Know the Rules and Use Them.

If you paid any attention to today’s South Carolina Senate Finance Committee meetings to discuss budget provisos, on more than one occasion you heard a Senator say that, “We need to apply Rule 24,” and the discussion was over.

What do you mean you don’t know what Rule 24 is? Everybody knows what Rule 24 is. Don’t they?

No, and they shouldn’t be expected to.

Here’s what South Carolina Senate Rule 24 (Part A) says:

A. Clauses in Bill Must Be Germane

No clause shall be inserted in a Bill or Resolution unless the same is germane to the Bill or Resolution. In order to be germane, an amendment must be a natural and logical change or expansion directly related to the specific subject of the Bill or Resolution, as defined in the Bill or Resolution, and must not raise any new or independent matter different from the specific subject of the Bill or Resolution. Any perfecting amendment must be germane to both the amendment to be perfected and the underlying Bill or Resolution and must not offer a new proposition or substantially alter the main amendment.

Matter which is germane to the subject of the General Appropriation Bill and any Supplemental Appropriation Bill shall be defined as those things which reasonably, specifically, and inherently directly relate to the raising or spending of revenue for or in the fiscal year for which the bill applies and do not temporarily or permanently add, amend, or repeal a portion of the general permanent laws of South Carolina. Nothing in this paragraph prohibits the temporary suspension of any permanent law.

The provisions of this rule must be strictly construed.

So, what does that mean?

On the surface, it makes sense. It says if you have an amendment to a piece of legislation in the Senate (this rule doesn’t apply in the SC House), your amendment has to relate to the legislation you’re amending. What is really does is often allow the Senate (even just one Senator) to technically kill an amendment instead of taking an up-and-down vote on the amendment.

Use the rules to your advantage.

GREENVILLE NEWS: "Community 9/11 Memorial in Progress"

By Katie Jones
Greater Greer News

Brick Masons Working on Construction of BSFD 9/11 Memorial Plaza
(PHOTO CREDIT: CrescentMag.com)

It’s been a long journey, but the 9-11 memorial at the Boiling Springs Fire District is coming to fruition. The department broke ground in early April.

The memorial, scheduled to be dedicated July 4, will give the community a place to remember and reflect on events of 9-11.

“Eleven years ago, we lost a bunch of people, not only out of the fire service and the police service, but a lot of American citizens,” said Bill Sizemore, operations chief. “We don’t want to forget. We want the people who ride up and down Pelham Road, which is a lot, the people of our community to be able to stop and look and touch something that will remind us.”

Nearly 3,000 people died, the vast majority at the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City, when al-Qaeda terrorists hijack four airliners on Sept. 11, 2001. Two crashed into the World Trade Center, one crashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed in a Pennyslvania field, believed to have been forced down when passengers attacked the terrorists. The target was thought to be the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

The Boiling Springs chief applied to get the nearly 7-foot, 1,361-pound steel beam, a piece of one of the Twin Towers, said Jeff Nelson, fire marshal. A committee from the fire district picked it up about a year ago from a hangar at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, he said.

They transported it back in the back of an F-250 pickup truck, draped in an American flag, said Jim Hayes, a volunteer firefighter.

“We were just excited about it and now that it’s here we can’t wait for the memorial to be built,” Hayes said. “It should be pretty awesome, be something the entire community can come out and share.”

The department has been raising money for the memorial for almost a year, Sizemore said.

“It just started clicking,” he said. “People started showing an interest in getting involved, that’s what’s making it happen.”

Nelson said donations can still be made at BB&T into the BSFD/WTC account.

The memorial will mean something different to everyone, Nelson said.

To Nelson, who has been in fire service for almost 30 years, the memorial will honor the brothers he lost in the tragedy.

“It’s like a big brotherhood,” he said of firefighters. “It’s not just here in Greenville or Greenville County or in South Carolina. No matter where you go, you’re part of the brotherhood. To see something like that happen to those guys, it’s just like family members to me.”

