Publicity Committee Guidelines

Dear Committee Chairperson

Like the entire church membership, the Publicity Committee is on a journey to proclaim to the community the ongoing Lord’s work at Walnut Hills Baptist Church (WHBC). Your Publicity Committee will be proactive in giving our community visibility into "our journey", but we need the assistance and commitment of all committees to be successful. Let us "put feet to our words".

The following is a process developed by the committee for promoting WHBC events and activities both internally and throughout the community. Although expanded, the process is in accordance with the Operating Procedures and Administrative Policies of WHBC.

WHBC Internal Publicity

• Weekly Bulletins - For announcements to appear in the weekly bulletins, please contact the Office Manager, at 220-5900. Please submit information by Wednesday.
• The Crier - For events or information to appear in the monthly newsletter, please contact the Office Manager, at 220-5900. Please submit materials by the 15th of each month.
• Church Website - Submit all news, announcements, materials via email to
• Sunday Worship Announcements - For announcements to be made by the Pastor, Dr. Tony Neal, or (Linda Ward, or Graham Cheek) during the Sunday worship services, please speak with Tony, Linda, or Graham any time prior to 9:00AM Sunday.
• Posters, Fliers, Signs, and Bulletin Boards - These and other means of non-media publicity will continue to be prepared and arranged by each committee or group.

WHBC External Publicity

The job of the Publicity Chairman and the committee is essentially to create an efficient process for sharing our church’s activities with the surrounding neighborhoods through the local media. This requires:

1. Establishing and maintaining communication channels with editors at local news agencies
   Below is a list of popular local media outlets that may be of use for church publicity needs. Most of our external publicity occurs through newspapers, but other options may be available in the future. Please provide your event notice at least one month of the event occurrence.
   Newspapers - The Virginia Gazette, Daily Press, Toano-Norge Times, and Richmond Times;
2. Providing you with the tools needed to submit announcements that church members would like to see publicized
   To best fulfill our role, we need your help! In communicating with the committee, please forward any church events or activities that would benefit from free media publicity. The process for notification has been streamlined into a simple two-step policy as follows:
   1. Fill out the Media Publicity Form (available for download on the church website), or e-mail or hand delivery by request to describe your publicity need.
   2. Submit the completed Media Publicity Form (with any corresponding photos) at least one month before the intended publication date to the Publicity Chairman using one of the following means:
      • E-MAIL:
      • Mail: Walnut Hills Baptist Church, Attention: Publicity Committee, 1014 Jamestown Road , Williamsburg, VA 23185
      • FAX: 757-220-0437
      Special types of publicity needs, such as paid advertising and human interest stories, may require a more customized approach and can be worked out with the Chairman and Committee on an individual basis.

Final Tips and Notes

Please consider sending your publicity needs electronically, e-mail. Especially when photos are involved, this method is the most efficient approach for submitting materials to local media outlets. Don’t assume the Publicity Committee is aware of upcoming events and other publicity opportunities! Please let the Chairman know in writing using the Media Publicity Form. If you have other ideas for specific local media outlets where publicity for our church would be useful, please share with the committee and we will be happy to explore.

Please be aware that while the committee can ensure (with your help) that your publicity needs are disseminated to the appropriate media outlets, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT THE INFORMATION WILL BE PUBLIZED WHEN OR WHERE YOU WISH. Since this is a free service, it is ultimately up to the media outlet (editors) at each agency to decide when and where to include our news.

Blessings,
WHBC Publicity Committee
Jim Sexton, Chairman; Dave Andrews, Carol Bennett, Jill Swain, Suzy Cheely, and Alice Erickson

Forms

Publicity Committee: Media Request Form: Publicity Request Form (MS Word 2007)

Please download this form, complete it, and get it to the Publicity committee via the church office or via email to the Publicity Committee: