More resources for Alzheimer’s caregivers

Jerry McCoy of Phoenix, Arizona has seen the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s Disease firsthand. While working as the assistant communications director at the city of Glendale, McCoy was faced with helping take care of his mother while she was battling the disease.

Shortly after her passing, McCoy left Glendale and began working as the chief of staff for the city of Surprise, a suburb of Phoenix. While at Surprise, he often spoke with residents and others in the community who were caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. A large segment of Surprise is made up of retirees, and many found the care taking responsibilities too challenging.

McCoy, just a few years removed from dealing with the same issues, could relate to what he was hearing. There just are not even resources available for caregivers, many of whom find themselves as the sole providers.

Although McCoy left his post a few years ago, he is pleased to recently learn the city of Surprise is getting involved in a new initiative to improve support for families dealing with the disease.

“In addition to the human suffering and strain to the health-care system, Alzheimer’s is a huge social problem in our country that will become even more problematic as baby boomers age,” said McCoy.

Surprise is partnering with the Banner Sun Health Research Institute to create Arizona’s second “Dementia Friendly” city (Tempe was the first), which is part of the national Dementia Friends initiative. The national movement is hoping to get more cities across the country involved.

For more information on the new initiative, visit surpriseaz.gov/dementiafriendly.

Two more F-35 training squadrons still coming to Luke AFB

Although two new F-35 squadrons have not yet landed at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, members of Arizona’s delegation in Washington, D.C. are being assured the military base will receive the training squadrons as promised.

This is great news to Jerry McCoy, a communications and public relations professional in Phoenix, who helped lead efforts to bring the Air Force’s new F-35 training mission to Luke AFB through the creation and implementation of the Luke Forward campaign. It is also good news to the nearby cities of Surprise, Buckeye, Goodyear and other communities near the base. 

The community outreach and support campaign successfully led the Air Force to select Luke as the “schoolhouse” for the military branch's new F-35 fighter training program. Air Force officials announced that six F-35 squadrons would be located at the Glendale base at the time the Air Force selected Luke for the new training mission.

Matthew Donovan, the acting secretary of the Air Force, recently affirmed the Air Force is still committed to locating all six F-35 training squadrons at Luke AFB. The two F-35 squadrons are being delayed as the Air Force continues to find locales to house the F-16 training squadrons departing Luke AFB.

Arizona’s 2019 Governor’s Conference to Take Place in July

A strategic communications professional with more than two decades of experience, Jerry McCoy is the former chief of staff for the mayor of Surprise, Arizona, a suburb of the city of Phoenix. Prior to his position with Surprise, Mr. McCoy of Phoenix, Arizona, worked for the city of Glendale, where he directed the operations of public relations, media relations, creative services, special events and the Glendale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Before leaving the city as its executive communications director, Mr. McCoy's leadership resulted in the city receiving the Governor’s Tourism Award.

It was the first time in Glendale's history the city received the prestigious statewide award for tourism excellence.

Each year, the Governor’s Tourism Awards are presented to recognize the work of professionals who contribute to the growth of the Arizona travel industry, one of the top industries in the state. 

Awards are given in five categories: outstanding rural/urban marketing campaign, outstanding rural/urban tourism partnership, outstanding cultural and historic preservation, tourism spirit of service, and tourism hall of fame.

The awards are presented annually at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism. This year, the event will be held in the city of Tucson at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa. The conference begins July 22 and continues through July 24. 

The Governor’s Tourism Awards gala will be held July 23rd. Other activities will include tourism workshops and a reception to showcase the state’s best restaurants.

Effective Audience Exploration Techniques

Jerry McCoy, who works as a community relations project manager at the Arizona Department of Transportation in Phoenix, Arizona, brings diverse experience in branding and marketing to the one of the state's largest organizations. 

One key element of Mr. McCoy's work over the past two decades is tactical communications, which requires strategically identifying and then targeting specific audiences an organization wants to reach.

Before doing anything else with a prospective audience, public relations and communications professionals must start with audience exploration and research. Some of these exploration and research techniques include:

Researching analytics data -- whether it's looking at who already uses a product or service, or who is visiting an organization's website, this data can show where an organization or brand is surprisingly strong or starting to lose ground.

Using solid empathetic reasoning -- It is important to get "into the head" of a potential target audience member or customer. Even something as simple as trying to search for information on the program or service in question, or looking at how that service is positioned on websites the target audience uses, can help.

Finally, if an organization has tools to effectively segment out the performance of existing campaigns among different audiences, that data can help during audience exploration. Marketing communications professionals should look at whether an existing campaign over performs or under performs with a potential new audience, and assess reasons that might happen.

Building an Effective Mentor-Mentee Relationship

Jerry McCoy, a community relations project manager who has worked with government organizations in Glendale, Surprise and Phoenix, Arizona, considers mentoring a high priority. Professional mentoring enables experienced leaders like McCoy to equip other employees with many of the skills they've gained over their successful careers.

Good mentoring requires sound listening skills and sound communication. Just sharing stories of what the mentor did in a prior situation won't be enough to encourage improvement. Mentors need to be able to invest in others, become more self-aware, and listen well.

A good mentor-mentee relationship involves a clear understanding of what both parties are looking for. Both should take the time to discuss what they would like to get out of the mentorship, as both mentor and mentee will be able to guide the other to the type of performance the mentee expects to develop.

Mentors need to be curious and take a keen interest in the mentee's background, career goals, and existing levels of professional competencies. Getting discouraged when a mentee can't grasp a specific idea, or judging the mentee based on something outside of the mentor-mentee relationship, can hinder the flow of communication.

As listeners, mentors should look primarily for a mentee's passion. If something the mentor shares gets the mentee engaged, that's an opportunity on which the mentor can capitalize. Active listening, such as asking for clarification and summarizing, can make it easier to spot these moments.

During his stellar career in public service and as a former journalist, McCoy has shared his knowledge and insights with many new and up-and-coming professionals in the communications profession.