Publicity Committee. End of Year Report Chairs: Carol Bencivengo, Janet Downey & Mary Lee Eldridge

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1 Publicity Committee End of Year Report 2012 Chairs: Carol Bencivengo, Janet Downey & Mary Lee Eldridge Accomplishments as they relate to the goals established. Committee Goals: To publicize the Master Gardeners of Mercer County programs and activities as widely as possible in the community, promoting awareness of the organization. The Publicity Committee created and distributed public relations items such as press releases, display ads, flyers and postcards relating to programs, events and individual accomplishments during calendar year We expanded digital presence and our media and community contacts, utilizing Facebook and QR, many on-line calendars and publications and new contacts in local media companies. Accomplishments: Created and issued 15 press releases announcing programs and events and highlighting accomplishments of individuals and committees. Press releases were distributed electronically to established media publications, networks and contacts. Designed and distributed tear-off pads (3), postcards (2) and flyer/brochure mailers (4) for our programs and major events of the year; The Spring Garden Symposium, the Spring Plant Expo, A Midsummer Night in the Garden and the Insect Festival. Our distribution included electronic and postal mailing lists, community outreach and programs, Extension, website, libraries, garden centers and other community buildings. Created and issued press releases on a monthly, or as needed basis, through the MG electronic mailing list. Twelve (12) e-notices were sent, each reflecting a publicity press release and containing the Extension approved language for those press releases. Over 1,000 s were sent per mailing. Our current mailing list has over 1,000 names on it. Created and readied for printing, the 2013 Schedule of Programs and Events. Working with the Community Education Committee, the layout and language was streamlined, updated and submitted for printing prior to January Coordinated printing of all 2012 publicity documents including the Garden Symposium Registration Form, Plant Expo and Insect Festival Post Cards, MEG Self-Guided Tour brochure, MEG Compost Bins and MEG Composting brochures utilizing Mercer County Shared Services printing done by Mercer County Community College. We continued our relationship with the MCCC Printing Services group and have saved MG funds through Cooperative Extension funded printing. December, 2012 we received $1,000 in funds from County printing account to prepare many 2013 publicity items, saving our organization this amount. We have also established a Master Gardener account with MCCC printing facility to directly pay using MG funds. Continued outreach to editors and writers of local media publications. We established a great relationship with a new area print media, Sun Publications, which serves several Mercer County communities as well as parts of Hunterdon County and Montgomery 1

2 Township. This year our Insect Festival was featured in the Sun Publications throughout Mercer County both in print and on line. Expanded our media coverage through the purchase of display advertising for the Spring Garden Symposium, Plant Expo and the Insect Festival, in multiple publications (Sun Publications and Town Topics - print ads). Continued to update the mailing lists and streamline periodically. Provided information to the Packet Publications Princeton Magazine (PM) for Articles about the MGofMC organization. Our Facebook presence was enhanced and Tina Leone came on board to manage our Facebook PR. Expanded our on-line calendar publicity with Tina Leone now managing that aspect. Goals/Plans for 2013 Continue to foster good relations with Media contacts, through telephone and contact. Continue to utilize Extension shared services printing facilities (Mercer County Community College) for the preparation of publicity items, whenever feasible, saving MG funds. Post press items on the MG website and enhance publicity on the Website, so Schedule of Events and upcoming events are prominently displayed in a user friendly format. Explore alternatives to our ebrain electronic software with the end result being a more user friendly program. Develop more creative ways of publicizing the organization by broadening our outreach and types of publicity throughout Mercer County. Document all new procedures for future reference. Continue to streamline and refine our mailing list data base. Solicit from members and add general photographs of various events and gardens to our electronic file for future publicity of events and programs. Update and enhance our Media contacts list to include on-line calendars and publications. Participating Members The group consisted of Carol Bencivengo, Janet Downey and Marilyn Canterbury as Co-Chairs; Joe Scarlata, our photographer extraordinaire and (e-brain) webmaster; Betty and Joe Scarlata and Mary Lee Eldridge. With the loss of our dear Marilyn, Mary Lee Eldridge became Co-Chair. This year Janet Downey remains a member of the group but will no longer be a cochair. Tina Leone will be co-chair. 2

