PartnersNews - August 2022
In this month's issue:
- Board of Directors Nominations Open
- Member Satisfaction Survey
- 2022 Risk & Insurance Symposium
- PEP Welcomes Former Intern to Staff
- Grants & Scholarships Update
- Trench-Related Fatalities on the Rise
- Dealing with the Media - Part 1
PE Partners Board of Directors Accepting Nominations for Board Member
The Board of Directors of Public Entity Partners is currently accepting nominations for an open Board of Directors seat. Elected officials or city administrators/managers affiliated with current Public Entity Partners members are eligible for nomination.
Regular sessions of the Board of Directors are held on a quarterly basis at PE Partners’ headquarters in Franklin. Board members volunteer their time and knowledge to steer the direction of our organization. This is accomplished by approving the annual budget; authorizing rate, dividend and coverage changes; and setting financial objectives through various policies, such as the investment and capital adequacy policies.
The Public Entity Partners Bylaws state that the Board of Directors shall consist of "eight directors, each of whom shall be an elected official, city manager, or city administrator of a municipal government which is located in the State of Tennessee and has active insurance coverage with Public Entity Partners."
The bylaws also state that "the majority of the eight directors shall be elected officials, at least two of these eight directors shall hold the position of city manager or administrator, and at least one of these eight directors shall be a member of a racial minority. The Board of Directors shall strive to ensure that the directors are representative of cities of diverse sizes and locations across the three grand divisions of the State."
All nominations are due by Friday, September 9th, 2022
All nominations must be submitted by the individual seeking the position on the board of directors. Only one nomination per member can be accepted.
For questions or assistance in completing the nomination form, please contact:
Halie Gallik
Secretary to the Board
800.624.9698
Member Satisfaction Survey
Public Entity Partners recently emailed an electronic member satisfaction survey. Your feedback is very important to us and helps provide insight into the value PE Partners brings to your entity.
The survey only takes approximately two minutes to complete. It will assist us in our efforts to serve our members, and help us provide the specific resources that are of the greatest benefit to your organization.
Thank you to those who have already completed the survey! If you have not yet completed the survey, please CLICK HERE to do so.
We thank you for your input and membership!
2022 Risk & Insurance Symposium Update
The 2022 Risk & Insurance Symposium is only a few weeks away and is gearing up to be one of the best yet! This year’s Symposium is being held on August 24th - 26th at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs in Franklin, Tennessee.
With the introduction of the event app, Whova, we will be able to increase our interaction with attendees. The app will be available for downloading by attendees in order to view presentations, network with speakers and scan into sessions right from your smartphone. All registrants will receive the download information prior to the event.
If you’re looking to maximize your continuing education hours for CMFO credit, we have seven sessions that will be eligible, for a total of 10 CMFO hours that can be earned. These include TN Drug Free Workplace, Surviving Being Backstage at Las Vegas Route 91 Shooting – Lessons Learned, Predicting Problem Employees and multiple cyber security sessions, as well as open records and more.
We are particularly excited about hearing Chief Patrick Kenny present his session, “Taking the Cape Off.” Chief Kenny was a member of the fire service for more than 38 years and served as a fire chief in Illinois prior to his 2021 retirement. His best-selling, award-winning book, “Taking the Cape Off: How to Lead Through Mental Illness, Unimaginable Grief and Loss,” addresses his very personal experience with mental illness. He will share his story and put forth a call to action to stand up and face these challenges head-on by examining the myths and stigmas associated with them. In addition, he will share leadership mental health strategies and tactics, and discuss the complications that can arise in your work, family or personal life.
For more information or to register for this year’s Risk and Insurance Symposium, CLICK HERE. if you have any questions, please contact Heather Hughes, HHughes@PEpartners.org, or call 615-371-0049.
PEP Welcomes Former Intern Aliyah Turner to our Underwriting Staff
Public Entity Partners’ underwriting department welcomes Aliyah Turner as our new underwriter assistant. In her new role, Aliyah is responsible for rating, sending all underwriting applications and processing certificates of insurance requests, as well as facilitating the workers’ compensation audit process. Along with each member of our underwriting team, Aliyah also works to answer member questions and concerns.
Aliyah was selected to participate in our inaugural internship program in 2021. PE Partners is committed to ensuring that the next generation of risk management leadership is well-equipped to serve local governments. In support of this goal, the internship program was launched to share public entity and pooling knowledge with risk management and insurance students, providing real-world work experience in our underwriting, loss control and member services departments.
“Finding the next generation of local government pooling and risk management professionals is important to the service Public Entity Partners provides to its members,” said George Dalton, executive vice president of Public Entity Partners. “During her internship, Aliyah showed great enthusiasm, an eagerness for learning and willingness to work with each member of the team. We are very lucky to have her as part of our underwriting team.”
A native of Murfreesboro, Aliyah is a licensed insurance producer for property/casualty and life and health insurance. Her interest in the insurance industry was inspired by a commercial insurance class during her time at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). After graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, she served as an insurance education and support specialist with the Insurers of Tennessee. In this role, she promoted continuing education programs to independent agents, along with programs aimed at recruiting high school students into the field of insurance and risk management.
“During my internship with Public Entity Partners, I had the opportunity to work with our members through the underwriting rating process, and I learned a lot about the services local governments provide across the state,” Aliyah said. “In addition, I was able to learn about each of Public Entity Partners' departments. I’m excited to be working with the underwriting team and grateful for the experience my internship provided!”
If you need a certificate of insurance, have questions about your workers’ compensation audit or have other underwriting questions, Aliyah may be reached at Aliyahturner@PEPartners.org or 615.373.4791.