The beam sat in front of the fire station on Pelham Road for the last year, Sizemore said, and people often stopped to see it.

“Some people will lay their hands on it. Some people won’t even get near it, touch it. It’s amazing what that piece of steel brings back in different people,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a great addition to our community for a long time to come.”

Say Goodbye to Dead Weight

Our business doesn't operate in a vacuum. We can't do everything in-house, but at the same time, whether it's a news release, a feature story pitch, an event, a strategic plan, or something tangible like printwork, ultimately it's our name that goes on everything that comes out if TMPR.

That's why our vendors are so valuable.

We don't green-light just anybody to be a vendor. We're picky. We expect our vendors not just to be providers of goods and services. We expect them to be our strategic partners, too. We expect them to understand our business and our customers. We expect them to take an interest in what we're doing.

Why? Because we take the same attitude toward our clients.

We work to make sure we understand our clients' businesses, goals, and objectives. They place their trust in us. They count on us to help them succeed. We want to help them succeed, and we want our relationships to continue for years to come.

Every now and then, we make a mistake. We find out that for one reason or another, our judgment was misplaced. We allowed a vendor in to our circle believing it would be a long-term partner only to find out that it wanted the quick buck -- a one time or short term deal that would get them a couple of shekles.

As convenient as that vendor may be, we have to say goodbye. That vendor doesn't care about us or our business or our values or, most importantly, our clients.

While that business model may be perfectly fine for that vendor, it's unacceptable for us.

A situation arose over the past couple of weeks and caused us to sever certain vendor ties for future relationships. The details aren't important other than to say that what the vendor thought may have gone unnoticed or wasn't a big deal WAS noticed and WAS a big deal because it showed that the vendor ultimately didn't care about what we were doing -- even though there could have been a benefit down the road.

When you're signing a new client, when you're signing a new vendor, realize that at some level, you're entering in to a strategic partnership. Your names will be linked. Your actions and conduct will, in some way, reflect on each other. You have a vested interest in each other's success.

If you find out down that road that your philosophies don't align, get rid of the dead weight. Move on, and replace that vendor with one that wants to be with you and your clients or the long haul.

Oh, and if you're a vendor who's just in it for the cash without having an interest in what we do. Keep walking, and don't knock on our door. We don't have time for you.

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES NEEDED

276 MEDIA, a brand support and promotion company, is looking for account executives to represent an upscale web-based magazine that focuses on South Carolina lifestyle subjects and current events.

Salary is commission-based and successful applicants must be motivated and be able to self-supervise.

Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to: employment@276mediagroup.com.

This job posting will remain open until filled.

CAMPAIGNS ARE LIKE POLITICAL CHRISTMAS TREE LOTS

Christmas tree lots. They’re set up overnight, they open on a busy corner, they run for a few weeks, and they’re gone. Employees often come from out of state, and, let’s just say, it’s easy to question the skill sets of a lot of them.

The same can be said for political campaigns.

Are there exceptions? Yes, especially when the staff hires are local.

We have some incredible, battle-tested political talent in this state,  but the number of Lee Atwater wannabes and “I read PRIMARY COLORS, watched THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, and have THE WEST WING box set” types can really do more harm than good if they’re given too much rope.

This cycle, there’s been a lot of that from the presidential campaigns. It’s too late to do anything now, but to the out-of-staters who made South Carolina home for a couple of months and to the fresh-faced campaign workers (who aren’t limited to the “just got out of college” set) who think campaigns are a great career path, take an old guy’s advice for success down the road.

1) Don’t act like you’re local iffin you ain’t.

It’s important to learn your area, who the players are, what the personality dynamics are, and how things are done, but that takes time. I know that with a presidential campaign, especially in SC, time is a commodity. After Saturday, we won’t get another presidential campaign visit until 2015, but that means you have to squeeze more in to that finite campaign calendar. Make friends, let them guide you, and LISTEN to what they have to say. If you try to do things YOUR way, you’re failing yourself and your candidate.