3 Publicity Committee End of Year Report 2013 Chairs: Carol Bencivengo, Mary Lee Eldridge, & Tina Leone Accomplishments as they relate to the goals established. Committee Goals: To publicize the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County programs and activities as widely as possible in the community, promoting awareness of the organization. The Publicity Committee creates and distributes public relations items such as press releases, display ads, flyers and postcards relating to programs, events and individual accomplishments during the calendar year. The committee also acts as liaison and a resource to Mercer County Administration on publicity matters and to local publications seeking information of our program. The committee continues to issue press releases and publicity items through electronic approval and submission means. In 2013 we continued to explore on-line media sources and Facebook coverage (more than doubled our following). We have added new contacts as they are discovered. The committee experienced a great loss when our friend Joe Scarlata passed away. Betty Scarlata has agreed to continue Joe s huge responsibilities on the committee both as MG photographer and electronic mailing ( Brain) webmaster. We also had two great graphics resources come on board: Annette Osterlund and Kathy Pietras. Accomplishments: Addition of two committee members: Annette Osterlund and Kathy Pietras joined the group and brought with them great talent in the area of graphic design. Redesigned and gained State approval for the RMG tree logo to reflect addition of Rutgers to our name (ML Eldridge). Designed the 20 year celebration RMG logo for program-wide use (Annette Osterlund). Designed new logos and graphics for Plant Expo and Garden Market and Insect Festival and incorporated these graphics into all publicity for events (Annette Osterlund). Designed, distributed and posted to website mini flyers for monthly programs throughout the year (Kathy Pietras). The committee generated and issued 11 press releases announcing programs and events. In addition four (4) releases were generated and distributed highlighting accomplishments of individuals and committees (new class announcement, fall conference award recipients, graduation and International Award). These 1 of 3

4 releases were submitted electronically to established media publications, networks and contacts. Generated and distributed the 2014 Garden Symposium registration form. Form was made available on MG website, through Brain mailings, and distribution to all previous attendees, MGs, State Association, Fall Conference attendees and various garden groups and conferences. Designed and distributed tear-off pads (2), postcards (2) and flyer/brochure mailers (4), for our programs and major events of the year; Our distribution included electronic and postal mailing lists, community outreach and programs, Extension, website, libraries, garden centers and other community buildings. Created and issued press releases on a monthly or as needed basis through the MG electronic mailing list. Twelve (12) e-notices were sent, each reflecting publicity press release information. Over 1,000 s were sent per mailing. Our current mailing list has over 1,000 names on it. Created and readied for printing, the 2014 Schedule of Programs and Events. The layout, logos and language were updated, using fun graphics and logos and submitted for printing prior to January Coordinated updating and printing of many 2013 publicity documents including the Garden Symposium Registration Form, Plant Expo and Insect Festival Post Cards, MEG Self-Guided Tour brochure, MEG Compost Bins and MEG Composting brochures through Mercer County Shared Services printing done by Mercer County Community College. We continued our relationship with the MCCC Printing Services group and have saved MG funds through Cooperative Extension funded printing. December, 2013 we utilized Cooperative Extension funds to prepare many 2014 publicity items. Continued outreach to editors and writers of local media publications. This year our Plant Expo and Insect Festival were featured in several Publications throughout Mercer County both in print and on line. We received many requests for articles regarding our organization and events. The Plant Expo, Insect Festival and our International award was featured in multiple publications. Expanded our media coverage through the purchase of display advertising for the Plant Expo and Garden Market, A Midsummer Night in the Garden, and the Insect Festival, in multiple publications. Continued to update the mailing lists and streamline periodically. Provided information to the Packet Publications, Princeton Magazine (PM), Mercer Space, Trenton Times, and Sun Publications for articles about the RMGofMC organization. Goals/Plans for 2014 Continue to foster good relations with Media contacts, through telephone and e- mail contact. Continue to utilize Extension shared services printing facilities (Mercer County Community College) for the printing of publicity items, whenever feasible, saving MG funds. 2 of 3

5 Post all publicity related flyers and announcements on the MG website and enhance publicity on the Website, so Schedule of Events and upcoming events are prominently displayed in a user friendly format. Continue to explore alternatives to our ebrain electronic software with the end result being a more user friendly program. Continue to nurture local contacts in the media to creatively promote the organization throughout Mercer County. Document all new procedures for future reference. Continue to streamline and refine our mailing list data base. Add general photographs for various events to our electronic file for future publicity of events and programs. Participating Members The group consists of Carol Bencivengo, Mary Lee Eldridge and Tina Leone as Co- Chairs, Betty Scarlata as electronic mailing list webmaster and MG events and program photographer; Annette Osterlund and Kathy Pietras as graphic designers, and Janet Downey as general support and publicity distribution. 3 of 3

