Quality Active Shooter Training Save Lives
According to USA Today, last year was the deadliest year for mass shootings in more than a decade. One could even deem 2017 the deadliest year for mass shootings in modern U.S. history: two of our country’s five deadliest mass shootings ever occurred in the span of just 35 days. As the new year approaches, it is essential your company is prepared for the worst – it is not negotiable. Fallston Group believes not all training is equal and real-world experience is what truly matters; this is especially true when it comes to active shooter training. When your organization is searching for active shooter training, take time and vet the instructors who will provide the actual training. Key questions to ask before booking an active shooter training: Are the instructors certified to teach? Specifically, are they certified to teach active shooter response strategies? What body are they certified through? Finally, ask for the bios of the instructors teaching the class. You want the “best in class” to protect your most important asset – your people. If your company is ever sued for liability after an active shooter event occurs on your property, you can be assured the jury will want to know everything about the training you provided. Don’t just put a check in the box by putting your people through the paces with unqualified instructors. Fallston Group’s instructors have been certified nationally through the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) since 2001 in Active Shooter Response, and have taught military, law enforcement and private sector organizations for more than 18 years. Additionally, we have operational experience dealing with real-world active shooter events. Make certain your organization is trained by qualified experts who know how to save lives and provide an important level of defensibility in court – not only is it your responsibility, it is the right thing to do! To learn more, contact Fallston Group at 410.420.2001 or info@fallstongroup.com, download our active shooter training information and visit https://fallstongroup.com/
Fallston Group Chief Executive Rob Weinhold named 2017 Most Admired CEO by The Daily Record
Baltimore-based Fallston Group, a global reputation agency, is pleased to announce that Rob Weinhold, the firm’s chief executive, has been named one of Maryland’s 2017 Most Admired CEOs by The Daily Record. The Daily Record created the Most Admired CEOs awards program to recognize talented business CEOs and nonprofit executive directors throughout Maryland for their leadership and professionalism. The winners were selected based on professional accomplishments, community service and letters of reference submitted by co-workers, board members and community leaders showing the CEO’s leadership and vision. “To be a Most Admired CEO means that you have gained the respect and admiration of those around you. It means you are making a positive impact on the lives of others,” said Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, publisher of The Daily Record. “Our honorees this year were nominated by co-workers, community organizations and other leaders not just for their professional achievements but because they are truly admired by their peers and employees. The Daily Record is pleased to recognize their leadership in our state and beyond.” After several decades of private and public sector leadership service, Weinhold launched Fallston Group in 2009 to continue his career mission of helping organizations during life’s most critical times. Throughout his career, Weinhold has been recognized for his unique ability to lead by creating vision and building consensus across diverse stakeholder bases, even during the most sensitive of times. He is routinely called upon by members of the national and local news media to provide perspective on crisis leadership, public safety and communications. Weinhold holds a graduate degree (MSM) from The Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business and undergraduate degree from the University of Baltimore. He is nationally published (The Art of Crisis Leadership) and has trained and lectured in a variety of professional and academic settings on the topics of crisis leadership, communications, media relations, and public safety and security. “Receiving recognition as one of Maryland’s most admired CEOs is an unexpected honor and privilege. I was incredibly humbled to learn of the nomination and even more grateful to fully understand the true positive impact we have on our clients, partners and one another, each and every day,” said Weinhold. He adds, “Our team’s foundational mission is to help people during life’s most critical times. This prestigious award, and its supportive submissions, serve as career validation. I am grateful to have been honored among so many innovative, purposeful leaders.” Weinhold was honored in the category of Private Company with 50 or Fewer Employees at the annual Most Admired CEOs award dinner organized by The Daily Record on Thursday, November 9. Additional winners were chosen in the categories of Circle of Leadership, Nonprofit Less Than $10M in Annual Revenue, Nonprofit More Than $10M in Annual Revenue, Private Company with 50 or Fewer Employees, Private Company with 51-149 Employees, Private Company with 150-499 Employees and Private Company with More Than 500 Employees.
