As we begin the new fiscal year on July 1, 2017, my professional duties will shift to focus more on communications and allow third parties to focus on two of our three signature events, those being the Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival and Cathedral City LGBT Days. I have had the privilege of creating these two events and grow them over the past three years. Now, Fantasy Balloon Flights, our balloon festival partner from the very start, will manage and bring new activities to the festival including special shape balloons, daytime music, a Banana Balloon Drop for Kids, Extreme Kite Show, and much more. Ron deHarte, the manager of Palm Springs Pride for the last seven years, will now operate and manage Cathedral City LGBT Days with the promise of keeping the festival’s organic feel, but build the event beyond our imaginations.
With a greater focus on communications, it is my desire to bring to the residents of Cathedral City more information about the services your City offers and showcase the dedicated staff who serve. This is being made possible through the creation of Cathedral City Television (CCTV) on the new www.CathedralCity.gov website and on www.DiscoverCathedralCity.com website as well as on Spectrum Cable Channel 17. These websites have been redesigned to offer enhanced mobile device functionality, and soon, better interactivity features.
One of the necessary steps to achieve these goals was to install a recording studio. This has allowed us to begin producing City Council Reports that provide a brief review of each councilmembers’ activities and highlight issues that are important to you. These include videos on information gained by a councilmember going to a regional, state, and/or national conference as well as meetings and lobbying activities in Sacramento or Washington D.C. They will also discuss important work they are doing right in Cathedral City to continue our ranking as one of America’s ‘Most Livable’ cities.
Another important aspect of the new communications effort will be to put a face to a name of each of the City’s department leaders. Already, several managers and directors have recorded video introductions welcoming you on their department’s webpage located at the newly revamped www.CathedralCity.gov website. Each introductory video explains why you might use that department’s service and how you can contact the director or manager if you have any additional questions. Over time, each department webpage will provide you with this information and allow you to get to know the City’s staff, better.
Beyond providing information about City services and staff, the goal is also to show residents how your City staff work in their professional fields. Over the next few months, you will see on CCTV webisodes of Code Compliance. The officers will inform you on how they go about their duties as you follow along with them in the field working to improve the aesthetics of the community by enforcing city codes. You will see the issues they face, the interactions with the public, and how they resolve a code compliance complaint/violation. CCTV will also highlight various professional teams and services out in the field including our fire, police, and public works departments. Each webisode will be informative, and hopefully, produced in an entertaining manner that will make you want to find out more about your city.
Additionally, CCTV will provide video interviews with new businesses, highlight businesses that choose to invest in community programs, and business clusters that call Cathedral City home. Recently as a pilot test, CCTV interviewed Chef Justin of the new Justin Eat and Drink restaurant located in Downtown Cathedral City. Host and local resident Conrad Angel Corral’s interview provided us with insight on how Chef Justin chose Cathedral City to open his new restaurant, his culinary background, and a sample of the great items featured on his menu. Additional interviews are already in the works that will showcase several other new restaurants that opened in Cathedral City.
These are the many examples of how the Communications and Events Department is striving to better connect our residents with City government, and in the process, show how lucky we are to live in such an inviting, family-friendly, and diverse community that celebrates all the wonderful qualities of Cathedral City.
Finally, my request to you, similar to all television programming announcers in the past, is to please, Stay Tuned!
