Confidential Crisis Memo to reduce the negative impacts of the

standoff to stop federal fundingProvided to the National Cowboy Poetry

Gathering

Matt CarpenterMcKenzie Clemens

Alana Ridge Paige Ritzman Hannah Stigal

Based on concerns raised from ongoing movements to combat against federal government support of events and lands, the following memo outlines how you can both mitigate and maintain support of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering should groups begin to protest its funding.

Therefore, the purpose of the memo and all efforts listed below are to identify ways to showcase the benefits of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering from an economic, cultural and historical standpoint.

Situation Analysis

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, which has celebrated and preserved western culture for more than three decades, officially started in 1985 thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In the past, the NEA provided a majority of the event’s funding to ensure the event could protect the culture of the old west. However, times have changed. Private donors, ticket sales, memberships and local business sponsorships provide a significant portion of the funding of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Almost 90 local businesses come together to support the gathering, and nearly 400 volunteers work together to give visitors the best cultural and historical experience possible each year. The NEA currently subsidizes only 3% of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering’s funding, which amounts to a $45,000 subsidy, but some consider that small amount to still be too much. Locals in Elko, Nev. have started a petition to stop federal funding from the NEA. In a time of budgetary restraints, some citizens in Elko believe that the government should not be paying for events that highlight the arts. We heard that the group “We Know It, Poets” is planning a standoff to occur in the Black Rock Desert beginning May 6 to bring awareness and support to their petition. With tickets going on sale in 3 months, it is important to maintain support towards the gathering, while at the same time slow the momentum and support of the protesters that want the federal government to reduce funding.

The event is essential to the prosperity of the town of Elko, as more than $7 million is pumped into the local economy during the weeklong event. During the week, almost 8,000 people, more than half from out of town, and even thousands of school children, immerse themselves in the rich culture of the old west, a culture that has been preserved in large part due

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to the funding and official recognition of the federal government. The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering occurs in late January and early February, which is a slower time economically for the farm-based town of Elko.

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering receives one of the 2,300 grants provided by the NEA in each congressional district annually. The funding, while relatively small, allows for many poets to be brought in and for more events celebrating western culture to be created during the week. The NEA and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) provides more funding to the Western Folklife Center, which is the host organization, but the funding for the gathering year in and year out becomes more independent. The federal funding remains important as it provides a legitimacy to the event that no other cowboy poetry event of its kind has. The funding is a key part of the history of the event and ensures that future generations will get to experience the history and culture of the west that has been preserved by the gathering.

Objective 1 with Strategies and Tactics

One of the key goals of this crisis plan is to keep the federal funding that the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering receives each year. In order to keep the funding, you must have the support of the elected federal officials from the state of Nevada. Therefore, your first objective is to get congressional representatives and government officials to publicly support the gathering and its federal funding within a week of the standoff. While it is a small portion of the overall budget of the event, the federal funding is part of the proud history and allows the event to be recognized as the official National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. With Elko being a primarily Republican town, it will be important to receive support from a republican congressional member to reach the public and their public support will in turn mean they support keeping the federal funding. To accomplish that objective, we have come up with three strategies on how to receive public support from government leaders.

1. Contact Congress representatives and government officials.By having both concerned citizens and essential board members call their congressman, senator or governor, you showcase the importance of the event not only from an economical standpoint but also from a cultural standpoint. Government officials are the voice of the people so it will be

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important to reach out to as many people as possible to encourage them to contact their government official of choice and bring their attention to the issues and the support from the public of the event. Having members of the staff, such as David Roche, call the senator’s office will legitimize the calls of concerned citizens and urge the elected officials to support the event as well as the funding. In prepared scripts, David Roche, Darcy Minter and other employees will call and communicate with the offices of the various elected members to coordinate their public support.

2. Attend city council meeting to bring awareness.With Elko being an especially small and connected community, you must engage with the city in many different ways. A week after the standoff there will be a city council meeting, and the key staff that we outlined throughout this crisis plan need to be in attendance to present to the city council. This shows that your event is still deeply tied to the community that it calls home and allows us another opportunity to try to sway local and regional opinion.

3. Encourage local supporters of the gathering to reach out to government officials.

Using information from email lists, your social media outlets and previous ticket sales, you can reach out to your local base of supporters to have them make a brief call to their chosen elected official. This, in combination to your organization’s official calls, will highlight the importance the event has in the Elko community. As our research has shown, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering brings in nearly $7 million to the Elko economy and between 6,000-8,000 tourists to the town during one of the slower times of each year in Elko. Having Elko locals, frequent cowboy poetry performers and people from out of state call to tell Nevada Senator Dean Heller and Congressman Mark Amodei that they are passionate about the event will highlight the cultural benefits along with the tourist perspective of the event.