6 Publicity Committee End of Year Report 2014 Chairs: Carol Bencivengo, Mary Lee Eldridge, & Tina Leone Accomplishments as they relate to the goals established. Committee Goals: To publicize the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County programs, events and activities as widely as possible throughout the community, promoting awareness of the organization. The Publicity Committee creates and distributes public relations items such as press releases, display ads, flyers and postcards relating to programs, events and individual accomplishments during the calendar year. The committee also acts as liaison and a resource to Mercer County Administration on publicity matters and to local publications seeking information of our organization and its programs and events. The committee issues press releases and publicity items through electronic approval and submission means whenever possible. In 2014 we continued to post our activities through on-line media sources and Facebook coverage. We have added new contacts as they are discovered. Accomplishments: Designed, distributed at programs and events and through electronic mailing list and posted to website seven mini flyers for monthly programs throughout the year (Kathy Pietras). The committee generated a total of 14 press releases: 11 press releases announcing programs and events and three releases highlighting accomplishments of individuals and committees (new class announcement, fall conference award recipients, and graduation). These releases were submitted electronically to established media publications, networks and contacts and Facebook. Designed (Annette Osterlund) and distributed the 2014 Garden Symposium registration form. The form was made available on MG website, through Brain mailings, and distribution to all previous attendees, MGs, State Association, Fall Conference attendees and various garden groups and conferences. Designed and or updated various publications for 2014 programs and events: tear-off pads (2), postcards (2) and flyer/brochure mailers (2), for our programs and major events of the year; Our distribution included electronic and postal mailing lists, community outreach and programs, Extension, website, libraries, garden centers and other community buildings. Created and issued press releases on a monthly or as needed basis through the MG electronic mailing list. Twelve (12) e-notices were sent, each reflecting publicity and or press release information. Over 1,000 s were sent per mailing. Our current mailing list has over 1,000 names on it. Created and readied for printing, the 2015 Schedule of Programs and Events. The layout, logos and language were updated, using fun graphics and logos. Updated and submitted for printing 2014 documents including the Garden Symposium Registration Form, Plant Expo and Insect Festival tear offs and Post Cards, MEG Self- Guided Tour brochure, MEG Compost Bins and MEG Composting brochures through Mercer County Shared Services printing done by Mercer County Community College.

7 Expanded our media coverage through the purchase of display advertising for the Symposium, Plant Expo and Garden Market, A Midsummer Night in the Garden, and the Insect Festival, in multiple publications. Continued to update the mailing lists and streamline periodically. Provided information to the Mercer Space, Trenton Times, and Sun Publications for articles about the RMGofMC organization. Started a project of Gathering newspaper articles from previous years to be organized and placed in binders for historical purposes. Goals/Plans for 2015 Continue to foster good relations with Media contacts, through telephone and contact. Continue to utilize Extension shared services printing facilities (Mercer County Community College) for the printing of publicity items, whenever feasible, saving MG funds. Post all publicity related flyers and announcements on the MG website and enhance publicity on the Website, so Schedule of Events and upcoming events are prominently displayed. Continue working on project of organizing past and current newspaper articles. Streamline and refine our mailing list data base. Stephanie Foy and Barbara Gliddon will update and maintain data base and coordinate mailings through postal mail and . Expand and enhance our social media presence. Enhance our current Facebook page and explore the use of Instagram and Pinterest. Karen Bennett will join our team and join Tina Leone as a social media administrator and explore new social media options. Create a Data Base of forms, brochures, and other publications so there is a central list within the organization. Participating Members The group consists of Carol Bencivengo, Mary Lee Eldridge and Tina Leone as Co-Chairs; Betty Scarlata as electronic mailing list webmaster and MG events and program photographer; Annette Osterlund and Kathy Pietras as graphic designers, Theodora Wang as photographer and go to person for photos and form/brochure design and updating, Karen Bennett as a social media administrator, Stephanie Foy and Barbara Gliddon mailing list data base and mailings and Janet Downey as general support and publicity distribution.