2) Know the rules.

This goes both toward an application of the law and just how things are done. Never assume. Find a strong legal counsel – one recommended from people in the know. Talk with state party officers, major donors, activists. The way you do things in Wisconsin may very well be different than the way things are done in South Carolina. In fact, I’d pretty well bet on it.

3) Build relationships.

Sensing a theme yet? When former House Speaker Tip O'Neill said that, “All politics is local,” he wasn’t kidding. It wasn’t just some nifty saying he thought would look nice on a bumper sticker. You can’t go in to an area and think you know it all…or anything, for that matter. The local elected officials, party officials, and activists got there before you, and they’ll be there after you. They’ll be your best sources of information, networking, and volunteers.

4) Utilize relationships.

When you build relationships, you’ll discover that people want to help you. They, just as much as you, want your candidate to win. Let them help. Plug them in so that they can actually help. Don’t just give them busywork. Don’t let their emails and voicemails go unanswered. Aside from showing no common courtesy, ignoring or discounting what were once enthusiastic supporters makes them, at the very least, blasé about your efforts. At worst it makes them frustrated or angry at you, which could spill over to your candidate. Neither of those would be considered “good things.”

5) Be appreciative and keep your word.

Real friends are very difficult to come by in politics. It’s a difficult and sometimes painful lesson to learn. When you find friends, keep them. If somebody helps you, make sure you thank them appropriately. It’s important to embrace the “Dance with the one who brought you” philosophy. If you make a promise, keep it. The only thing you can ever really control about yourself is your word. The second you go back on it, is the second those friendships and loyalties disappear. Trust is paramount, and friendships must be reciprocal. Just because you’re working on the same campaign with someone doesn’t make you friends, though. Sometimes you’ll work with people you can’t trust, and this is the most difficult concept for a lot of people to grasp because you still have to be nice. You’re temporarily on the same team and likely will be again down the road if you decide to stay in politics. Just know the difference between friends and people you work with and have to be nice to.

Politics isn’t brain surgery – especially if your job is to build grassroots support. Strategy and messaging are coming from people above your pay grade. Should you show initiative and do some out of the ordinary things to help your candidate (like creating blogs or creative collateral)? Absolutely. Should you forego your duty to build relationships in order to do these things? Absolutely not.

Your time as a presidential campaign staffer is short. Make sure you leave something for yourself when it’s over. Make sure you have a network in place and an established reputation that will make candidates want to come to you down the road. Then you can set up your very own Christmas tree lot.

Taft Matney is a partner with TM Public Relations, a strategic communications and governmental affairs firm in Greenville, SC. Follow him on Twitter (http://twitter.com/taftmatney) and "like" TMPR on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TMPRGA).

This op-ed may be reprinted/reposted in whole or in part upon written notification to taft@taftmatney.com.

Brand names, product names, services, companies, events, and publications are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners in the U.S. and/or other countries.

IT'S 2012. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

It’s not something you automatically think about when the new year rolls around, but you should.

It has nothing to do with typical resolutions, but it is something you should resolve to do.

Take a look at your web site. Look at your copyright and legal notices.

If your web site doesn’t have copyright or legal notices, that’s the first problem you need to address. The content on your site, except for what you’ve found elsewhere and properly attributed, is your intellectual property.

You need to protect it.

You need to date it so you have some basis to make a claim on something that is rightfully yours. If other people falsely pass off your content as their own or use it in a way that’s contrary to how you want your content used or represented, you need to have documentable evidence of what you wrote, photographed, recorded, or illustrated and when you created it.

That takes care of the first issue. Now for the second.

What does your copyright date say? If it’s 2011 or earlier, make a mental note. It’s now 2012.

