Crisis Management with Angela Minicuci — GVSU PRSSA – Grand Valley State University Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America

I had the opportunity to network with Angela Minicuci over this past year when trying to schedule a presentation date and time. Even though it may have taken several efforts, it was well worth it. For those who did not attend, you missed out.

Angela has dedicated her time and has worked hard to be where she is today and can easily be one of the most well respected professionals out there. Who can claim to be a communications director for a state-wide department, President Elect for CMPRSA chapter, an advisor for the MSU PRSSA chapter, and has volunteered her time to over five different organizations and doesn’t look a day over 22 years old. #Goals

At Angela’s presentation she went over several examples in crisis communication that she has dealt with over the past few year with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Some of these examples included the West Nile Virus in 2012, Fungal Meningitis that was a multi-state outbreak in 2012 and the Flint water crisis. Angela also gave us tips on how to tackle theses crises.

Were then given a local example of a crisis on Meijer that Angela took the time prior to the presentation to write up (isn’t she great?). We then broke out into 10-minute writing sessions on what we would do in the middle of a crisis using the informational tips that we had learned from Angela’s examples.

One of the most important tips I took away from Angela’s presentation is to learn your job. One of her quotes that stood out the most “good communications cannot save a bad response.”

Learning your job means exactly what it states. It also includes building and knowing your key relationships. This saves you during a communication crisis. Here are a few takeaways:

1. When you are questioned about something, you are never caught off guard looking like deer glaring into headlights and saying something you can never take back.

2. If you have built your key relationships with reporters they are more inclined to not shred you apart if you happened to miss-communicate something.

3. Not only with reporters, but if your organization is an organization that many audiences do not believe/trust (example: Government) your key relationships can be surrounding organizations that can partner with you during a time of crisis to help display an important message you need to be shared.

4. And most importantly, your key relationships are your audience, and they always come first.

After the presentation, Angela, her husband and all the attendees went to dinner and discussed public relations further. This is where Angela gave us some more of her personal tips and beliefs.

1. In PR, there is no 9–5. When you are the source to fix a crises, there are times you will have to drop everything that you are doing. Angela commented that she had to leave her honeymoon because of a crisis, and she had to during her most recent vacation she had to leave early because of the Flint Water crisis. Hopefully the poor girl can catch a break somewhere.

2. Baring the slander because of miscommunication can be hard and gut wrenching, but knowing that it was done unintentionally is what truly matters. As a professional you should know what your own personal ethics are, and as long as you follow them and know you had the right intentions, nothing matters. In the world of PR, other professionals know how words can be swayed and torn apart. What’s most important is what you take from it and what you learn from it.

3. When you stop learning, it is time for a new job. I personally can relate to this because in the past I have dissected the definition of what it means to be successful. My theory concluded that you are never successful because you are gradually learning and achieving everyday. Once one goal is completed, a new goal is set. I believe that once you stop learning in a job it is time for a new job because being successful isn’t settling for a job you’ve mastered. Being successful is taking on a new job that you can further explore and learn more from.

Angela Minicuci, thank you again for being amazing at what you do and helping others (even some young PR junkies).

Rachel Beatty is a 5th year senior majoring in public relations and minoring in psychology and studio art. She has been in GrandPR for two years and is currently the Programming Director. She involved with PRSSA and Phi Sigma Sigma on campus and off campus she is a JBoard Director for the BISSELL Pet Foundation and a manger at Yankee Candle. In her free time, she enjoys a good match in tennis, puzzles, and eating pizza.