2021 Annual Conference Schedule

Note: Session times and topics are subject to change.

Tuesday - September 7, 2021

4:00 p.m.

Board of Directors Meeting

Wednesday - September 8, 2021

Pre-Conference

8:00 a.m.

Pre-Conference Registration - Prefunction 4th Floor

8:30 a.m.

Pre-Conference Sessions

  • Blocking or Deleting Facebook Trolls Could Get You Sued - Best Practices for Managing Social Media Comments Without Violating the First Amendment - Park View
  • CityArchRiver Project Tour & Trip to the Top!
  • For the Love of Cities - Grand Ballroom G/H
  • How To Spark Innovation After An Unexpected Crisis - Grand Ballroom F

11:00 a.m.

Pre-Conference Luncheon - Gateway (18th Floor)

General Conference

11:00 a.m.

General Conference Registration Begins - Prefunction 4th Floor

12:00 p.m.

Gathering for First Timers  - Park View

Presenters: Patty Prince - Communications Manager - President, 3CMA - City of Manassas, VA and Marnie Schubert - Communications, Marketing & Recreation Director - President Elect, 3CMA - Town of Queen Creek, AZ

12:30 p.m.

Opening Session

  • Keynote Presentation - Building Relationships: From Let’s Grab a Beer to City Hall - Grand Ballroom E
    Colleen Lucas, VP, Corporate Social Responsibility, Anheuser-Busch
    When Anheuser-Busch’s marketing team strategized about messaging for 2021, they recognized the need for the nation’s leading brewer to leverage its unique capabilities, reach, and relationships to play a meaningful role in the county’s recovery. Their focus was on connecting consumers through needed powerful messages about people coming together for life’s big and small moments while envisioning a return to more normal social occasions.

    Their messaging, deployment and success leave strong takeaways for local governments on the important role of communications in helping people come together for each other – and their communities. Colleen Lucas, the Vice President for Social Responsibility/Better World at Anheuser-Busch will share the behind-the-scene strategies and the correlation to your world of engaging residents.

    About the SpeakerColleen Lucas - Anheuser-Busch
    Colleen Lucas has a passion for community impact. She leads a Better World agenda at Anheuser-Busch that includes road safety, smart drinking, environmental sustainability, philanthropy, and the operation of A-B’s iconic brewery experiences and Clydesdales.

    Colleen has been with A-B for over 10 years and has also held leadership roles in Brand and Innovation within the Marketing function, including work on some of the industry’s largest brands in Budweiser and Bud Light. Prior to Anheuser-Busch, Colleen worked in consulting and at a software start-up. She earned her BA from DePauw University and MBA from Indiana University.  She lives in St. Louis, with her husband Justin and their three children, Austin (6), Jackson (4), and Ali (2). 

2:15 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions

  • Creative Crash Course: Small but Mighty Ideas for Social Success - Grand Ballroom E
  • Texas Winter Storm 2021: Communicating in the Cold - Park View
  • Two Cities Unleash Web Chat and SMS Chat to Save Time AND Serve More Residents - Grand Ballroom G/H
  • Reimagining Internal Communications – You’ve Got My Attention! - Grand Ballroom F

3:30 p.m.

Networking Break

3:45 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions

  • Gen Z, Millennials, Baby Boomers, Oh My! Tips for Communicating with Every Generation - Grand Ballroom E
  • Exposing Employees.... in a Good Way! - Park View
  • All About Cleo - Grand Ballroom G/H
  • Does Your City Have What it takes to be One of a Kind? - Grand Ballroom F

5:30 p.m.

Welcome Reception- Gateway (18th Floor)

6:30 p.m.

Restaurant Romp

Thursday - September 9, 2021

7:30 a.m.

Breakfast - Grand Ballroom D

8:45 a.m.

General Session - Grand Ballroom E

Stress, Trauma and Psychological Wellness

We all experience stress. Good stress can be a motivator to make changes; however, some individuals are exposed to chronic stressors that negatively impact psychological well-being. This session explores stress and stress reactions, trauma and secondary trauma, and fueling psychological wellness. Participants learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress overload, create a stress management toolkit, and seek support.
Presenter: Julie Lawson - Personal Assistance Services

9:45 a.m.

General Session - Innovation Forum - Grand Ballroom E

Three Key Concepts for Conquering your Twitter Presence

Twitter is designed to serve the public conversation. Whether you're brand new to the platform or you've been tweeting for years, this session will help you make the most of your Twitter presence by focusing on people, product, and policies. You'll learn easy ways to optimize your tweets for engagement; top conversation tactics used by government accounts and politicians around the world; and how to have healthy, safe conversations on Twitter using conversation controls.
Presenter: Morgan Butler - Engagement and Outreach Manager for Public Policy - Twitter 

10:45 a.m.

Networking Break

11:00 a.m.

General Session - Innovation Forum - Grand Ballroom E

Facebook and Instagram Best Practices for Local Government Communicators  

Join us as we discuss the tools, products, and best practices that you can use to connect and engage with your community on Facebook and Instagram. Learn how to organically increase engagement and build your community on Facebook and Instagram's various surfaces.  
Presenters: Jared Brown - Politics & Government Outreach - Facebook and Adán Chávez - Politics & Government Outreach - Facebook

12:00 p.m.

Savvy Awards Luncheon - Grand Ballroom D

2:00 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions

  • Creating Video and Gif Animations - Grand Ballroom E
  • How to go Viral by Creating Conversations on Twitter - Park View
  • It Happens in 3s - Crisis Communications Lessons from a Very Active JIC - Grand Ballroom G/H
  • How to Project Openness in a Time of Inherent Distrust - Grand Ballroom F

3:15 p.m.

Networking Break

3:45 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions 

  • Find Your Outside Voice: Crafting Plain-Talk Communications that Make People Pay Attention - Grand Ballroom E
  • Wrangling the Workload: A Guide to Getting Organized - Park View
  • Rupture the Stereotype: How to Build a Workplace Culture for the Future - Grand Ballroom G/H
  • The Killer Pitch: How to Get More Media Coverage, More Often - Grand Ballroom F

Friday - September 10, 2021

7:30 a.m.

Breakfast & 3CMA Business Meeting - Grand Ballroom D

9:00 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions

  • Taking Your Communications Program To The Next Level - Grand Ballroom E
  • The Surprising Science of Community Input: What’s Helpful? What’s Useless? What’s Dangerous? - Park View
  • Keeping the Momentum Going: Planning for the Future through Moments of Uncertainty - Grand Ballroom F

10:15 a.m.

Networking Break

10:45 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions

  • Do it for the Gram: Optimizing your Spaces & Events for Social Sharing - Grand Ballroom E
  • Reputations at Stake: How One City Handled Crisis after Crisis after Crisis - Park View
  • Increasing Engagement, Increasing Equity - Grand Ballroom G/H
  • Savvy Film Festival - Grand Ballroom F

12:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

General Conference Adjourns

Post Conference Board Meeting