Grants & Scholarships Update
Public Entity Partners’ Grants & Scholarships program invests in training, education and equipment to help keep our members’ employees safe and safeguard resources. Several of our grants and scholarship programs will be launching and closing in the month of August.
On August 12th, the Prima Institute Scholarship application period will come to a close. This scholarship is designed to provide financial assistance to qualified individuals for attending the PRIMA Institute Education Program. Three (3) scholarships will be awarded for attending PRIMA Institute (PI22) in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, October 17th – 21st. Applicants will be given special consideration if they provide risk management services to their organization, spend a high percentage of their day devoted to risk management, or have attended a TnPRIMA conference within the past two years. For more information or to apply for this scholarship, CLICK HERE.
On August 19th, the Safety Partners Grant application period will close. This is a matching grant that helps members purchase essential safety devices, equipment, education and training. Examples of eligible items include, but are not limited to: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), bulletproof vests and work zone safety equipment. For more information or to apply for this grant, CLICK HERE.
On August 31st, the James L. Richardson Driver Training Grant will begin accepting applications. This grant assists members in addressing the training needs and safety concerns of employees who operate city/agency vehicles. This is a 50/50 matching grant, but motor vehicle record (MVR) checks are reimbursed at 100%, up to your entity’s eligibility amount. Eligible items include instructor-led training, DVD training, backup cameras and alarms, GPS tracking systems, alert systems to administrators (such as vehicle black box technology), and MVR checks. For more information on this scholarship and how to apply, CLICK HERE.
If you have questions about PEP’s Grant and Scholarship program, please contact Tahtia Mitchell at TMitchell@PEpartners.org or 615-371-0049.
Trench-Related Fatalities on the Rise
By: Bob Lynch, Loss Control Consultant
OSHA recently reported a significant increase in U.S. trench-related fatalities in the first six months of 2022. During this time period, 22 workers were killed, while 15 fatalities occurred in all of 2021.
In response, OSHA is promoting its National Emphasis Program for excavations, originally created in 2018, to “reduce or eliminate workplace hazards associated with trenching and excavation operations.”
Trenching is a high-risk hazard and losing even one team member is too many. As a risk management partner with our members, PE Partners provides training resources through EHS Hero, online training as part of Local Government Risk Academy, and training videos in our DVD library geared toward safe trenching and excavating.
OSHA has provided resources on trenching hazards and solutions, which include an alert, poster, compliance directives, quick card and safety video on their webpage.
There should always be a safe way to enter and exit trenches, and materials should be kept away from trench edges. Workers should always be cognizant of standing water or atmospheric hazards, and should never enter a trench that has not been thoroughly inspected.
Key methods for preventing cave-ins include:
- SLOPE or bench trench walls
- SHORE trench walls with supports, or
- SHIELD trench walls with trench boxes
Proper training and adequate resources can prevent these types of accidents. If you have questions about the resources listed above, please contact your regional casualty loss control consultant.
Dealing with Media: What to Do Before the Interview - Part One
The following is the first of a two-part series on “Dealing with Media.”
Part two, “What to Do During and After the Interview,” will run in the September issue of PartnersNews.
As with any kind of risk management, the better prepared you are in advance of an event, the better the outcome for all involved. This principle is especially true when dealing with inquiries from the media.
We all see stories where spokespeople respond to a media question with the evermore dull “no comment.” Many stories also contain the sentence “we reached out to (Insert Organization) for comment, but our calls were not returned.” This kind of language is an immediate signal to readership that the interviewee was unprepared or unresponsive, and offers the impression that the interviewee might have something to hide. Either way, it’s not a good look.
Some companies avoid talking with the media because they fear the interview process, don’t know how to prepare or, worst of all, believe that simply choosing to ignore a reporter will “kill” the story. This rarely happens. In actuality, the story will likely run anyway, possibly with comments from another, less reliable source, even a competitor with an ax to grind.
With solid preparation for an interview, you will not only be more confident and comfortable speaking with the media, but you will also be able to effectively communicate your story to those who matter most — your audience.
If you receive a call from media, the first thing to do is find out a few simple details:
- The reporter's name. This is essential to reviewing their past articles and the type of story they typically send out.
- The outlet they represent. This can be print or broadcast. Find out up front whether you're talking to a studio down the street or one in the heart of Manhattan.
- Their story deadline. Respecting the reporter's time and process will go a long way toward building a positive relationship, and also give you the change to prepare before launching straight into an unexpected conversation.
Before speaking with a reporter, you must know exactly what you want to say and how you want to say it. Contrary to popular opinion, you do have the ability to steer a media interview. This is because, while you have zero say over what questions you are asked, you have 100% control over how you respond.
If you know you are likely to receive questions about an event or topic, here are a few tips to help you define and polish your response to the media:
- Distill your messages down to short, memorable statements. If you could place your key points on a 3 x 5 index card, what would you include? Do they speak to your audience? Are they honest, meaningful and to the point?
- Make your responses interesting to the audience. Use analogies. If possible, personalize your message so that your audience can relate to you and those you represent.
- Avoid jargon. Will the audience understand the everyday lingo and acronyms that you and your colleagues are accustomed to using? It is highly unlikely, and if you are unsure, leave them out.
- Practice, practice, practice. Practice again. By having someone else play the role of the reporter, you can rehearse your delivery. Avoid memorizing responses as it makes people appear pompous and disingenuous.
- Have someone play devil’s advocate with you. Anticipate the issues and questions the reporter will present. See how well you can handle any curve ball that might come your way.
Keep in mind that interactions with media are opportunities to showcase your entity, the services you offer and the expertise of your staff.
In the next issue of PartnersNews, we’ll talk about what to do during and after the interview.