“David always took the initiative to make sure our mutual work was done exceptionally well. He also made sure to be thoroughly prepared for all engagements. His organization and attention to detail is impeccable. His passion for getting things done correctly … is a true testament to his desire to excel at all levels.”
— Mark Powell, VP, Midco Sports Network
Impactful Results
I was responsible for two news conferences and all national and international media coverage for the biggest event in Wisconsin Lottery history.
Big Stage
By working for visible organizations that attract significant media coverage, being “under the microscope” or “in a fishbowl” has been routine for me. There are countless examples of pressure situations I have faced throughout my career.
In March 2019, Wisconsin sold the $768.4 million Powerball winning ticket and set off a wild 12-hour stretch in my professional career. It was a frenzy of activity from the time I received notification at 10:15 p.m., headed to the office until 1:30 a.m., and returned at 7 a.m. to coordinate an 11 a.m. media announcement on live television.
Throughout that time, the phone was ringing non-stop with calls from our executive team to discuss tasks and timeline and from national media who wanted to know details and arrange coverage. In unchartered territory for the Wisconsin Lottery and without any “guide” to follow, I relied on my instincts and experience. These are situations where I thrive - calmly leading and planning while taking swift decisive action.
The Lottery relied on my leadership to coordinate announcement details and media coverage from each major network for the biggest event in its history. Quick decisions were imperative and there was no time to over analyze. Every detail from the news release and media advisory to logistics and scripting a news conference (complete with a mascot appearance for branding) went very well.
When I look back, I realize how much I appreciate being handed the keys and having a high level of trust placed on me. Most importantly, I led an amazing group of people from executive level to interns to accomplish a monumental task in twelve hours of real time and just barely three regular business hours. We did it all again a few weeks later when the winner came forward to claim the record-setting prize – though we did have slightly more prep time (almost a full day).
My promotion of The Summit League Basketball Championships helped it gain a reputation as one of the nation’s top tournaments.
Large Events
For 10 consecutive years, I planned, organized and managed all media coverage for the Summit League Basketball Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D. It was large-scale, four-day event that drew round-the-clock coverage from 100 credentialed media plus radio and television production and broadcasting crews from regional and national networks. As many as 65,000 spectators provided more than $12 million of economic impact on the city. Each year, the two concurrent tournaments routinely saw increased attendance, sponsorship, revenue, and media coverage. Not only was I part of a massive undertaking for the inaugural year in the city, but began anew when the event moved into a brand new arena that allowed for expanded amenities and an accompanying festival. Months of detailed preparation was involved for a week of on-site work that included coordinating setup and breakdown. As a lead-in, I began an annual on-site “Tip-Off” press conference featuring key league and host city personnel to preview the event, provide facility tours and spectator updates, and garner extended media coverage.
I successfully negotiated a landmark television contract for The Summit League and repeated the feat two years later.
Business Contracts
My efforts to expand the visibility and reach of The Summit League changed its television landscape. I negotiated a contract with our television partner that broadened programming to a record level and paved the way for national distribution for the first time in league history. The contract included broadcasting The Summit League’s Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships in their entirety and placement of each game on national cable television, both firsts. This enhanced coverage helped the league and its marquee event further popularity and provided an opportunity to establish television broadcasting rights as a significant revenue stream. The next contract, that I also facilitated, was a landmark agreement that was the most lucrative in league history and included the largest number of broadcasts and widest distribution (nationally via ESPN’s streaming platform).
Additional Impacts
BRAND REPUTATION AND CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
I routinely rise to the occasion with strategic communications during brand reputation and crisis communication challenges.
I served on a school district Crisis Team and was lead for crisis management and emergency messaging to stakeholders and media while working directly with the city’s police department as situations arise. Examples include: school safety incidents and threats, weather-related closures, and COVID-19 updates.
At The Summit League, we faced media speculation about stability after several membership changes. To unify the messaging across the league, I led the creation of a booklet highlighting the success and future vision for distribution to university presidents, directors of athletics, coaches, partners, and media to reaffirm the league’s strength.
NATIONAL LEAD STORY EXPERIENCE
I was involved in media relations with two NATIONAL lead news stories during my career:
As Marketing Communications Supervisor for the Wisconsin Lottery, I served as spokesperson and coordinated all national and international media coverage for the 2019 record-setting Powerball jackpot win. This included organizing logistics for a pair of live news conferences covered by each major network - the first when the win was announced, and the second approximately three weeks later when the winner came forward.
My first experience came while working at Northern Illinois University during the February 2008 mass shooting on campus. In addition to supporting the most visible departments (athletics) on campus, I traveled with the first athletics team (baseball) to resume play on the road. I prepared coaches and players for media coverage as they returned to the field at the Chicago White Sox Spring Training home in Arizona.
APP DEVELOPMENT
When charged with spearheading the development of a new App for The Summit League’s marquee event (annual Basketball Championships), including the planning and execution of a marketing plan, the final results produced a nearly 400% increase in users over the previous year’s edition and 90% of users reviewed the App with four or five stars (out of five). The app host company used our success as a product case study.
SOCIAL MEDIA RESULTS
My work made significant impacts on social media efforts at multiple organizations:
In my three months executing all social media for the Wisconsin Lottery, Facebook (77%) and Twitter (396%) recorded significant engagement increases over the previous quarter’s figures.
Under my direction, The Summit League transformed its social media strategy and content resulting in a 15% increase of Twitter followers on its main account and a 25% increase on its special events account over the previous year.
SUCCESSFULLY PITCHING STORIES
I have a track record for successfully pitching stories to regional, national, and specialty outlets that resulted in coverage beyond the “norm.” Examples include:
Newsweek coverage highlighting the origins of Giving Tuesday resulting from my cultivation of the storyline from a company executive who was involved in originating the event
USA TODAY coverage of The Summit League’s success featuring the headline “March’s Best-Kept Secret” (referencing the slogan I coined)
Inside Edition ran a story based on my creative Wisconsin Lottery news release about a retiree’s prize from buying a ticket while out for lunch
Local television and newspaper coverage of elementary school students who rode with their principal in a limousine to get an ice cream treat after reaching school fundraising goals
Chicago’s largest suburban newspaper provided main front page coverage to a relatively obscure Northern Illinois baseball player who had success after beating cancer
SPECIAL RECOGNITION PROGRAMS
I created special 30th Anniversary content and a website devoted to The Summit League’s milestone season. In addition, I led development, selection, and recognition of the league’s Top 30 Distinguished Contributors and started its Hall of Fame, including presiding as Chair of the Selection Committee for the historic inaugural and second-year classes.
I planned, developed, and executed 40th-anniversary themes and content, including the writing of historical feature stories, to celebrate the growth of MIP, an industry-leading accounting software program.