Can You Spot Fake News?
By Kathy Walsh, Director of Marketing Recently I attended the Public Relations Society of America’s International Conference in Boston and one of the sessions I attended focused on the topic of fake news. This post highlights some key takeaways shared by co-presenters Lisa Arledge Powell of Ohio-based MediaSource and Robert Mackle, Director of Media Relations for OSU’s Wexner Medical Center—but first, let’s take a look at what “fake news” truly means and why the term has become so popular. Fake news extends far beyond traditional media outlets such as newspapers and television. Today, more people than ever are getting their “news” from social media or social sharing sites where the sources are far harder to identify, verify and control. Fake news can be categorized as the following: Satire that is being misinterpreted as real news. Bait and click headlines that don’t reflect the facts. Legitimate mistakes. Intentionally deceptive content. Understanding each of these categories allow you to be 1) a more informed consumer of news, 2) a better resource to your followers by only sharing legitimate content and 3) more savvy in how you react and respond to any fake news surrounding your company or brand. One example the PRSA session presenters highlighted was a recent fake news story alleging that Budweiser was pulling its NFL sponsorship in light of the National Anthem controversy. Rather than denying the reports, Budweiser recognized an opportunity to engage with its audience and ask them directly whether the company should continue to support the NFL. The company set up a hotline for fans to voice concerns, and ultimately, based on fan feedback, decided to retain its sponsorship deal. Fear of fake news extends beyond the average news consumer – even today’s journalists are concerned. According to public relations and media software company Cision’s 2017 Global Social Journalism Survey, some 51 percent of respondents feel that fake news is a serious problem in their industry. According to Cision, not only are political reporters concerned, nearly half of those in the journalism profession worry about fake news, particularly those covering business and other industries. So, what can YOU do to be prepared to recognize and respond to fake news? Here are quick tips to help spot what’s real and what’s not: Read more than just the headline, which is designed now more than ever to hook you. Increasingly, some journalists are financially incentivized for the number of readers who click through to read the full article. Assess the legitimacy of the source. One simple tool I learned is “domain authority,” which is used to weight websites in search rankings and is tied to the number of inbound links to the site from other websites. You can find domain authority rankings from 1-100 (with 100 indicating the highest authority) on sites like Moz’s Open Site Explorer. By way of perspective, cnbc.com has a rating of 95 while Bloomberg.ma (set up to confuse people into thinking it’s the real Bloomberg site) has a rating of 1 and the excite247.com site shown above has a rating of 14. Keep an eye out for Facebook’s new context button announced earlier in October and being piloted right now. Users will see an ‘i’ button on articles in their News Feed that, when clicked, will reveal a publisher information panel with information on sources and an option to “follow the publisher’s page, view trending or related articles, and see how that article is being shared on the platform itself.” Use sites like Snopes.com to verify the accuracy of certain statistics, news and other facts. Snopes is one of the oldest and most reputable sites for statistical verification and is always a good place to start. Whether your company or brand is the target of fake news or if you don’t become one, feel free to reach out to me to discuss your concerns. I’ll make sure you have a plan in place to protect your reputational equity you’ve worked so hard to build. Your credibility and public trust depends on it! You can reach me at kathy.walsh@fallstongroup.com or by calling Fallston Group at 410.420.2001.
Rachel Barile Joins Fallston Group as Client Relations Coordinator
Rachel Barile Joins Fallston Group as Client Relations Coordinator Agency in growth mode; invests in strategic business development hire Fallston Group, the Baltimore-based, global reputation agency, is pleased to announce the addition of Rachel Barile as client relations coordinator. Barile is a recent graduate from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she studied strategic communications and public relations. Prior to joining Fallston Group full-time, Rachel interned for the strategic marketing and public relations team during the summers of 2016 and 2017. In her new role, she will work with Fallston Group to develop and enhance new and existing client relationships, as well as assist the core vertical of business. “Rachel embodies what every organization needs – a motivated, optimistic person who wants to continually learn, contribute and achieve at the highest levels. A graduating professional of Rachel’s caliber has many opportunities; we are delighted she chose Fallston Group,” says Fallston Group Chief Executive, Rob Weinhold. While studying at Temple University, Barile was a four-year Division I athlete. She was a member of the women’s lacrosse team where she earned both academic and athletic honors, including being named to the IWLCA Division I Academic Honor Roll and the BIG EAST All-Academic Team. A native of Harford County, Maryland, Barile holds a bachelor of arts in communication and media studies with a concentration in public relations. She is a member of the Baltimore Public Relations Council. She currently resides in Maryland. For additional information about Barile or Fallston Group’s services, contact Marketing Communications Manager Andrea Lynn at 410.420.2001 or by email at andrea.lynn@fallstongroup.com.
