Free 'Crisis Communications' seminar offered June 13 at SSCC

In the event of a crisis at your business or organization, do you know what to do? Everyone-your staff, clients, stakeholders, taxpayers, community leaders-is going to want answers fast. And you'll quickly find out how stressful it is to answer hard questions under pressure.

Southern State Community College is offering a free half-day crisis communications seminar, "Media Relations During Crisis Situations," from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, on the college's Central Campus, 100 Hobart Drive, Hillsboro.

This seminar is designed for a broad audience of professionals who would likely need to speak on behalf of their organization during a crisis situation. Participants will receive practical instruction about how to establish and maintain control of the message, what reporters expect and what you should expect, how to define and create key messages, and the differences among various types of media interviews (print, TV, radio) and how each requires different skill sets. The message will be particularly relevant to community and business leaders, nonprofit and education administrators, healthcare executives, board chairpersons, law enforcement personnel and other first responders.

So do you know what to do or how to respond in a crisis? Even is the answer is "maybe," this half-day seminar led by Bruce Hennes, a leading expert in crisis communications, is for you.

Hennes is managing partner of Hennes Paynter Communications, one of the few firms in the U.S. focused exclusively on crisis communications. Hennes Paynter serves government agencies, corporations, law firms, education and healthcare institutions and nonprofits that are "on trial" in the Court of Public Opinion. Hennes has more than 30 years' experience in the field and serves on the executive committee of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and on the boards of the Cleveland Leadership Center and The Press Club of Cleveland.

Registration deadline is June 8; please visit www.sscc.edu/events/crisis-seminar<http://www.sscc.edu/events/crisis-seminar>. For more information, please contact Dr. Nicole Roades, SSCC Vice President of Institutional Advancement, at nroades@sscc.edu or 1-800-628-7722, ext. 2622.