8 Publicity Committee End of Year Report 2015 Chairs: Carol Bencivengo, Mary Lee Eldridge, & Tina Leone Accomplishments as they relate to the goals established. Committee Goals: To publicize the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County programs, events and activities as widely as possible throughout the community, promoting awareness of the organization. The Publicity Committee creates and distributes public relations items such as press releases, display ads, flyers and postcards relating to programs, events and individual accomplishments during the calendar year. The committee also acts as liaison and a resource to Mercer County Administration on publicity matters and to local publications seeking information about our organization and its programs and events. The committee issues press releases and publicity items through electronic approval and submission. In 2015 the committee continued to post our activities through local print publications, on-line media sources and Facebook coverage. We have added new contacts as they are discovered. Accomplishments: Designed, and distributed 11 flyers through electronic mailing, Facebook and RMG website. The flyers were created to promote the programs and events held throughout the year. Annette Osterlund created the flyers in various formats (i.e. pdf, jpg) as needed. The committee generated a total of 15 press releases: 11 press releases announcing programs and events and four releases highlighting accomplishments of individuals and committees (officers, new class announcement, fall conference award recipients, and graduation). These releases were submitted electronically to established media publications, networks and contacts and through Facebook. Designed (Annette Osterlund) and distributed the 2015 Garden Symposium registration form. The form was made available on MG website, through Brain mailings, and distribution to all previous attendees, MGs, State Association, Fall Conference attendees and various garden groups and conferences. Designed and/or updated and printed various garden symposium handouts such as feedback form, speaker bios and handouts as needed by Symposium committee. Designed and or updated various publications for 2014 programs and events: tear-off pads (2 Plant Expo & Insect Festival), postcards (2 Plant Expo & Insect Festival) and flyer/brochure mailers (1 Schedule of Events), for our programs and major events of the year. Distribution included electronic and postal mailing lists, community outreach and programs, Extension, website, libraries, garden centers, other community buildings and sources. Created and issued press releases on a monthly or as needed basis through electronic submission to local publications (16 total unless wider distribution requested) and our electronic mailing list. Twelve (12) e-notices were sent, each reflecting publicity and or press release information. Over 1,000 s were sent per mailing. Our current mailing list has over 1,200 names on it. Created and readied for printing, the 2016 Schedule of Programs and Events. The layout, logos and language were updated, using fun graphics.

9 Created and or updated and submitted for printing 2016 documents including the Schedule of Programs and Events brochure, Garden Symposium Registration Form, Plant Expo and Insect Festival tear offs and post cards and various Symposium handouts through Mercer County Shared Services printing done by Mercer County Community College. Expanded our media coverage through the purchase of display advertising for the Symposium, Plant Expo and Garden Market, Insect Festival and the October program featuring Pat Sutton, in multiple publications (The Times of Trenton, US#1, WW Herald, etc. Continued to update the mailing lists and streamline periodically. Barbara Gliddon and Stephanie Foy took on this responsibility from Mary Lee Eldridge. This task includes gathering contacts, updating lists, providing addresses to Betty Scarlata for Ebrain mailing and creating labels for postal mailings. Provided information to the County and various publications for articles about the RMGofMC organization. Started a project of Gathering newspaper articles from previous years to be organized and placed in binders for historical purposes. Goals/Plans for 2016 Expand the Publicity Committee to expand the social media coverage of our programs, events and organization in general. Continue to foster good relations with Media contacts, through telephone and contact. Continue to utilize Extension shared services printing facilities (Mercer County Community College) for the printing of publicity items, whenever feasible, saving MG funds. Post all publicity related flyers and announcements on the MG website and enhance publicity on the Website, so Schedule of Events and upcoming events are prominently displayed. Streamline and refine our mailing list data base. Stephanie Foy will update and maintain data base and coordinate mailings through postal mail and . The year 2016 will be the last year for postal mailings through our mailing list. A decision was made to work smarter by just maintaining a mailing list of contacts. Our current postal mailing list is very cumbersome and impossible to keep current. All postal mail list recipients are being notified through this year s mailings. A new address has been established for people to join our mailing list. Expand and enhance our social media presence. Enhance our current Facebook page and explore the use of Twitter and Instagram. Linda Park joins the Committee as Co- Chair and will be co Administrator with Tina Leon for Facebook. They will be responsible for social media coverage. Create a google docs account for the sharing of public Relations information. Create a Data Base of forms, brochures, and other publications so there is a central list within the organization. Participating Members Mary Lee Eldridge has stepped down as Co-Chair and member of the Committee. The group consists of Carol Bencivengo, Tina Leone, Annette Osterlund and Linda Park as Co-Chairs; Betty Scarlata as electronic mailing list webmaster and MG events and program photographer; Stephanie Foy, mailing list coordinator, Theodora Wang, photography and general support and Janet Downey, publicity distribution and general support.

