Conference Registration: https://online.ncsconline.org/ncscssa/f?p=EVTSSA:4010::::4010:P0_EVENT_ID:3178
Hotel: Cleveland Marriott https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/clesc-cleveland-marriott-downtown-at-key-tower/.
Sunday, August 4
Location: Hotel
5 p.m. – New member orientation led by CCPIO President Leah Gurowitz, Director of Media and Public Relations for the District of Columbia Courts, and CCPIO board members to welcome new members and explain the committee process and what to expect at the conference.
6-8 p.m. – Reception at hotel. Hors D’Oeuvres
8 p.m. – Informal Dine-Around for anyone still hungry. Local host Darren Toms, community outreach coordinator for the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, will provide a list of nearby restaurants.
Monday, August 5
Locations: Breakfast at hotel, morning session at Historic Courthouse, afternoon session at Judicial Center
7:30-8:30 a.m. – Buffet breakfast at hotel
8:30 a.m. – Gather to walk to the Historic Courthouse, 1 Lakeside Avenue
8:45 a.m. – Group Photo in the Historic Courthouse
9-9:20 a.m. – Opening remarks by Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Administrative and Presiding Judge John J. Russo and Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor.
9:20 a.m.-10:20 a.m. – Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on importance of state courts, and constitutions. He will bring a few copies of his book but recommends those who want to get autographed copies buy them and bring them to the conference. 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law is available on Amazon. CORE COMPETENCY: Legislative/Government Relations
10:20-10:40 a.m.
10:40-Noon – Threats against courts and judges. Judge Anthony Cappizzi of Dayton will to talk about media coverage of threats and Geoff Fattah, communications director of the Utah State Courts will talk about bomb threats. Geoff and Jesse Rutledge, Vice President of External Affairs for NCSC, will talk about disinformation campaigns that can affect the judiciary. CORE COMPETENCIES: Crisis Communication, Media Relations
Noon-12:30 p.m. – Optional courthouse tour courthouse and walk to afternoon meeting site.
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. – Box lunch at The Justice Center, site of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, 1200 Ontario Street. Speaker Judge Dick Ambrose, who played on the Cleveland Browns for 10 years and began law school while still a player. CORE COMPETENCY: Media Relations
1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. – How to create effective marketing campaigns. Ed Miller, director of information at the Ohio Supreme Court; Mary Ann Price, court information officer of Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court; and Amy McGahan of the Cleveland firm Dix & Eaton (See her bio at https://www.dix-eaton.com/our-team/amy-mcgahan/) CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Education, Community Outreach
2:30-2:40 – Break
2:40-3:40 p.m. – The many faces of Facebook. Liza-Bart Dolan, Associate Manager of politics and Government at Facebook, will talk about Facebook Best Practices for Government. CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Community Outreach, Education
3:40 p.m.-3:50 p.m. – Break
3:50 p.m.-5 p.m.
Evening – time for networking, including a group going to the Cleveland Indians game 7:10 p.m. Walk to Progressive Field.
Tuesday, August 6
Location all day: Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
7:30-8:30 a.m. – Buffet breakfast at hotel
8:45 a.m. – Gather to walk to Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (three blocks from hotel)
9-10 a.m. – A session on “Serial.” Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Community Outreach Coordinator Darren Toms and Administrative and Presiding Judge John J. Russo and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich will talk about the process of working with the podcast “Serial.” Professor Witmer-Rich teaches a law school class about “Serial.” See https://serialpodcast.org/ Season 3. CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Education, Community Outreach
10-10:20 a.m. – Break
10:20-11:10 a.m. – Trends in News and Media. Eric Mansfield, Executive Director of university Media Relations at Kent State University; and Doris Burke, Research Reporter from ProPublica. CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Education, Community Outreach
11:10-Noon – Visualize Your Message. Speakers: Lindsey Borschel, creative services manager at the Indiana Supreme Court, Gretchen Smith, graphic designer, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, and Kelley Hynds, president and executive producer of Hyndsight Productions in Cleveland. CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Education, Community Outreach, Internal Communications, Publications
Noon-1:30 p.m. – Lunch and CCPIO annual business meeting
Crisis Communication Afternoon
1:30-3 p.m. – High Profile Trials. Panel discussion with Judge Rosemarie Aquilina of the 30th Circuit Court in Michigan, will discuss the Larry Nassar trial over which she presided; Kim Bathgate, assistant director of communications at the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, will talk about the Bill Cosby criminal case; Rhonda Stearley Hebert, manager of communications for the Connecticut Judicial Branch, will talk about the Kennedy cousin case and/or the home invasion/triple murder case. CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Crisis Communication, Education, Community Outreach
3-3:20 p.m. – Break
3:20-4:15 p.m. – “Tornadoes and elections and storms, oh my!” Craig Waters and Tricia Knox, Director and Deputy Director of the Florida Supreme Court’s Office of Public Information, will talk about how technology has changed the role of the court PIO in crisis communications by comparing the ballot case this year to the Gore-Bush recount. They also will address crisis communication during weather crises. A representative from the North Carolina Judiciary will talk about the North Carolina ballot case. CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Crisis Communication, Education, Community Outreach, Legislative/Governmental Relations
4:30 p.m. – CCPIO committee meetings
6 p.m. – Dine Around with board members
Wednesday, August 7
Location: Hotel
7:30-8:30 a.m.
8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. A video “Reveal of the 2020 CCPIO Conference Site.”
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Opioids. Kathryn Dolan, Chief Public Information Officer for the Indiana Supreme Court, will moderate a panel on the work of the CCJ-COSCA Opioid Task Force. Panel members will include Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Nora Sydow, Senior Court Management Consultant at the NCSC. CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Crisis Communication, Education, Community Outreach, Internal Communications, Publications, Legislative/Governmental Relations
9:45 a.m. to 10 am. – Break
10 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.
CORE COMPETENCIES: Education, Community Outreach
11:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – How to fight fake news/Judge legitimacy of “news” organizations. Rhonda Stearley Hebert, manager of Communications for the Connecticut Judicial Branch, will talk about Connecticut Bar’s Fair and Impartial Courts Committee in conjunction with her office efforts to combat unfair criticism based on misinformation; Janet Bancroft, Nebraska Supreme Court’s PIO, will talk about her state’s efforts to recreate the Connecticut model; and Mary Ann Sharkey, media consultant for cities and state governments in Ohio (former Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial page editor and member of the Cleveland Press Club Hall of Fame) will offer her insights CORE COMPETENCIES: Media Relations, Crisis Communication, Education, Community Outreach, Legislative/Governmental Relations
12:30 p.m. – Box Lunch and announcement of 2020 Conference Location.
For those who are staying in Cleveland, Darren Toms will lead a group tour of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a discount rate of $18 per person (participants to pay at the door).
