth you can generate, even the name of your park district painted on a truck.

Publicity is public relations, but only a part of it. Publicity makes the public know about you and think about you.

Illinois Parks 54 March/ April 1970

Good public relations includes anything you do to make the public think of you favorably. It includes a "smile" in the voice of the person who answers your telephone, courteous driving of your vehicles, an attitude of service, a welcome to visitors, being open and aboveboard in everything you do, keeping accurate (and simple) accounting records and being really willing to show and explain them to the press or anyone else, sending "thank you" letters and presenting awards, etc., etc.

Probably every park district in the state has done something in the way of public relations...including publicity ...that most (or all) other districts have not done. Maybe a tea to introduce your new director to other public officials and community leaders; maybe outfitting your employees in uniforms; maybe putting a sign on the side of your truck to "advertise" a local charity, or your own programs; maybe promoting your teen programs with posters in school buses; maybe sending copies of your minutes to observers from the League of Women Voters, the press and others so they don't have to take notes at your meetings; maybe...well, you tell us!

Please share your ideas. We'll have a new column in this magazine with a brief description of what park districts have done and are planning to do! We, of course, know of some of the things but there must be literally hundreds of ideas that we've never heard about and we won't know about them unless you tell us.

Don't worry about good form and the actual writing... just give us the facts and we'll prepare it for the magazine. If you would prefer, call the Editor of the Illinois Parks, Shirley Roberts in Springfield 217/523-1511, or call Chairman Gene Pomerance, Public Relations Committee in Elmhurst 312/832-7801 or at work 312/467-9200.

Your ideas will be appreciated. Let's all work together to help each other with our good public relations outlook for 1970.

Illinois Parks 55 March/ April 1970