Conversations That Matter

Author: Claire Haupt

Volunteering and community involvement are values my parents instilled in me when I was young. When I found myself in Denver in the summer of 2005 looking for a job, I turned to what I knew to do – get involved.
 
A close friend on the board of directors for an up-and-coming marathon that was focusing on economic redevelopment recommended I talk with the then executive director. The executive director quickly suggested I talk with the public relations firm supporting the inaugural Colfax Marathon, MGA Communications.

Author: Jim Mascolo

MGA has given me the flexibility for the last year to volunteer each Friday in a local second-grade classroom. In that time, I’ve had the privilege of working with one of the kindest, most masterful teachers on the planet. She’s something of a cross between Mother Theresa and Stephen Covey: not tough love, but highly effective love. (Where was she when I was in second grade?) I’ve been impressed by her since she taught my son not so many years ago, and, to my surprise, she had no reservations about me helping out.

I don’t know if I’m really much use in the classroom. I have trouble keeping my parallelograms straight from my trapezoids, but I’m having fun. And the kids? They are still--as always- sweet, lively and precious. Call me a Rousseauian romantic, but I think of them as our national treasure, the untapped reservoir of dreams that will spell our future as a nation.

Author: Jennifer Watson

Years ago, during an unusually busy day at the office, I ripped open a note addressed to me, glanced at the signature and stopped.

The heavy stationary bore the handwriting of Joanne Holbrook Patton, wife of Maj. Gen. George S. Patton and daughter-in-law of the famous World War II general.  The lengthy note contained her thanks for my assistance on a conference she was helping to organize on volunteer administration.

Like many businesses and organizations in the Denver area, MGA Communications has a strong commitment to enhancing the Denver community through our volunteer and pro bono work. In fact, we were just recognized as the Denver Business Journal’s 2010 Small Business of the Year for their Partners in Philanthropy Program.

We are honored to be selected among other winners including Qwest Communications International, Education Partner of the Year, Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP, Medium Business of the Year, CoBank, Large Business of the Year and Peter Beaupre’, President PCL Construction Enterprises Inc., Corporate Citizen of the Year. 

Earth Day has a direct Colorado connection. Current Denver resident John McConnell designed the Earth Flag in 1968 after seeing the first photo of Earth in Life Magazine. Each year, the United Nations uses this Earth Flag as part of its Earth Day Ceremony. In September 1969, McConnell proposed Earth Day to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and won strong approval for an Earth Day Proclamation (issued March 21, 1970 on the March equinox). The idea spread worldwide.

Author: Doug Magee, VP of Research

The Pew Research Center for People and the Press reported Monday that public trust of the federal government has reached near record lows. From a survey in March, the Pew Center found that 22% of U.S. adults say they trust the government in Washington almost always or most of the time. As they write in their report, “…(the new) survey finds a perfect storm of conditions associated with distrust of government – a dismal economy, an unhappy public (and) bitter partisan-based backlash…” that has led to ratings among the lowest in half a century.

We won't argue with her, but we will share! She was kind enough to send us a congratulatory note (which we received last week) for being recognized as having One of the Top 5 PR Campaigns of the Decade. 

By Kip Cheroutes

A recent program by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce on the State of DIA had me reflecting on the long road (or runway) we have traveled to get us where we are today.

There is no question, except to a few hard core critics, that Denver International Airport has become an economic development engine for Colorado. The near future plans for the airport, both air side and land side, make it even more important for our economic stability and quality of life.

Author: Ginger Pelz

My favorite holiday is finally here! This Friday is the Colorado Rockies Home Opener, and for me, Opening Day is pretty much baseball Christmas. With that being said, here are my three Opening Day wishes for my favorite baseball team.

1) Get rid of the RSS feeds on your Twitter and Facebook accounts!
In social media, transparency and authenticity are valued more than most other things. I don’t want to talk to a robotic “feed,” I want to interact with someone who is connected with the organization. Unfortunately, the Rockies have chosen to resort to RSS feeds on both their Twitter and Facebook accounts to post content.

Author: Jeff Julin

On Sunday March 28th, The Denver Post ran an article titled Comments On-line Often Manufactured by Special-Interests Groups by Andy Vuong. The article talks about using posting as key part of influencer campaigns. 

The article touches on the fact that the Federal Trade Commission now requires bloggers to disclose any “material connections” they may have with organizations they blog about. This is a good thing, but Andy goes on to point out that political communications receives the “highest level of free speech protection,” which allows anonymous blogging and posting.

Author: Jeff Julin, President

MGA and its clients at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal were recently recognized for conducting one of the Top Five PR Campaigns of the Decade by The Holmes Report.

We know we do good work, but being recognized by someone such as Paul Holmes (and among such international firms like Ogilvy, Ketchum and Fleishman-Hillard) is great validation. We share this honor – along with the many other awards we’ve received over the years – with our clients.