Let Your True Colors Shine Through
Three years ago, I was introduced to a personality workshop originating from a company called “True Colors® International.” I confess, my initial reaction was to heave an inner sigh at having Cyndi Lauper’s song, “True Colors,” immediately stuck in my head. I was also skeptical. I have taken a number of personality tests and enjoyed them all, but found them difficult to apply to my everyday life…walking away with a list of personality type initials or percentages of categories I fall under in my career path was interesting, but not particularly memorable or applicable. I am happy to say True Colors proved to be a unique experience, so much so that I not only apply the principles I learned on a daily basis, I chose to become a certified facilitator and am now passionate about passing my knowledge onto others. Why is True Colors different? In a nutshell, it goes beyond an assessment – after you learn your own personality color spectrum, you are guided through a variety of fun team-building exercises that give you the tools to implement better communication and interaction in your workplace, and at home. It is also easy to understand; your personality is categorized by blue, green, gold and orange. What is the actual value? True Colors is utilized in many ways, but I categorize workplace application into two groups: organizational culture and leadership guidance. For example, when I previously worked at a high performing nonprofit, I conducted a monthly True Colors workshop at new employee orientation. This practice establishes communication and workplace culture expectations from an employee’s first week on the job, and ingrains the lingo into daily conversation. For example, your company’s “blues” may not get along with your “oranges,” but they will understand why they tend to have disagreements, and how to approach colleagues who think and operate differently at work. I have also taught workshops to groups comprised of executives, managers and supervisors. These leadership workshops include insight on how your employees may view your leadership style, and what tactics to employ to better manage employees based on their personality. I love True Colors because it embraces diversity – each personality color adds value to the workplace, and we all have shades of each color within us. The workshop identifies intrinsic values, motivations, sources of self-esteem, causes of stress, communication and listening styles, social skills, learning styles and much more. This method also has a more than twenty-year history of success with companies such as Ford, Kraft and JC Penney. Have I piqued your interest? Please feel free to contact me at Fallston Group at 410-420-2001, andrea.lynn@fallstongroup.com or request a True Colors workshop event date here.
An Amazing Internship Experience
By Josh Z. Earlier this year, I walked into my first day at the Fallston Group not knowing what to expect from a new internship. I ended my experience with many important takeaways and now realize what I will sadly leave behind. The Fallston Group team has taught me many lessons. I have learned a variety of innovative marketing tips and PR strategies that I can, of course, apply to any future job that I am fortunate enough to attain. However, the most important (and unexpected) lesson I have learned is how to be resilient and live through adversity – not just survive, but thrive. I can now apply this to any future job that I may hold, but, more importantly, can now embrace this concept in everyday life. I think that even though it was crucial for me to take specific business lessons from this internship, having the grit and fighting through adversity is my biggest takeaway from this amazing team. As Mark Twain said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Working with this group (and its client base) showed me to never give up no matter the circumstance and that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, you must simply leverage your instinct, experience and network to find it! Everyone in the office was welcoming and has had a tremendous impact on my time at Fallston Group, but I would say that the core executive leadership team has taught me the most important lessons that I will apply to my future career. As a rising Senior at Loyola University of Maryland with a double major in finance and marketing, my goal is to become a top executive of a company. The executives, both directly and indirectly, took their valuable time to teach me everything about becoming a professional and brand ambassador to everyone I interact with. I have learned firsthand that actions certainly do speak louder than words, and I will try to take-away everything this talented team has taught me. Hopefully, one day, I become a high-level executive. Interestingly, I can hear it now…I used the word “hopefully” when referring to my dream…the Fallston Group team would demand I use the word “when!” As I depart, I cannot stress enough how professional and great they are at what they do. I will miss them dearly and I wish them the best of luck with all their future endeavors. If you ever want an outstanding professional internship experience, I’d highly recommend the Fallston Group. I know it’s competitive and demanding, but this time has been invaluable to my academic and professional development. Thank you.
