Scott Spradling Archives - Spradling Group

Posts Tagged ‘Scott Spradling’

$3.8 million. 584 Nonprofits. 14,342 Donors.

$3.8 million. 584 nonprofits receiving donations. 14,342 donors

This June, NH Gives held a 24-hour fundraiser for literally hundreds of nonprofit organizations in our state. The idea is to get everyone to pick one window of time for maximum awareness to the various local causes.

I had the remarkable opportunity to co-host the kickoff and close of this momentous event with iHeart Radio morning show host extraordinaire Greg Kretschmar, of Greg and the Morning Buzz fame. I’ve known him and considered him a friend for 20 years, but this was the first chance that we had to actually work on a project together.

There’s something to be said for trust, chemistry, and friendship when it comes to live broadcast. The ease with which we moved through various updates and live interview segments is a testament to the fantastic organization of the NH Gives team, led by Kristen Oliveri and Mary Jo Brown, but it showcased that the right ingredients, the right plan, the right time can lead to magic.

$3.8 million dollars was raised in 24 hours, a record for the six-year-old event. Greg and I take zero credit for that success, it belongs to every one of the 14-thousand people who donated.

It was a career highlight for me to be a part of a wild success alongside a group of truly special and gifted individuals. Greg and I had a blast and are already talking about next year.

For all who gave, my deepest appreciation. You reinforce what is truly wonderful about our state. Thanks for supporting nonprofit organizational causes in our state. Thank you for letting me share in the fun!

Making Do With What’s Available

Watching the national debates unfold in this campaign cycle reminds me how unique and special New Hampshire is regarding the tone, tenor and content of our political dialogue. Our unique New England DNA and our history of gathering together as a community to discuss and decide issues that effect our lives and wallets has created a landscape that protects an elevated and informative debate focused on issues that matter to local voters.

Fortunately, not even COVID could change this for 2020. Technology can never replace in-person interaction, but while the risk to public health remains, we make do with what we have available. And my experience has been overwhelmingly positive in this regard.

I was honored to be able to moderate a number of different virtual town halls and debates in this election cycle. Even though we were not in the same room, the same rules applied to the conversation and it was evident during each session I attended that within a few minutes of adjusting to the new normal, the debates would refocus on issues and the free exchange of ideas.

Don’t get me wrong, I am ready for the vaccine to inject some close proximity back into our daily lives, but for this cycle, everyone has adapted beautifully.

I moderated town hall meetings for Early Learning NH in the race for Governor, and both candidates did a terrific job of sharing their ideas and platforms, explaining what they wish to do as Governor and even finding ways to make personal connections with the audience despite the technical distance. I am optimistic we will all double down on that connection once we can all be in the same room together.

As a statewide community having to decide who will represent us at all levels of government, we have adapted and managed to protect what’s unique about our state despite the distancing. 2020 is one for the books. I, for one, am ready to turn the page.

SMALL DELIVERY/BIG IMPACT

Well Sense NH joined the growing list of generous donors with the delivery of 500 cloth masks, 500 individual hand sanitizers and hundreds of gloves for use by students and teachers and staff at any of Manchester Schools this fall.

The fabric adjustable masks are some of the most “in demand” PPEs because of their durability and safe reusability. The items Will be our to quick use as students prepare to return to schools at some point in the coming weeks and months.

Districts like Manchester are all hard at work finalizing and adjusting plans for a safe return to classrooms as the nation awaits a vaccine to curb the health threat of COVID-19.

“Companies like Well Sense giving us these donations make a big difference,” says John Goldhardt, Manchester School District Superintendent. “To have that additional protection makes everyone safer and we really appreciate it. Once our schools enter into hybrid class schedules, we will distribute masks to students and staff. In addition, all of our classes will need access to hand sanitizer. Along with our proper protocols, this donation is very helpful as we prepare to welcome students back in the coming months.”

This is the first of an ongoing series of donations of PPE supplies Well Sense NH is making around the state.

“We know families and educators are anxious so we hope to alleviate some of that concern,” explains Caitlin Howard, Well Sense NH. “We are just happy to help.”

PHOTO- L-R Jennifer Gillis, Asst. Superintendent of Operations, Dr. John Goldhardt, Superintendent of Schools, Caitlin Howard, Well Sense Health Plan, NH.

REFLECTIONS OF HELPING THOSE IN NEED

How we treat those in need among us is a reflection of our community values. In the last few months, the herculean efforts of Families In Transition – New Horizons has been nothing short of inspiring. As a client, I have witnessed first hand the work being done to serve the homeless community and various participants and clients under the care of FIT-NH.