Update your copyright date. While it’s important to document when your intellectual property was created, it’s equally important to keep those copyright protections up to date. You might not necessarily surrender your copyright protection by not making the immediate change to the new year, but you’re certainly sending a signal that you: 1) aren’t concerned with how or where your intellectual property is used, 2) you don’t really monitor what people are doing with your intellectual property, and 3) theft of your intellectual property is an offense that will carry no penalty because chance are you won’t engage in litigation.

I’m not an attorney and don’t offer legal advice. I’m a PR flack and a political hack, but I care about what I create. I care about things that I write, photograph, record, or design. I put time and effort in to those things that are, at different levels, piece of me. I don’t want to see them used in ways contrary to why I created them.

Now, there are “fair-use” doctrines and “public domain” issues to consider, but ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how your content is used. Protect it, and start by updating copyright dates on your web sites. The Mayan calendar may end this year, but your copyright protection doesn’t have to.

Taft Matney is a partner with TM Public Relations, a strategic communications and governmental affairs firm in Greenville, SC. Follow him on Twitter (http://twitter.com/taftmatney) and "like" TMPR on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TMPRGA).

This op-ed may be reprinted/reposted in whole or in part upon written notification to taft@taftmatney.com.

Brand names, product names, services, companies, events, and publications are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners in the U.S. and/or other countries.

“CRESCENT: THE MAGAZINE” LAUNCHES

FOCUSING ON “SOUTH CAROLINA LIFE, POLITICS, AND A LITTLE BIT IN BETWEEN”

(OCTOBER 4, 2011 / GREENVILLE, SC) Launched at www.CrescentMag.com, CRESCENT is a new web-based magazine designed to highlight “South Carolina life, politics, and a little bit in between,” said its editor Taft Matney today.

CRESCENT’s offerings come from two directions. One will profile famous and influential South Carolinians, South Carolina food, travel, and entertainment. The other will include state-based current events and opinion. According to Matney, CrescentMag.com is a place where lifestyle issues and current events can converge in to a single digital infotainment outlet.

“When we first started piecing CRESCENT together, we thought we had an idea of what people wanted, but we didn't know if we were on target. There was only one way to find out. Ask. We asked friends and family. We surveyed a cross-section of nearly 200 folks who are movers and shakers in their fields. We tried to find out where people were getting their information and what they were interested in. With a mix of aggregated material and original content, I think the product we're putting together is on the mark,” Matney said.

One of those survey results showed that the majority of respondents get their information electronically, so CRESCENT is targeting the digital space – specifically people who are surfing the web with smart phones, tablets, netbooks, notebooks, and desktop computers.

“The CRESCENT that's here today isn't by any means the final version, but it's a starting point. It's going to evolve with input,” Matney said. “Keep telling us what you want to see. Let us know what interests you. What's going on in South Carolina that people need to know? Where in South Carolina do we need to eat or travel? What's a South Carolina business or group that people should know about? Who is a South Carolinian people need to know more about? Tell us how to make CRESCENT better.”

Some of the people CRESCENT will profile include: Former presidential advisor Tucker Eskew, country music star Aaron Tippin, Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman, and James Beard Award winners The Lee Brothers.

When asked about pay walls, registrations, and subscriptions, Matney responded, “No. Our readers won’t be bothered with pay walls or unnecessarily collected information. We listened to what people said in our survey. Just visit CrescentMag.com. Read what’s there. Learn something about our state, comment on an article or two if you feel like it, support our advertisers, and keep coming back to see what's new.”

“Our state has a lot to be proud of,” he added. “It’s not all about partisan bickering. It’s not about what allows us to be the punch line on late night talk shows. South Carolina has a lot of great stories to tell and a lot of great people to tell them. CRESCENT exists to give them a voice.”

For media inquiries, please contact Taft Matney by e-mail at taft@crescentmag.com or by phone at 864/505-8866.

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This statement contains or may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to uncertainties which could cause actual results or facts to differ materially from such statements for a variety of reasons. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. CRESCENT undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.