Andrea Lynn Joins Fallston Group as Marketing Communications Manager
Fallston Group, the Baltimore-based, global reputation agency, is pleased to announce the addition of Andrea Lynn as marketing communications manager. Lynn brings seven years of writing, marketing, branding and design experience to Fallston Group as well as a background in public speaking and employee training. In her new role, Lynn will reinforce and complement Director of Marketing Kathy Walsh to develop and execute strategic marketing and PR plans for businesses around the country. Walsh says, “Andrea is an experienced marketing professional who will make an immediate and valuable client impact. Her commitment to successful collaboration, passion for creative marketing and brand building and unwavering consistency make her a critical asset to our team, and to our clients. We are very fortunate she chose Fallston Group.” Prior to joining Fallston Group, Lynn was assistant director of marketing and development at The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, where she was solely responsible for all company marketing, design and external communications, including social media, branding, digital content, brochures and signage. Previously, Lynn held positions with the Harford County Chamber of Commerce and the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center. A native of Prince George’s County, Maryland, Lynn holds an undergraduate degree in writing and rhetoric from Salisbury University. She is a member of the Chesapeake Professional Women’s Network, and of the Young Professionals Networks of both the Cecil County Chamber of Commerce and Harford County Chamber of Commerce. She currently resides in Elkridge. For additional information about Lynn or Fallston Group’s strategic marketing and PR services, contact Director of Marketing Kathy Walsh at 410.420.2001 or by email at kathy.walsh@fallstongroup.com. ### About Fallston Group Operating at the intersection of leadership, strategy and communications, Fallston Group maximizes the intangible assets that contribute to as much as 80 percent of an organization’s marketplace value. By focusing on three critical areas – strategic marketing and public relations, crisis and issue leadership, and safety and security – the global reputation agency engages with velocity and vision while building, strengthening and defending reputations, each and every day. For more information, visit fallstongroup.com.
Crisis Leadership Expert Rob Weinhold and New York Times Best-Selling Author Kevin Cowherd Talk Crisis Leadership at Local Book Tour Stops This Week
Fallston Group Founder and Chief Executive Rob Weinhold and New York Times best-selling author Kevin Cowherd will make book tour stops at Catholic University and Towson Barnes & Noble locations this week. Weinhold and Cowherd will host an interactive discussion about their highly praised book, “The Art of Crisis Leadership,” and sign copies for attendees. This week’s event locations and times are listed below: Washington D.C Book Tour Stop Barnes & Noble at The Catholic University of America Bookstore 625 Monroe Street NE Washington, DC 20017 Thursday, October 6 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Towson Book Tour Stop Towson Barnes & Noble 1 East Joppa Road, Suite 100 Towson, MD 21286 Saturday, October 8 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Weinhold and Cowherd’s book hit the shelves in May and since then, has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, American City Business Journals and other prominent news outlets. Additionally, “The Art of Crisis Leadership” quickly rose to the #1 book in the PR and Crisis Management categories, while also cracking the top 100 in Leadership on Amazon immediately after its release. In today’s digital age, anyone with an internet connection and recording device can wreak havoc on your brand. It’s not if crisis will occur, but when. The real question – are you prepared to meet the leadership moment? “The feedback we’ve received since the book release has been amazing – many have said it has helped them persevere both personally and professionally. To know that we’ve already helped people is incredibly rewarding. We look forward to continuing to share the book’s value – real people, real emotion, real results. According to readers, the takeaways at the end of each chapter have been the edge they’ve needed to both inspire and help them manage their own lives,” said Weinhold. A former Baltimore police and U.S. Department of Justice executive who has been featured on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and many other national, regional