Mayor Rahm Emanuel visits ICB Chicago
Posted by Lindsay Hoey on Wed, Nov 09, 2011 @ 09:22 AM
Illinois Center for Broadcasting Chicago Campus student Jessica Guido internviews Mayor Rahm Emanuel about his current educational initiatives.
By Bill Natale
Executive Director - Chicago Campus
natale.b@beonair.com
The Illinois Center for Broadcasting (ICB), Chicago Campus was honored on Monday, November 7, 2011 with the visit of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.
On January 16, 2011, Mayor Michael B. Hancock will grace our Denver campus with his presence.
Mayors in major cities such as Denver and Chicago get thousands of requests each year from corporations, organizations and schools (elementary, secondary and post-secondary institutions) for a visit from the CEO of the city.
So why are these visits so significant?
Like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that marketers vie to acquire for their product, a Mayoral visit provides credibility that is not easy to come by.
In the case of the Chicago Campus, it took several petitions, some requests made in person at public events (literally approaching the Mayor as he entered or left a venue) and some made in writing to get his Honor to consider a request to visit our institution. Once we had the Mayor’s attention, his press attaché and scheduling teams requested materials (print and, in our case, video) regarding the purpose and mission of ICB. In the materials we sent, it didn’t hurt that esteemed Congressman Danny Davis, Secretary of State Jesse White and State Senator Kirk Dillard provided remarks of praise for the curriculum and program of the Ohio/Illinois Centers for Broadcasting.
Once gaining a “green light” for consideration of an actual visit, we still had to undergo an inspection of the campus by the advance team for security, press exposure and other considerations.
Initially, the Mayor was scheduled to appear as a commencement speaker for our October 26 graduation ceremony for our January Days Classes of Chicago and Lombard campuses. Unfortunately, the Mayor had to cancel that appearance at the last minute, which is not unusual when dealing with such high a high profile public official. We were elated when the Mayor’s team called immediately after that cancellation to see if a visit could be rescheduled.
And so on the afternoon of Monday, November 7, ICB was pleased to have Mayor Rahm Emanuel greet our students in the audio studios at La Salle; ask them about their projects; address a class about the importance of staying in school and learn about the marketable skills that we teach at the college. To the Mayor’s credit, he apologized publicly during his time with us for not making the visit on October 26th.
It is truly an honor and a “seal of approval” that both the Chicago and Denver campuses had their Mayors, within a span of only a few months, take time from their incredibly busy schedules to see why we are the place where broadcasting careers begin.