My contribution to the practice of public affairs

I was honored to be among less than two dozen selected nationwide for the new Master Public Information Officer Program, taught at FEMA's Emergency Management Institute in Maryland. I completed the three-course series last year.

One of the program's requirements was that I had to design, develop and implement a research project to contribute to the public information body of knowledge. I was just informed that the paper I wrote, "Advances in getting the right messages to the right people at the right time," is now part of the permanent collection of the library at EMI.

I'v got initials after my name now!

I've been honored to be able to give a presentation (or two) and/or serve as m/c at every one of Civil Air Patrol's National PAO Academies since the first in 2008. I've especially enjoyed the Q&A, networking, and handing out Balsem Awards to our very deserving PAO superstars. 

Defending my capstone project's paper to the faculty and students.

But I was unable to attend CAP's 8th National PAO Academy, Aug. 30 -Aug. 31, in San Antonio due to a colossal scheduling conflict - it was also the final week of the FEMA Master PIO course I was completing at the Emergency Management Institute in Maryland. 

Over the course of the three-week program I and the 20 other participants looked at the public information officer's job from a strategic standpoint and our capstone project was writing a master's level paper (we were told it'll be in the EMI Library and cataloged by the Library of Congress) about the application of advanced concepts in public information and communications in emergency management leadership. 

I'm the first member of CAP to complete this course (and I am authorized by EMI to use the initials "MPIO" after my name!