To accomplish the strategies above, we have outlined a few tactics to perform in the days and weeks after the trigger:

1. Call the congressmen’s and government officials’ office.In this pre-prepared script, officers and employees of the Western Folklife Center will highlight the economic, cultural and historical benefits of the gathering to congressional or state representatives. Each staff member will be in charge of calling specific government officials. These calls

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should be made around 8 am PT to beat any news of the coming protest and have the government allied with us. Calls should originally focus on the history of the government’s involvement with the event and then go into more details about the economic benefits and tourism spikes that occur because of the annual gathering. By calling rather than emailing, you have a better chance of actually moving through the maze of interns and officers to get prominent results. It is imperative to ask for a public statement of approval through social media channels or through a press release to the RGJ, KENV and Elko Daily.

2. Have a spokesperson speak at city council on behalf of the gathering.

In a script and presentation similar to the phone calls made to the government officials’ offices, David Roche, the chosen spokesperson and director of the Western Folklife Center, will present the economic importance of the event to the city council along with the historical relationship the gathering has with the federal government. At the end of this speech, the spokesperson will ask the city council to make a public declaration in support of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. This will happen the first Tuesday between 6-8 p.m. following the standoff.

3. Post contact information for government officials on Facebook.

Posts like the one above will allow the Western Folklife Center’s nearly 5,600 followers on Facebook to have information about the Nevada senators and representatives. The people who would be directly affected by any lack of funding would able to plead your case alongside us. This should be done as your first calls are being made to the offices of the officials and representatives in order for your messages to be backed up by local and out of state support. Senator Heller can be reached at (775) 686-5770 or 400 S Virginia St #738, Reno, NV 89501. Senator Reid can be reached at (775) 686-5750 or 400 S Virginia St #902, Reno, NV 89501. Representative Amodei can be reached at (775) 777-7705 or 905 Railroad Street, Suite 104 D, Elko, NV 89801. See page 23 for example post.

4. Share government officials’ posts on Facebook and Twitter.When each individual government official’s post or release is made, you will post it on your Facebook and Twitter pages along with a message thanking the official for supporting the preservation of western culture through the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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5. Invite Senator Heller to the event.In a later tactic we will describe a one-night, cowboy poetry event that we believe is one of the cornerstones of the plan. A powerful tool would be to invite Nevada Senator Dean Heller to come to the event to speak about the benefit of preserving western culture, as he is a republican representative of the state. You would also have him read the poem “Elko” by the late Mike Puhallo. This poem highlights how the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering saved the city of Elko and would create a powerful and instantly shareable moment. The invitation should be extended to Senator Heller within 48 hours of the standoff occurring.

Objective 2 with Strategies and Tactics

With the negative connotation that may be prevalent in regards to funding for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, it is important to combat all the negativity with honest positive facts. Therefore, the second objective is to run two stories within 48 hours of the standoff that cast a positive and informative light on the standoff itself and on the gathering as a whole. Here are some strategies that will help us achieve this:

1. Designate a spokesperson that will be present at the standoff.The spokesperson will be present at the standoff to combat negativity against the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. He will place himself in opposition to the protesters that are threatening to start a standoff of their own, and he will speak positively about cowboy poetry, its impact on the nation and the benefits the gathering brings to the event. He will also speak of the influence that cowboy poetry has in the structure of the nation’s history. Your spokesperson will hand out newsworthy content, such as brochures, at the standoff that you will share with media outlets in hopes that they will run a story.

2. Create a petition to have present at the standoff.With a physical petition at the standoff that supports federal funding of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, you will have the ability to engage with the protestors and attendees and give them a reason to take the time and listen to the importance of the gathering and funding. The individuals that you send to the standoff will interact with attendees and explain the financial, cultural and historical impact cowboy poetry has on the country, and then ask them to sign the petition. It is almost inevitable that some news media will attend the standoff so it will be important that they cover

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both sides of the story and your presence makes your information accessible to news media. Be prepared with the key messages and questions and answers listed below as the news media is likely to interview your representative.

