Hennes Communications
COSSBA's Legacy Partner and Preferred Provider of Crisis Communications and Reputation Help to COSSBA Members
A crisis can strike state school boards associations and school districts in an instant.
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active shooter... board-superintendent clash…criminal accusation…discrimination complaints…diversity issues…FERPA or HIPAA violation…accusation fiscal mismanagement…lawsuit…protest…sexual misconduct…social media threats…sports controversy…student newspaper story…suicide…testing controversy…union grievance/strike…
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Suddenly, there’s a TV crew in the parking lot, your local newspaper is calling -- and the situation is already on Facebook.
For Immediate Release
The Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA) is excited to unveil its Legacy Partnership with Hennes Communications, one of the few firms in North America focused on crisis communications and crisis management. This collaboration, which establishes Hennes Communications as a "COSSBA Essential Services Provider Legacy Partner," offers COSSBA's state associations and their school districts around-the-clock crisis response services, helping safeguard their reputation in times of adversity.
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COSSBA Executive Director Tom Bertrand cited Hennes Communications’ extensive experience working with school boards and school leadership. “This team of professionals understands the challenges that schools face and how they need to talk to key stakeholders about those challenges,” Bertrand said. “They put the truth – and your school’s reputation – first.”
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In recent years, Hennes Communications worked with schools, school districts and education associations across the nation on the numerous sensitive issues that schools face, including labor negotiations, discrimination complaints, accusations of financial irregularities, inappropriate behavior by students and teachers, controversial books, issues involving diversity, equity and inclusion, sexuality and gender identity issues and other hot-button issues.
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“There’s been no slowdown in 2024,” said Hennes Managing Partner Thom Fladung. “In this era of instant communication, with your next controversy one Facebook post away, schools must be prepared to talk to the people who matter most – teachers, staffers, parents, students, community partners and taxpayers – as well as the media. They need to tell the truth. And they need to tell it fast.”
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In addition to immediate crisis response and training seminars, Hennes Communications’ services include planning for before the crisis, media training and communications audits.
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“With this new partnership, the Hennes team will be offering crisis communications and training seminars at COSSBA conferences and through webinars for school board members and superintendents,” Bertrand said, “as well as being available for similar training at COSSBA-member state conferences and sessions for new school board members and superintendents.”
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For more information or to access Hennes Communications' services, call (216) 321-7774, email fladung@crisiscommunications.com or visit the website at www.crisiscommunications.com
About Hennes Communications
Hennes Communications, founded in 1989, is one of the few firms in North America focused on crisis management and crisis communications. With deep, award-winning experience, the firm is staffed exclusively by senior-level consultants, working with clients across the continent and around the world. The firm has been recognized by Chambers and Partners, a premier global legal research firm, as one of the top crisis PR firms in the United States. This prestigious distinction places Hennes Communications among an exclusive group of only 18 U.S. communications consulting firms featured in the Chambers’ 2024 Crisis & Risk Management category.
Learn more at http://www.crisiscommunications.com