10 Publicity Committee Annual Report 2016 Chairs: Carol Bencivengo, Tina Leone, Annette Osterlund & Linda Park Committee Members: Janet Downey, Betty Scarlata, Stephanie Foy, and Theodora Wang Accomplishments as they relate to the goals established Committee Goals: To publicize the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County programs, events and activities as widely as possible throughout the community, promoting awareness of the organization. The Publicity Committee creates and distributes public relations items such as press releases, display ads, flyers and postcards relating to programs, events and individual accomplishments during the calendar year. The committee also acts as liaison and a resource to Mercer County Administration on publicity matters and to local publications seeking information about our organization and its programs and events. The committee issues press releases and publicity items through electronic approval and submission. In 2016 the committee continued to post our activities through local print publications, on-line media sources and various social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We have added new contacts as they are discovered. Accomplishments: Designed and distributed 11 flyers through electronic mailing list (Constant Contact), Social Media and RMG website. Each of the 11 programs and events for the calendar year had a set of various size/content flyers created. Separate flyers were formatted for Community Education distribution, social media website and Constant Contact. The flyers were created to promote the programs and events held throughout the year. Annette Osterlund created the flyers in various formats (i.e. pdf, jpg) as needed. The committee generated a total of 15 press releases: 10 press releases announcing programs and events and five releases highlighting accomplishments of individuals and committees (officers, new class announcement, fall conference award recipients, scout project and graduation). These releases were submitted electronically to established media publications, networks and contacts and social media. Designed (Annette Osterlund) and had printed the 2016 Garden Symposium registration form. The form was made available on MG website, through Constant Contact mail list, and distribution to all previous attendees, MGs, State Association, Fall Conference attendees and various garden groups and conferences. Designed and/or updated and printed various garden symposium handouts such as feedback form, speaker bios and handouts as needed by Symposium committee. Designed and or updated various publications for 2016 programs and events: tear-off pads (Plant Expo & Insect Festival), postcards (Plant Expo & Insect Festival) and flyer/brochure mailers (2017 Schedule of Events), for our programs and major events of the year. Distribution included electronic and postal mailing lists, community outreach and programs, Extension, website, libraries, garden centers, other community buildings and sources. Created and issued press releases on a monthly or as needed basis through electronic submission to local publications (16 total unless wider distribution requested) and our

11 electronic mailing list. Twelve (12) e-notices were sent, each reflecting publicity and or press release information. Over 1,100 s were sent per mailing. Our current mailing list has close to 1,200 names on it. We are now only using address for our mailing list. We have totally eliminated the use of postal mailings for programs and events. Created and readied for printing, the 2017 Schedule of Programs and Events. The layout, logos and language were updated, using fun graphics. Created and or updated and submitted for printing 2017 documents including the Schedule of Programs and Events brochure, Garden Symposium Registration Form, and various Symposium handouts through Mercer County Shared Services printing done by Mercer County Community College. Expanded our media coverage through the purchase of display advertising for the Plant Expo and Garden Market and Insect Festival in multiple publications (US#1, WW Herald, Packet, Town Topics and Princeton Sun). Continued to update the mailing lists and streamline periodically. Stephanie Foy continues to update our mailing list as new names/ addresses are obtained. This task includes gathering contacts, updating lists, providing addresses to Betty Scarlata for Constant Contact mailings and creating labels for postal mailings. It should be noted that 2016 was the last year for events postal mailings. There is no way of updating the mailing lists that contained home addresses. With bulk mailing we had no way of knowing individuals had moved, etc. Provided information to the County and various publications for articles about the RMGofMC organization. Social Media for the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County moved in a forward direction for Followers and Engagement increased in 2016 on Facebook. In April 2016, we set up social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram. They are growing slowly, but we plan on increasing growth by utilizing ads on Facebook and Instagram. Mercer County has a population of approximately 370,414 people that we need to connect with. Committee information about social media is shared via a Google Doc that all members of the Publicity Committee can update and share with group. Size of photos for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are now being created by Annette Osterlund for better viewing on each platform. Tina Leone and Linda Park oversee the social media side of publicity. Facebook page likes increased 30 percent for the year. There is a notable uptick in page likes after our community education events. Various official Rutgers and Mercer County pages have liked and shared some of our event posts, and we have liked and shared some appropriate Rutgers and County events. The social media presence of our cooperating organizations is something we should continue to benefit from. A core group of Master Gardeners like and share our events, but we need to continue to strive to expand our reach beyond our immediate contacts. The page also fielded a few helpline-type questions, indicating that there is an opportunity to expand helpline to the web. Social Media Analysis for Publicity Committee, Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County for 2016 Facebook Page Likes - January 1, Likes Dec. 31, Likes Page Likes grew by 70 Likes over one year Engagement Jan Dec ,377 people

