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I am filled with nostalgia, emotion, and smiles remembering my salad days as a young professional in Mayor Kevin White's administration.  I felt so lucky to get an entry level job with a starting salary of $11,400 back then, and little did I know that five years later I would feel like I earned a post graduate degree in urban affairs, government, politics, real estate development, education, and communications.

As I get ready to head up to the wake and pay my respects to Kathryn, Mark and the rest of Mayor White's family, I have dusted off both my memories and campaign memorabilia. How precious to still have an original bright kelly green and white button that simply says "The Mayor" - there can be no mistake about who that refers to.  My memories include learning about every neighborhood in the city as the administration prepared for the first property assessment since Mayor Curley, how federal funding fueled local development and how to identify voters and build sincere relationships with them as a Precinct Captain in Ward 21 Precinct 11. Oh what a time it was.  Thank you, Mr. Mayor for the opportunity of a lifetime. Rest in Peace.

By Helene Solomon, CEO, Solomon McCown & Company

The Boston Globe: "Boston Says Goodbye to Former Mayor Kevin White"

Boston.com: "Kevin White Remembered with Procession, Mass"

NECN.com: "Funeral To Honor Longtime Boston Mayor Kevin White"

Dr. Tiffany Cooper Gueye, CEO of BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life),  was featured in the New York Times on January 31 providing her perspective on a recently-passed New Hampshire law.  The law, passed on January 5, permits parents to edit their child's curriculum to avoid "objectionable" content.  See Dr. Gueye's response here.

On Jan. 26, members of the SM& team attended Building Impact's Annual Celebration at the offices of ADD Inc. 

Building Impact (BI) provides individuals and companies with the knowledge and opportunity to volunteer, donate, and connect in the buildings where they work and live. The organization currently delivers community programming to 47 buildings across Greater Boston, Metrowest, the Merrimack Valley, and are launching in Connecticut this March at New Boston Fund's commercial properties.

The event was a chance to look back at all BI had accomplished in 2011 including working with volunteers to help serve low-income children, adults, families and seniors at risk of joblessness, homelessness, and food insecurity in our communities.  The Building Impact team facilitated 349 community service opportunities throughout the year, generating $600,667 in donations including clothing, educational supplies, food and volunteer time.

This event was an opportunity to come together and celebrate, and also served as a way for BI to communicate with its supporters and partners.  If you aren't talking about what your nonprofit is doing to make the community a better place, then who will?  It is important for nonprofits to engage with and thank supporters, and to help spread the message about the organization's mission and accomplishments.

Solomon McCown has been an active participant with BI for many years, participating in events such as food and winter clothing drives.  If you are interested in getting involved with Building Impact, make sure to check out their upcoming events - maybe we'll see you there!

This past Sunday saw the death of former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno. Though the final months of his life were plagued by controversy for his firing in Nov. over a sexual-abuse scandal, his passing was capped by the erroneous reporting of his death via Twitter the night before it had actually happened. While it was a student-run news website, Onward State, that "broke" the news, The Huffington Post and CBS Sports, among others, now famously ran with the story without doing the due diligence to confirm whether or not it was true. This unleashed a firestorm of backlash and a pretty funny #CBSsportsreports trend. Though this certainly isn't the first time that a major news outlet has gotten a story wrong, it illustrates a larger problem behind reporting Tweets as sources, calling into question the credibility of some of our most trusted news outlets.

Twitter has increasingly become a major destination for breaking news. But even in the last year, there were false reports on the firing of Piers Morgan from CNN and the month-too-early death of Steve Jobs  (ironically reported by CBS's "What's Trending" - I guess they didn't learn their lesson the first time), the latter of which resulted in a drop in stock price. We shouldn't have to question the validity of our news, and it's this kind of irresponsible reporting that should have no place in our daily cycle of information. It begs the question though, how are these unverified reports making their way into the mainstream?

One can attribute this dissemination of misinformation to the increased competition among news organizations for eyeballs. However, this rush to be first can lead to some dangerous repercussions - not only in having to submit the requisite apology letter, but to suffer the wrath of bloggers and critics like myself.

Twitter can be a great source for breaking news because of its very own design in allowing people to Tweet what they're seeing.  However, any decent reporter should know to verify their sources, and multiple retweets of a single source does not a verification make. Instead, I fully support the approach that Reuters blogger Felix Salmon takes when cultivating news stories on Twitter. He said back in July, "one of the things I like about Twitter is that it behaves in many ways a lot more like a newsroom than a newspaper. Rumors happen there, and they get shot down - no harm no foul." Just like a newsroom, reporters need to verify those rumors before they're printed. Until then, hopefully the embarrassment over publishing an unverified story based on a Twitterumor (trademark pending) will serve as a cautionary tale for those considering taking the same risky chance to be first.

By Justin Ordman, senior account executive at Solomon McCown & Company

Gary Almeraris, a project executive for Skanska USA Civil, has been named one of Engineering News-Record's Top 25 Newsmakers for his notable work on Skanska's Manhattan subway lines. Click here to read the full article, "Gary Almeraris: Subway Star Helps Shape Manhattans Transit Lines," and learn more about his impressive work.