Health protocols in place for every day operations weren’t even on the extreme edge of consideration just a few months ago. Everything this non-profit does is being developed from scratch, EXCEPT for the daily dose of compassionate care the women and men of this agency deliver to clients.

It takes a unique sort to work in the world of non-profits. Ingredients include but are not limited to an enormous heart, boundless energy, a desire to help others and give back, a sensitivity to the plight and struggle of fellow families, and often, a personal story of challenge or setback that fuels the motivations to help others.

In just a few short weeks, FIT-NH has opened multiple facilities to promote social distancing, created a food delivery program seven days a week, adjusted protocols for safe interaction for staff and still found time to raise resources through annual events such as the FIT-NH Walk Against Hunger.

At some point, the crisis management will settle into a new normal of operations. Things will be different. Rules and protocols will have to change, but the spirit of outreach of organizations like FIT-NH should give us all optimism about our future.

Relationships Matter

In New Hampshire, relationships matter. For nearly two decades, the operators of Mount Sunapee Ski Resort have built a relationship of trust, good stewardship and economic prosperity as the lease holders of the state-owned mountain.

During that time, Sunapee has surged to become the second most visited ski mountain in the state. Led by GM Jay Gamble, the ski resort offered great conditions and great hospitality. That popularity generated revenue to pull the formerly struggling operation out of the red and even provide new funds to help cover expenses and upkeep of New Hampshire’s other state-owned ski area, Cannon Mountain.

Over time, every ski resort in the state offered new amenities and expanded the number of ski slopes; except for Sunapee.

For years, Sunapee’s operators worked to convince state lawmakers that a limited expansion of trails in exchange for setting aside hundreds of surrounding acres of private land would be set aside for state ownership and conservation.

For years, lawmakers rejected the idea.

Today, after two years of work on a specific proposal to allow four new ski trails, a lift and a ski lodge, the NH Executive Council endorsed the expansion of Mount Sunapee Ski Resort. I was proud to work with the lease holders and with the many community and business leaders in the Sunapee region who support this plan.

All five towns in the region endorsed it. Hundreds of locals weigh-in to support it.
The Governor publicly supported it.

This is a good and balanced plan that took into account the demands of ski enthusiasts and the concerns of environmentalists.

The process was done in the bright light of public scrutiny and both political parties applauded the thorough and accessible approach by the Department of Resources and Economic Development.

The Spradling Group is honored to share in this moment. This is a good day for NH.

Scott

Click Here for Union Leader Story

Proud New Partners

We are always happy to help. That’s why the Spradling Group was created in the first place.

We are very excited to announce we’ve signed on as partners with three new clients!

NH Institute of Art – Something exciting is always happening at the NHIA and we are very excited to lend a helping hand in reminding everyone about the great things this amazing institute is doing!

Families in Transition – A non-profit organization helping homeless families in the greater Manchester area and throughout the state. We will proudly assist them to spread the word about all the good this organization is doing.

Riverwood’s Retirement Community – We are honored the folks at Riverwood’s have asked us to join their team! We are happy to assist in their efforts to spread the word about this amazing community in Exeter.

The Spradling Group was recommended to these three clients by others in the community. We are incredibly proud to know people in the business world think enough of us and our work, to recommend the Spradling Group to others.

We guarantee you’ll be hearing, reading and learning a lot about the NHIA, FiT and Riverwoods in the near future!

In the meantime, think Spring!

Scott and Tracy

What do you do?

Ever wonder exactly what we do for our clients? We get that question frequently and understand that “public relations” can be a pretty vague concept.

Here is a recent example of a successful project:

A few weeks ago, we received a phone call from the superintendent of the Londonderry school district. He expressed frustration that the federal government was going to reclassify his high school cafeteria kitchen as a “food processing plant”, mainly because they had opted out of the national school lunch program.

This was, by all descriptions, a food fight. With their data, we built a message together that explained what was happening, why it was happening, and the consequences in terms of costs to the district if this change was allowed to be made by the federal government.

With a summary in hand, we reached out to local media and the story was picked up by reporters. Not only did the media cover the school board meetings which discussed the problem, but it triggered an editorial in support of the school district, arguing the federal government had no right to punish a school for opting out of the school lunch program.

We also helped craft a letter to the congressional delegation on behalf of Londonderry, to ask for their help for a waiver. Within two weeks the waiver was received and the school could go back to preparing lunches the way they were before without the threat of being classified as a food processing plant.

Using our contacts in politics and in the media, we were able to step in and play a small role in helping the school district rectify a potentially expensive problem.

That’s what we do.

Scott & Tracy

Click on the links below to see some of the press coverage:

NH1 story

WMUR story

Union Leader article