12 Twitter Set up account April Followers 9 Following Instagram Set up account April Followers 34 Following Goals/Plans for 2016 Social Media plans to share photos and information from the monthly post on the RMGofMC website on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Use a marketing calendar to schedule social media which will include community education events, and community outreach. Plan to start spending approximately $200 for on Facebook/Instagram Ads to expand reach in Mercer County. Continue to foster good relations with Media contacts, through telephone and contact. Continue to utilize Extension shared services printing facilities (Mercer County Community College) for the printing of publicity items, whenever feasible, saving MG funds. Post all publicity related flyers and announcements on the MG website and enhance publicity on the Website, so Schedule of Events and upcoming events are prominently displayed. Discontinue the annual Gardening Programs and Events in its current format. Redesign the handout with minimum program information, refer to the website for detail and design program and events postings on the website. Streamline and refine our mailing list data base. Stephanie Foy will update and maintain data base and coordinate mailings through . Participating Members The group consists of Carol Bencivengo, Tina Leone, Annette Osterlund and Linda Park as Co- Chairs; Betty Scarlata as electronic mailing list webmaster and MG events and program photographer; Stephanie Foy, mailing list coordinator, Theodora Wang, photography and general support and Janet Downey, publicity distribution and general support.

13 Publicity Committee Annual Report 2017 Chairs: Carol Bencivengo, Tina Leone, Annette Osterlund & Linda Park Committee Members: Janet Downey, Betty Scarlata, Stephanie Foy, And Theodora Wang Accomplishments as they relate to the goals established Committee Goals: To publicize the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County programs, events and activities as widely as possible throughout the community, promoting awareness of the organization. The Publicity Committee creates and distributes public relations items such as press releases, display ads, flyers and postcards relating to programs, events and individual accomplishments of the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County. The committee also acts as liaison and a resource to Mercer County Administration on publicity matters and to local publications seeking information about our organization and its programs and events. The committee issues press releases and publicity items through electronic approval and submission. In 2017 the committee continued to post our activities through local print publications, on-line media sources, RMGofMC website, and various social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We have added new contacts as they are discovered. Accomplishments Designed and distributed 12 flyers, for scheduled programs and events for the calendar year, through electronic mailing list (Constant Contact), Social Media, distribution at programs and events, libraries, etc., and RMG website. Each of the 12 programs and events for the calendar year had a set of various size/content flyers created. Separate flyers were formatted for Community Education distribution, social media website and Constant Contact. The flyers were created to promote the programs and events held throughout the year. Annette Osterlund created the flyers in various formats (i.e. pdf, jpg) as needed. Social media images for Constant Contact, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well as a single page poster and 4-up handout were created. Plant Expo and Insect Fest also had ½ page tear-off pads and small newspaper ads. The flyers were posted on the website and distributed to libraries, garden centers, other community buildings and sources. The committee generated a total of 17 press releases: 12 press releases announcing programs and events and five releases highlighting accomplishments and other announcements (officers, new class announcement, fall conference award recipients, raised-bed project, and graduation). These releases were submitted electronically to established media publications, networks and contacts, and social media.

