VRSA provides communications consulting services to eligible members to assist in navigating the unique communications challenges of local governments. The services, provided by VRSA Director of Communications Hollie Cammarasana, include personalized consulting, webinars and training, sample policies and procedures, articles on best practices, and more.
“She’s really helped me turn around how I can get information out to our citizens,” said Town of Hillsville Treasurer Leanna Surratt. “I have a lot of hats here at the town and am no means an expert – so it’s great to reach out to an expert for free – and our insurance provides that at no cost.”
Cammarasana has more than 20 years of experience in public relations and has previously worked in both nonprofit and state government. She is accredited in public relations and holds a masters degree in public administration.
“I’m in charge of pushing out a lot of info that goes to citizens, and before I ran across Hollie, I worked with media,” said Surratt. “She didn’t just do the press releases – she taught me how to compile them.”
Cammarasana is also available to work with members on a tight deadline.
“In 2018 there was a National Day of Mourning which landed on a tax deadline – I didn’t know how to explain that to the citizens,” said Surratt. “I reached out to Hollie and she was on it, pulling out guidelines from the government agencies and published that for me, helped me to work to get it to citizens in a timely manner.”
Cammarasana has worked with many VRSA members facing public relations crises – preparing talking points, press releases, as well as providing media training to prepare them for the interview process.
More information on VRSA’s communications services can be found here.