Gloria Larson, president of Bentley University who also recently spoke on SM&'s  "Leadership in Transition" panel, spoke at New England Women in Real Estate's (NEWIRE) 30^th anniversary luncheon on Jan. 18. Larson is Bentley's first female president, tying into the luncheon's theme of celebrating women in leadership. Larson shared some of her career lessons learned with the audience including a key example from her experience with the media. Despite a few less-than-stellar memories of waking up to unflattering photos of herself on the cover of The Boston Globe, one of Larson's biggest career takeaways spurs from her time chairing the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority  where she oversaw the construction of the $800 million Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.  Throughout the construction phase, Larson boldly took on a proactive media strategy of being open and direct with the public. She even frequently called press conferences to disclose negative news. This helped to positively frame the project by eliminating the need for reporters to do their own digging and potentially generate a more negative story.  According to Larson, female leaders need to learn to address their mistakes head on in order to move forward. And as we all know in the public relations world, reporters and the public appreciate honesty and transparency and are more willing to forgive mistakes when they are clearly laid out on the table.

By Christine Comey, account supervisor at Solomon McCown & Company

SM& Senior Vice President, Ed Cafasso, was featured in the Winter edition of PRSA's PR Strategist magazine giving his communications expert perspective on the Occupy Wall Street movement. In the article, Cafasso argues that while the movement gained significant and consistent national media attention, results suffered from a lack of a unified strategy for engagement and action.

Click here to read the full article.

Dr. Mark Doherty, executive director of the DentaQuest Institute, our client, was recognized as a Dental Hero for his work in public health dentistry by DrBicuspid.com. In a Q & A with Dr.Bicuspid.com's Editor In Chief, Kathy Kincade, Doherty talks about his experiences bringing oral health to communities and the DentaQuest Institute's ongoing work to further innovate oral health practices.

Click here to read the full article.

Solomon McCown, a national public relations firm specializing in strategic communications, media relations, public affairs, and crisis management, today announced the appointment of Ed Cafasso as Senior Vice President. Cafasso offers more than a quarter century of corporate communications and reputation management expertise with a deep portfolio of issues and crisis management, health care, higher education, social responsibility, community relations and public affairs work. His proven skills have made him a trusted advisor to top executives at public, private and non-profit brands.

"Ed is a respected veteran who brings a compelling mix of agency, corporate, public sector and journalism experience," said Ashley McCown, President of Solomon McCown. "His proven skills in messaging, stakeholder engagement and social media integration have made him a trusted advisor to public, private and non-profit brands in Massachusetts and nationally. We're pleased to have him join our management team and to work across a range of clients."

He most recently served as senior vice president and director of corporate communications for Sovereign Bank-Santander.

Cafasso served for five years as managing director of MSL Boston, where he led the agency's corporate practice, helping enterprises with executive and brand positioning, citizenship initiatives, regulatory scrutiny, mergers and acquisitions, labor relations, government affairs, and litigation.

"I consider Solomon McCown the best independent, full service agency in New England," Cafasso said. "I'm excited to join a respected executive team and staff known for delivering top quality work, expert counsel and constant energy and creativity."

His experience includes five years as director of communications for the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, and for 11 years as a reporter and editor, covering national and international breaking news, as well as political beats in Boston City Hall, the Massachusetts State House and the White House.

He holds a degree in journalism from Boston University and is an editorial advisor and frequent contributor to Public Relations Strategist magazine.

About Solomon McCown

Solomon McCown & Company (SM&) provides strategic communications, public affairs and crisis management services to local, regional and national companies and mission-focused organizations. We leverage all of our assets -- passion, experience, flexibility, unique perspectives, vast networks, and determination -- to help clients achieve the definition, recognition and protection they need to meet their goals.

Since its founding in 2003, SM& has earned its place among the top public relations firms with award-winning (63 to be exact) work on behalf of some of the most renowned and forward thinking enterprises in the region and nation.

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On January 6, Eric Convey of the Boston Business Journal stopped by SM& as part of our "Brown Bag" series where we invite members of the media to our office for an informal meet-and-greet with our staff. These sessions allow us to build reciprocal relationships with reporters - we get to learn more about what kinds of stories they are interested in covering and they get to know who we are, who our clients are and the thinking that goes into our story development.

Eric provided some great insights on the Boston Business Journal and business news in general. Some key takeaways include:

-Do your homework: know the publication before you approach it with a story. Understanding the trends and ideas a publication is focused on will help you pitch client news more effectively

-Simplify: be able to tell your story in 30 seconds or less

-Understand the news cycle: know when it's least intrusive and most advantageous to pitch reporters

-Be an expert in your field: know the ins and outs of your discipline and offer your no-strings-attached knowledge to reporters to build a rapport

Check out the Boston Business Journal every Friday for business news essential to Boston's leaders. Thank you Eric Convey for joining us today!