[PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was a reporter for the Daily Astorian (in Astoria, Oregon) and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as an Oregon state government manager and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing pubic policy – to what I write. If you are reading this, thanks for doing so and please don’t hesitate to respond so we can engage in a dialogue, not just a monologue.]

*****************

The firm where I spent 25 years of my professional career – CFM Strategic Communications – has enjoyed a partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) for more than 15 years.

For those years, our firm also had the privilege of representing OPB in Salem where, at one point, bonding funding was at stake to enable OPB to build out its digital network in Eastern Oregon. Without the funding, the area “would have gone dark” in terms of OPB radio and television signals.

To the credit of OPB and its top managers – Steve Bass, the CEO of the enterprise, and Dan Metziga, the vice president of development – we were successful. We convinced legislators to allocate more than $3 million in bond funding for the project.

While we are proud of this achievement for OPB, a credit should go to all who were involved in proposing the allocation, as well as to legislators who, wisely, supported it even in the face of a lot of competition for lottery-backed bonding dollars. One of the chief supporters was Senator Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, a solid political operative in Salem who remains, today, a staunch supporter of OPB.

In CFM’s partnership with OPB, we sponsor ads on radio and TV airwaves, ads that emphasize our own credentials as a lobbying and public relations form. The partnership has been more beneficial for us than for OPB.

As a member of the OPB Business Partner Committee, I was asked recently to tape a testimonial for the annual Business Partnership Reception. I was happy to do so.

Here is a summary of the points I made:

• We have been pleasantly surprised over the years to hear how many people – friends, neighbors, associates, legislators, other public officials – have noticed our support for OPB and have complimented us on being so involved. Our state and federal lobbying work, as well as our general public relations activities, have benefitted from the partnership.

• The top-level credibility of OPB as a news and information source – you always can trust with what you hear or see on OPB – has added to our own reputation as a firm.

• Several of us in CFM have backgrounds in the media business – some in newspapers, some in TV, some in other media forums – so we appreciate the chance to support such a credible news and information source

For us, linking up with OPB represented a way to burnish our own reputation as a firm interested in the best Oregon has to offer. And OPB surely meets the test of being the best.