and local media outlets, Weinhold expertly discusses, among other topics, data breaches, negative press, social media attacks, natural disasters, financial distress, sex scandals and political vendettas – and how to turn short-term adversity into long-term advantage. Weinhold has conducted thousands of media interviews during his storied career and is routinely called upon by local, regional and national news outlets to lend expert crisis leadership and public safety perspective. He has recently presented at multiple Department of Justice conferences and will be presenting at the Public Relations Society of America’s 2016 International Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana later this month. Press review copies are available by request. Please contact Shannon Cooper at 410-420-2001 or shannon.cooper41@gmail.com to request a copy of the book or interview. Learn more about “The Art of Crisis Leadership” and order online at Amazon (Hardcover, ISBN 978-1627201124, $25.99) or https://www.apprenticehouse.com. Join the crisis leadership conversation online using #TheArtofCrisis, #Leadership, and #movement. About the Author After working 23 years in the private and public sectors, Rob Weinhold decided to continue his career mission of helping organizations during life’s most critical times by launching Fallston Group—a Baltimore-based crisis management and communications firm. Fallston Group works with large public companies to individuals to build, strengthen and defend their reputations, each and every day (http://www.FallstonGroup.com). Throughout his distinguished career, Weinhold worked on the core executive leadership team at all three levels of government, including the Baltimore Police Department, U.S. Justice Department and Maryland’s Governor’s Office. Privately, Weinhold worked with Ripken Baseball where he oversaw all aspects of Cal Ripken Jr.’s core amateur sports business. Weinhold maintains extensive experience in the areas of executive leadership, strategy and communications. He has been routinely recognized for his unique ability to lead by creating vision and building consensus across diverse stakeholder bases to drive real results, particularly during critical times. Weinhold has provided professional guidance to corporate executives, high-profile professional athletes, U.S. Attorney General, White House domestic policy staff, U.S. Congresspersons, state governors and other high-ranking public service officials. Weinhold earned a graduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University and undergraduate degree from the University of Baltimore, both marketing disciplined. About the Co-Author Kevin Cowherd is the author, along with Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., of the New York Times best-seller “Hothead” and five other baseball novels for young readers. Their sixth book, “The Closer,” was published by Disney-Hyperion in March. Cowherd’s last two non-fiction books for Apprentice House Press were “The Opening Act: Comedy, Life and the Desperate Pursuit of Happiness,” a look at the career of Baltimore comic Larry Noto, and “Hale Storm: The Incredible Saga of Baltimore’s Ed Hale, including a Secret Life with the CIA.” Cowherd was an award-winning sports and features columnist for The Baltimore Sun for 32 years and has also written for Men’s Health, Parenting and Baseball Digest magazines. A collection of his newspaper columns, “Last Call at the 7-Eleven” can still be found in fine remainder bins everywhere. About Fallston Group, LLC Fallston Group, LLC is a highly trusted, executive advisory firm focused on building, strengthening and defending reputations. The firm operates where leadership, strategy and communications intersect. Reputations are both positively and negatively impacted by many variables; and, whether working with clients in a proactive or reactive sense, Fallston Group engages with velocity and vision while turning short-adversity into long-term advantage. Fallston Group team members provide a blend of both executive and operational services to help leaders prepare for, navigate through, and recover from issues of adversity and crisis. Many leaders refer to Fallston Group as their “Chief Reputation Officer.” To learn more, visit fallstongroup.com.
Meltdown in Rio: Ryan Lochte
Although Ryan Lochte is at the tail end of his swimming career, the 32-year-old still has some very serious repercussions stemming from his crisis in Rio.
Active Shooter: Run, Hide, Fight
Active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. Follow the run, hide, fight model if you find yourself in an active shooter situation.
