Gina MacArthur is responsible for making that happen.
The Glovertown native, and Kippens resident, is the city’s new communications officer.
MacArthur will be communicating with the media, improving upon the city’s social media presence, and managing the communication of each city department. She expects to begin meeting with departmental staff to gauge their current roles and ongoing needs.
“For me, it’s all about improving the communication with the residents of the city so that information is shared in a nice, timely manner, and that people get the information they need,” she said.
MacArthur, a journalism graduate from the College of the North Atlantic, has many years of experience as a print and broadcast reporter and has also held communications positions for a number of organizations and municipalities across Canada. Her most recent position was as public relations specialist with the College of the North Atlantic in Stephenville.
She hopes her positive attitude and personality shine through the position and are reflected upon the city’s persona.
“I tend to be a very upbeat and outgoing person, and I hope that translates well in terms of the city’s public image,” she said. “I hope people start to see some of those happy and positive stories.”
Meanwhile, Corner Brook’s chief administrative officer Mike Dolter said, because this type of communication was handled by personnel in each department individually, there were gaps identified. He said the position will ensure information is flowing properly.
“We want to make sure that we are communicating the message of the city as well as we can,” he said. “There are a lot of good things going on, and we want to make sure that is out there.
“As well, we want to hear when, in some cases, people are not as satisfied, and hear it a little bit more timely than we have in the past.”
churley@thewesternstar.com
Twitter: WS_CoryHurley
The city doesn't need "better communication". The city needs truthful communication and a council that acts on behalf of its citizens. We don't need another municipal servant to spin anything so it sounds good, we need it to be good. Nothing against Gina MacArthur. I'm sure she is well trained and capable of her job. It doesn't matter where she is from or lives currently. What matters is that we don't need anyone to make the communications "sound" good. When council acts in the best interests and on behalf of it's citizens, it always sounds good.