The Showalter Group

	GRASSROOTS INNOVATORS NAMED:
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The winners of the first annual Grassroots Innovation Awards were announced at the Public Affairs Council’s 2000 National Grassroots Conference in Key West, Florida on February 14. The winner was Farmland Industries, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri. Two awards for Outstanding Achievement were given to Safety-Kleen, Columbia, South Carolina, and North Carolina Citizens for a Sound Economy, Raleigh, North Carolina.

"As grassroots matures, organizations must constantly strive to be innovative in their grassroots tactics and strategies. In an effort to recognize the innovative use of grassroots techniques, the Council is proud to partner with The Showalter Group, Inc. in creating the Grassroots Innovation Awards," said Tony Kramer, Manager of Programs at the Council.

"You are either green and growing or ripe and rotting. As a former corporate grassroots director, I know the challenges in keeping a program fresh and invigorated. It’s hard work with little recognition. We wanted to reward all the stellar folks who not only think about new ideas, but who act on new ideas. It’s not innovative until you do it," said Amy Showalter, President of The Showalter Group, Inc.

The committee members read over 25 nominations, checked out web sites to verify information, and were extremely thorough in their deliberations. The committee members came from diverse backgrounds, yet there was near-unanimous agreement on the winners. It shows that real grassroots program innovations really do stand out.

A selection committee of five experienced public affairs professionals voted on the award. The committee members included:

Heidi Belz, BP Amoco
Laura Feldman, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Chris Jacobs, American Council of Life Insurance
Irene Sommers, Bayer Corporation
Allan Sutherlin, Public Affairs Resources/Legislative Demographic Services

The committee examined over 25 nominations. The criteria?

Will this practice change how grassroots is practiced or applied in the future?
Was the group flexible in their tactics?
Was it appropriate to their members/audience?
Did they use research or measure their results?
What types of resources were at their disposal?
Is the innovation adaptable to other organizations?
How was it used in an innovative way?
Did the nomination clearly answer all questions on the form?

The committee appropriately reviewed the innovation in its context, not just one feature, gadget, speech, etc. within the nomination. They looked at how it was innovative relative to an entire grassroots program.

While space does not permit us to print each winner's entire nomination, the following is an outline of the innovation and the committee members’ comments.

You may see a clear trend. Authenticity, simplicity, and real people are innovative, and most important, they work!

First Place: Farmland Industries, Inc.
Nominated by: Gina Bowman-Morrill, Director of Government Relations, Farmland, Inc.

Our overall winner initiated a pure issue education campaign without a request that their employees contact their elected officials. The goals were to increase understanding of the importance and effect of trade on Farmland, its employees and farmer-owners, and to eventually influence policy makers about trade issues important to American agriculture.

They used a mix of quizzes, surveys, paycheck stub messages, newsletter articles and company Internet updates to keep a constant stream of messages before their audience.

The result? Members of Congress heard from Farmland employees and farmer-owners anyway!

Why is this innovative? In the words of the committee members and advisors:

"They used surveys to show both a need for education and also to show that the education program worked."

"They STILL use the paycheck stub every payday for messages. Most companies drop this after the issue dies down."

"Policy makers took public notice of the issue. The education component was done so well that the employees were motivated to contact lawmakers without the company asking them to. It was so authentic"

"It wasn’t flashy, didn’t use some new widget, it focused on a measured need to educate the workforce."

Outstanding Achievement: Safety-Kleen, Columbia, South Carolina
Nominated by: Jocelyn Irizarry-Anderson, Manager, Government and Community Relations

Safety-Kleen developed The Partnership for Environmental Training as a corporate-community grassroots program to provide high-tech, good-wage job skills to citizens of South Central Los Angeles. Safety-Kleen wanted to shrink the gap between them and the communities where they do business.

Safety-Kleen went to California’s oldest environmental justice organization and asked them what they needed from Safety-Kleen, rather than arbitrarily deciding and forcing it upon them. As a result, they created a job training program, which graduated its first class in February of 1999. Most impressive, however, was that Safety-Kleen turned management of the program over to the citizens, who comprised the majority of the seven-member board.

What’s innovative?

"It is hard to be in the waste management business in the current regulatory/environmental marketplace. This company has created a clear "win-win" program that will open doors of an otherwise skeptical legislative audience. While some might say that the application is not about grassroots but community relations, I think it is one of the most innovative approaches to a total grassroots program with real, tangible results."

"They empowered local leadership and were a true asset to the community by turning over the program’s management to the citizens."

"Here’s a company that recognizes the importance of "earning" the respect of the legislators and public by action not just words."

"What was innovative is that they ASKED, they didn’t TELL the local groups what they needed from Safety-Kleen."

Outstanding Achievement: North Carolina Citizens for a Sound Economy, Raleigh, North Carolina
Nominated by: Brandon Arnold, NCCSE

North Carolina CSE revived a good old-fashioned approach to soundly defeat a large tax increase accompanying the June 8, 1999 Wake County school bond referendum. They used a mix of sound trucks, Burma shave signs, and telephone trees to get the word out to their audience.

They were outspent 5 to 1, had all the area business and political leaders against them, and were down 45 percent to 55 percent in the polls prior to the campaign. They defeated the tax increase 65 to 35 percent.

What’s innovative about it?

"It shows that old-fashioned grassroots campaigning will not diminish in the foreseeable future."

"They were not deterred that they didn’t have much money. They didn’t give up."

"They won with a "low-tech" approach."