14 Designed the signature image and brochure for the 2018 Symposium plus additional handout materials. The registration form was made available on RMG website, through Constant Contact mail list, and distribution to all previous attendees, RMGs, RMG State Association, Fall Conference attendees and various garden groups and conferences. Updated and printed various garden symposium handouts such as feedback form, speaker bios and handouts as needed by Symposium committee. Created and issued publicity announcements of programs and events electronically, on a monthly or as needed basis, through Constant Contact to our electronic mailing list. Twelve (12) e-notices were sent, each reflecting publicity information. Over 1,100 s were sent per mailing with a total of $12,600 notices sent for We continue to use only address for our mailing list. Created a new format for the Programs and Events schedule of We put together a new simplified card listing the programs and events and submitted it for printing by the end of the calendar year. The logos Department Heads and indicia were all updated for Created and or updated and submitted for printing 2018 revised documents including the Schedule of Programs and Events card, Garden Symposium Registration Form, and various Symposium handouts, MEG brochures (3) and Helpline Tear off pads, through Mercer County Shared Services printing done by Mercer County Community College. Expanded our media coverage through the purchase of display advertising for the Plant Expo and Garden Market and Insect Festival in multiple publications (US#1, WW and Town Topics.) Continued to update and maintain the mailing lists. Stephanie Foy continues to update our mailing list as new names/ addresses are obtained through programs and events sign-ups and requests through . This task includes gathering contacts, updating lists, and providing addresses to Betty Scarlata for Constant Contact mailings. More work needs to be done in this area. Maintenance and updates have fallen behind. Provided information to the County and various publications for articles about the RMGofMC organization. Social Media for the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County moved in a forward direction for Followers and Engagement increased in 2017 on Facebook. We ran our first ad on Facebook spending $42.08 which reached 2607 people (non-followers of our page) and 56 clicks to our mgofmc webpage. One new strategy that we are implementing on Facebook is to look at old posts to be sure that everyone who likes our post is invited to like the Facebook Master Gardener Page. This has helped increase followers of our Facebook page. We have increased our followers on Instagram by 34 people and there is more interaction between followers and us. Twitter is slowly growing with a small increase over last year. Committee information about social media is shared via a Google Doc that all members of the Publicity Committee can update and share Social Media Analysis for Publicity Committee, Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County: Facebook - Page Likes - January 1, 2017, 338 Likes - Dec. 31, 2017, 477 Likes. Page Likes grew by 139 Likes

15 over one year. Twitter Followers; 11Following. Instagram Followers, 42 Following. Plans for 2018 Post more frequently on Facebook to increase followers and engagement. Try more Facebook ads to promote the Master Gardeners mission. Increase posts on Instagram by scheduling them on Planoly to make it easier and faster to post. We have our social media channels on all of our publicity which will continue to increase our visibility in Mercer County. The social media presence of our cooperating organizations is something we should continue to benefit from. A core group of Master Gardeners like and share our events, but we need to continue to strive to expand our reach beyond our immediate contacts. The page also fielded a few helpline-type questions, indicating that there is an opportunity to expand helpline to the web. Continue to post links to our monthly blog and website to increase awareness of our community outreach and education. Discontinue print ads for events and monitor the impact, if any, on the events. Continue to foster good relations with Media contacts, through telephone and e- mail contact. Continue to utilize Extension shared services printing facilities (Mercer County Community College) for the printing of publicity items, whenever feasible, saving RMG funds. Post all publicity related flyers and announcements on the RMG website and enhance publicity on the Website, so Schedule of Events and upcoming events are prominently displayed. Evaluate the new card format of the Schedule of Programs and Events. Continue to improve the format for next year s distribution. In coordination with the Community Education Committee, continue to post more details of programs and events on website increasing our presence. Streamline and refine our mailing list data base. Consider another MG for updating and maintaining data base and coordinate mailings through In 2018, Design the social media images, 4-ups and single page posters for each event as well as the materials for the 2019 Symposium. Hopefully, design an announcement of our new location. Participating Members The group consists of Carol Bencivengo, Tina Leone, Annette Osterlund and Linda Park as Co- Chairs; Betty Scarlata as electronic mailing list webmaster and MG events and program photographer; Stephanie Foy, mailing list coordinator, Theodora Wang, photography and general support and Janet Downey, publicity distribution and general support.