Attendees: Monte Mayer, Jerry Farris, Jerry Berns, Maxwell Colon, Joe Kraut, Mike London, Sheldon Ohren, David Zwerin, Larry Wapnik, Richard Rosenzweig, Mrs. Bailor, Nelson Mellitz, Ben Podtor, Henry Wolf, Herbert Grimulstein, Alan Cornblatt, Harvey Char, Alec Pandeleon, Jerry Blum, Bernhard Storch
Staff: NED Herb Rosenbleeth; DOO Larry Richardson; Nikki Salzman
Subject: The Jewish Veteran and Local PR
- The award binders should become more readily available for people to see-this will help facilitate idea exchange
- Bloggers: every community, large and small, has one or more individuals that blog about local issues/events
- You can find them through a simple Google search of your community
- Because you don’t have to compete with world events, like you do with the local press, these people may be an easier avenue for getting coverage
- Invite them to your events, send them press releases, make a relationship
- Make your press releases local – the local press want to report on local things
- Don’t know what to write? You can take National releases and customize them for your local events by inserting one or two paragraphs about what your local Post is doing
- Always put your press items in the body of the email
- Reporters and bloggers often read releases on their phones
- It’s not easy to read attachments on a phone
- Put the most important items in the body of the email
- Social media
- This can be a tool to amplify any coverage that you receive
- Put links to any stories in eNewsletters, Facebook, Twitter
- Put photos of activities on sites like Fbook and Flickr – this can serve as an archive demonstrating the good works that JWV in your community does
- Include links to these sites in your releases – this can help show that we’re relevant and important in the community – and therefore worthy of additional coverage.
- Write Letters to the editor and be sure to identify yourself as a member of JWV
- The Jewish Veteran can also be a tool for publicity – make sure to get issues in visible places in your community. If you need more copies, contact National
- Put meeting notices in the community calendar in your local paper
- Attend events at military bases
- There are future members and patrons in the audience any time we attend an affair for the military
- We need to make an effort to go to as many events as possible, to have as great a presence as possible, and we must always wear our hats so we’re visible at these events
- Have meetings with other veterans groups
- Create a coalition of veterans groups in your community
- Building these bridges could lead to us being a greater/better force in our communities
- Whenever there are forums in your community (job fairs, etc.), make sure that JWV has a table
- Contact the local Jewish journals and newsletters
- Get involved in your synagogues
- Get involved in big veterans programs like Stand Downs
- JWV Patron membership for organizations – gives them access to Pentagon Federal Credit Union
- Put together recruitment posters and distribute them to synagogues and local restaurants
- Online Post!
- Always have applications in your pocket – you never know when you’ll meet a perspective new member.
