2008 Professional Development Seminar
“Surviving the Flames: Crisis Communications from the Pros Who Invented It”
Full Day Professional Development Seminar
September 12, 2008
Elon University
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Member registration now open!
Featuring:
Al Tortorella, Ogilvy PR, Tylenol Crisis
Steven Fink, Lexicon Communications, Three Mile Island Crisis
Mike Hermann, Catevo Group, Union Carbide (Bhopal, India) Crisis
Nora Carr, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Columbine Crisis
Rick Amme, Amme & Associates
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Steven Fink – Three Mile Island
Steven Fink, a highly skilled senior corporate communications executive, is one of the nation’s leading experts in crisis management and crisis communications. He is the author of the seminal work on the subject: Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable, which remains to this day the most successful and widely-read book on crisis management ever published. During Three Mile Island , the nation's worst commercial nuclear power accident, he served on the crisis management team in the administration of then Pennsylvania Governor (and former U.S. Attorney General) Dick Thornburgh. By its remarkably calm handling of the crisis, this team was widely credited with having averted a panic among the population of South Central Pennsylvania -- and the rest of the nation. He later served as an unpaid adviser to the then-Soviet Union during that country’s tragic nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.
Mike Hermann – Union Carbide
With more than 35 years of experience in the public and private sectors, Mike is among the most skilled business consultants in the U.S. with special expertise in crisis and issues management, internal communications, research and strategic planning. Prior to the formation of Catevo, Mike served as chairman/CEO and president of Epley Associates, Inc. In 1993, he had merged his company, Communication Sciences International (CSI), with Epley. Prior to opening CSIin 1986, Mike worked with Union Carbide Corporation and served as an integral member of its crisis communications team during the Bhopal industrial accident. Over his career, Mike has consulted with a number of leading corporations, including John Deere, GSK, ABB, Ford Motor Company, Nortel, Austin Nichols, Praxair and Bell Atlantic.
Al Tortorella – Tylenol
Al Tortorella brings more than twenty-five years of corporate and crisis management experience to Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. Since 1982 when he represented Tylenol during its cyanide tampering episode and national re-call, followed by Union Carbide’s Bhopal, India gas leak and Perrier’s benzene-tainted water product in the mid-80’s and early 90’s, he has developed an international reputation as an expert on crisis management and media, advising some of the world’s largest companies in dealing with sensitive public issues. Many of the companies he represents are in the food, beverage, energy, pharmaceutical and medical category. A former William Randolph Hearst Foundation Scholar at the University of Maryland, Mr. Tortorella has also worked for The Wall Street Journal, Burson-Marsteller and General Electric in various management and executive positions.
BREAKOUT SPEAKERS
Rick Amme - Amme & Associates
A member of the PRSA Tar Heel Chapter, Richard (Rick) Amme heads the crisis and media relations firm Amme & Associates, Inc. For more than 13 years he has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, institutions, and executives throughout the country to protect and enhance their reputations especially during times of urgency. His clients include Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, the U.S. Government, Sara Lee Corporation, American Express, BB&T, La-Z-Boy, Simmons, Adventist Health Care System, and Targacept. Even pro football greats John Elway, Tony Dorsett, and Joe Theismann have worked with Rick to prepare to talk with the national media about products they represent.
Nora Carr – Columbine
Nora Carr is a nationally known and respected authority on strategic public relations, marketing and crisis communications. A sought-after speaker, Carr is a frequent presenter at local, state and national conferences for education and business audiences. She has won more than 90 local, state and national awards for excellence in public relations. Her work has been published in a variety of news outlets and professional trade publications. In 1999, Carr was one of four national experts asked to provide on-site assistance to the Jefferson County Public Schools in Golden, Colorado. Carr coordinated media relations in the aftermath of the Columbine High School tragedy. While there, she dealt with more than 750 news outlets and more than 1,000 reporters on a daily basis.
Register early – only 120 spots available!
Directions to Elon and printable map [PDF]
Our Schedule [DOC]
Seminar Flyer [PDF]
PRSA Tarheel Blog
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