With a lowkey, under-the-radar announcement, a small group of experienced PIOs from Coachella Valley cities, a Native American tribe, a utility and a public-relations business revealed the formation of the Coachella Valley PIO Task Force.
Some readers may be wondering, “What’s a PIO?” The acronym stands for public information officer, and most of the aforementioned types of organizations have one on staff to act as a contact for media representatives and the public at large; some also manage critical information flow within their own organizations.
Erin LaCombe is the president and founder of CV Strategies, and a former television reporter and news director in both Los Angeles and Coachella Valley; her firm serves a variety of corporate, government and nonprofit clients. The CV PIO Task Force is her self-described “brainchild.”
“It was an idea I had about 10 years ago,” LaCombe told the Independent in a recent interview, “and it just sort of (stayed) in the back of my mind. What if all these organizations really work together on communicating for the media? I really saw (a need) during COVID, and during Tropical Storm Hilary. Those are the two sort of local media events where I thought, ‘You know what? This is really necessary.’
“Meanwhile, the media is changing so much. The media organizations are shrinking every single day. And after COVID, I thought, ‘Now, in the Coachella Valley, there are actually more public information officers than there are reporters.’ So, (the PIOs) are part of this story about how the residents of the Coachella Valley get information.”
LaCombe and her experienced PIO associate at CV Strategies, Jennifer Barnakian-Poland, began assembling an executive committee.
“They were hand-selected by us to give a broad spectrum of the valley,” LaCombe said. “You know, some water (agencies), some city, and the ones that you don’t always hear about. We had someone sign up from (Coachella Valley Mosquito and) Vector Control, who you don’t even think about—until there’s the mosquito outbreak, and then all of a sudden, you’ve got to find that guy, right?”
The founding members are Amy Blaisdell, chief communications officer from the city of Palm Springs; April Scott, programs and public affairs specialist from the Mission Springs Water District; Kate Anderson, director of public relations from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians; Risseth Lora, chief communications and public affairs officer from the office of Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez; Micaela Wilkey, senior affairs analyst from the city of Indian Wells; and Barnakian-Poland. To date, all the funding for this effort is coming from the marketing budget of LaCombe’s CV Strategies.
“We’ve provided (the executive committee) with the authority to review the membership applications and really drive this mission,” LaCombe said. “My interest is from a corporate standpoint, too. I’m a small business owner who survives in government. So, this makes sense for me and my company, but it also makes sense just as a 30-year resident of this community, thinking, ‘OK, we can do this better.’”
The organization’s website (cvpio.org) has this description of the organization: “When information needs to move quickly across the Coachella Valley, whether during a crisis, a community celebration, or everyday operations, the professionals behind the message stand ready. The Coachella Valley PIO Task Force is a voluntary collaborative network where public information officers from independent organizations across the valley come together to learn, support and strengthen each other’s work.”
Scroll down a bit further, and you find this addition: “The Coachella Valley is a dynamic region of nearly half a million residents, millions of visitors, and countless stories. Each of our organizations plays a vital role in serving this community. By connecting as professionals, we strengthen our individual abilities to communicate effectively, respond to challenges, and serve the people who depend on us, all while maintaining the independence and unique identity of our respective organizations. When we support each other, everyone benefits: Our organizations operate more effectively; our communities receive better information; and public trust grows stronger.”
The Independent connected with Blaisdell to ask what motivated her to jump on board as chair of the PIO Task Force’s executive committee.
“I think it’s important that PIOs from around the valley collaborate with one another so we can strengthen how we’re responding to different critical issues facing our region, such as homelessness, funding public safety, tourism and economic development, affordable housing, transportation needs, communicating information and updates on special events, weather emergencies, road closures, and city council policies and initiatives,” Blaisdell said. “The idea is that we can learn from one another and put new ideas and strategies into practice.”
Blaisdell said the PIO Task Force is meant to be “a valuable resource for members of the media and various stakeholder organizations throughout the valley.”
“We are in the process of launching our website, and the goal is to provide helpful factual information and FAQ documents in a resource library highlighting statistics and information touching on economic development, tourism, vacation rentals, real estate and the important special events and tourist attractions that boost our local economy,” Blaisdell said. “… In addition, we plan to launch a calendar highlighting important community events.”
Scott explained why she welcomes the arrival of the CV PIO Task Force.
“It’s the opportunity to collaborate and learn from other PIOs in the valley, because it’s from different sectors,” Scott said. “I work in water. When you work in water and wastewater, you’re familiar with and know many other communication professionals in water and wastewater. But the opportunity to be involved with other agencies and other public affairs professionals (outside of my specialty) was a huge opportunity. … Regionally, I feel like the Coachella Valley is so special … and we’re kind of separated from a lot of other larger areas. So regionally, it’s great to have that opportunity to get to know each other, and each other’s agencies, and have that resource locally.”
Barnakian-Poland said they’ve had a great response from the valley’s PIOs so far.
“We organized in November. … Now, across the board, we have cities and water districts, and we have the county as well,” she said. “We have been getting so many new members. (Interested parties) are sending inquiries, and we have pretty much all the cities now on board, so we’re very excited about that. We also are getting school districts, and our next outreach will be hospitals as well as utilities. … I’d like to point out that we’re actually looking to expand the membership opportunity to Imperial Valley, as well as the high desert and the San Gorgonio Pass, because they’re also impacted.”
Now that the CV PIO Task Force’s website is up and running, and the executive committee is reviewing and accepting new members, what other steps are being taken?
“We’re going to go into KESQ and CBS and do a tour, and have conversations with some of their reporters and producers about how the PIOs can help them do their job, and vice versa,” LaCombe said. “That type of learning experience is so incredibly valuable, especially when you’ve got green reporters. It’s their first job, and they couldn’t tell you where the Salton Sea is, or that we’re nine cities.”
Added Barnakian-Poland: “We will be building out a suite of media-focused resources, including economic impact reports, a comprehensive calendar of events, key points of contact across organizations, FAQs and a centralized document library. … The goal is to create a more connected, efficient experience for media by bridging the gap between reporters and the right sources in real time.”
Learn more at cvpio.org.
