INNISFAIL – Town council and administration has opted for top-of-the-line Cadillac service to finally have media training.
At its regular meeting on Jan. 24, town council chose the bid from Edmonton-based Shawna Randolph Communications over Grant Ainsley Inc., which is also from the Alberta capital.
“I am very pleased we ended up going with this one. I think the depth to the training that we will receive will service us all very well, as well as the community,” said Coun. Dale Dunham, a former graphic designer with CTV Vancouver Island.
The bid from Shawna Randolph Communications came in at $6,615, plus the additional travel and accommodation expenses. The one from Grant Ainsley Inc. was for $3,675, plus the travel and accommodation costs.
Todd Becker, the town’s chief administrative officer, told council the bid from Shawna Randolph Communications scored higher with the administration evaluation.
He also said a key difference in the two bids was that Shawna Randolph Communications’ proposal separated council and administration to focus on the specific needs of each group.
“Shawna Randolph is considered the "go-to" for municipalities, companies, non-profit organizations, or individuals to learn how to effectively connect with their audiences to enhance or improve their reputation,” said Becker in his report to council.
“Randolph's portfolio boasts of an award-winning communications professional with a combined 30 years of experience in both journalism and media relations industries.”
Becker has long said that media training for council and administration was a priority. During last November’s deliberations for the 2022 budget, council set aside $5,000 for media training. The extra cost of $1,615 to train staff will be funded from the administration budget.
Randolph is a former CTV Edmonton prime time news anchor who has also managed media relations and other communications duties for the City of Edmonton. She was a spokesperson and media relations coordinator for the Edmonton Humane Society for five years.
Randolph has operated her current communications company since 2008, and has trained numerous corporate executives and elected municipal officials. She’s also a past recipient of Edmonton's Woman of the Year Award.
“We just felt by viewing both packages that hers was more what we were looking for,” said Mayor Jean Barclay, emphasizing the separate training of council and administration. “We’ve never had media training and I know both candidates are certainly qualified but we felt what she was offering was much more suited and much more comprehensive.”
The media training from Randolph’s company will include developing key messages of the Town of Innisfail organization and using the media effectively.
Her company will also train council and staff techniques on how to deal with potentially volatile subjects, and on how to approach interviews with non-traditional media outlets.
Innisfail’s council and administration participants are also expected to learn techniques on how to stay on point with key messaging during high-pressure or quickly evolving situations.
No dates have yet been set for the media training. Becker said he hopes the training, expected to take two days, will be concluded by late spring of this year.
