On April 15, 2024, from 9 to 10 AM Pacific Time, we invite you to attend the one-hour Zoom presentation with the Directors of Communications from each Western Jurisdiction Conference and Brenda Smotherman from UMCOM about communicating about the General Conference.
In essence, this is a crisis communication training/refresher, but we’ll also share our plan for distributing news about General Conference, and then what to do if:
- A reporter is at your church or via social media asks you to comment on their story about General Conference.
- Who’s the official spokesperson and speaks on behalf of The UMC.
- Where to find the real news and daily outcomes if you see something alarming on Social Media about General Conference.
About the Guest Presenter
Brenda Smotherman is the Associate Public Relations Director at United Methodist Communications and has been with the agency for more than five years. She provides publicity support for UMCOM, communicators across the UMC connection, The Connectional Table, and the Commission on the General Conference. Smotherman oversees media pitching, several social media channels, publicity consultation and training, and supportive written content, resources and reports.
Before joining UMCOM, she served as the Publicity and Marketing Manager for United Methodist Publishing House’s Abingdon Press. Smotherman previously served as a literary publicist for Thomas Nelson’s nonfiction books and Bible-related products and a publicist for Christian companies, authors and recording artists via McCain & Co. Public Relations. In her early career, she worked for more than a decade in the Christian music industry, mainly handling marketing and tour promotions for Provident Label Group artists.
Brenda Smotherman resides in Middle Tennessee with her husband and two rescue dogs.
Want to participate?
Sign up now for this webinar hosted by the Desert Southwest Conference New and Vital Faith Committee. Register at https://dscumc.org/monday-moments-registration/.