3. Produce informative and eye-catching material to send in media packages.

You will need to contact media outlets that have a presence in Elko (Elko Daily, KENV and the Reno-Gazette Journal) and provide them with plenty of relevant information and resources: background on the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, a news release regarding the benefits of the gathering, an infographic and photos from past gatherings. Contacting local news media such as Marianna Kobak McKown from Elko Daily, James Burns from KENV and Jenny Kane from the Reno Gazette-Journal will help get positive coverage of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. With mass attention to protesters, you need to quickly produce material that you can send in media packages to different media outlets throughout Elko and Reno.

4. Generate a strong presence on social media to further generate more news coverage.

In order to successfully achieve this objective, you will have to strategically position the gathering as newsworthy to local news outlets via your posts on social media. You will share both positive news stories and content regarding the gathering and the standoff in hopes that your viewers will share the posts on their own individual pages to bring positive awareness to your cause and reach as many people as possible.

In order to accomplish the above strategies, you have come up with a few tactics for this objective to have optimal success:

1. Contact media outlets that have a presence in Elko.In order to get two positive stories to run within 48 hours of the standoff, you will need to contact local media outlets and create a strong relationship with certain staff members that you will send pitches to. Such media outlets include Elko Daily, KENV and the Reno Gazette-Journal.

2. Provide the aforementioned media outlets with newsworthy pitches.

Immediately after the standoff, you will begin sending newsworthy media pitches to local media outlets. You will send them pitches focused around

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the benefits of National Cowboy Poetry Gathering which will include news releases, photos and an infographic in regards to the history of the event. By sending relevant information immediately after the crisis begins, there will hopefully be positive stories released in the news before the standoff creates further negativity towards the gathering.

3. Create an infographic that highlights the economic, historical and cultural benefits of the gathering.

An infographic provides a visually stimulating way to send information. The infographic should include all of the benefits listed above and integrate the key messages that are listed below to keep all content consistent. This infographic can be provided to the media, handed out at the standoff, posted around town and used on all social media. See page 24 for the sample infographic.

4. Share positive news stories and content through Facebook and Twitter.

A great way to connect with past attendees of the gathering along with future attendees is through social media. You will share the same positive stories that will be featured in the news on social media in hopes that they will be shared. Creating shareable material on your social media pages allows for us to maintain a strong social media presence before, during and after the standoff. By creating shareable material on your social media outlets, you can also encourage viewers to share the stories on their own pages.

Objective 3 with Strategies and Tactics

The petition to stop federal funding of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering will create a negative view of the gathering. While it is impossible to fully stop their efforts, the third objective is to slow their momentum within two weeks. The Western Folklife Center must have control of the story, and battling petitioners will be vital to controlling the story and minimizing further negative impacts. Here are some strategies to help achieve this:

1. Start a petition to support NEA funding for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

To contradict the protesters, you will start a petition to gain support for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering funding from the NEA. This petition will

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be available both online and in person. People from across the nation attend the gathering, so it is important that the online petition allows people beyond the Elko borders to sign the petition. You will also create a hard copy of the petition to take to the standoff to propose an alternative to the “We Know it Poets” petition.

2. Contact attendees and donors for them to vocalize their support.

You will contact the attendees for them to show the public that they support the funding and that the funding is vital to the program. A great deal of funding comes from donors, so it is important that they are informed on the current situation and they can help save the gathering that they have previously supported.

3. Contact local residents to inform them about the benefits of the gathering.

You want the community to support the cause and understand the importance this event has on this community. You want to be able to combat the petitioners with more supporters of the gathering and federal funding. It will be important to contact as many Elko citizens as quickly as possible because you want to be the first voice that they hear as opposed to the “We Know it Poets” protesters because then you will have a better chance of creating a larger following of the cause.

4. Host a one-night, cowboy poetry event with a prominent cowboy poet.

In order to bring the community together, the Western Folklife Center will host a night of cowboy poetry in celebration of the history of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering as well as appreciation for the art itself. The Western Folklife Center will invite a well-known cowboy poet, a keynote speaker and a government official to the event. The entire community will be invited to the event, and the medias will also be invited and encouraged to create stories newsworthy material from the event. This event will bring the community together in hopes to share and celebrate a historic art that has been praised and brought people together for over thirty years.

This is the biggest objective so we listed some tactics below to help accomplish your strategies:

1. Create both online and paper versions of the petition.

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The petition will need to be created in paper form to gain signatures from locals as well as online to send a link via email to out-of-state supporters and attendees of the event. The purpose of the petition is for people to pledge their support for the event and support for future funding from the NEA to the gathering. The petition serves as a direct competitor for the protesters who are petitioning to remove funding for the gathering.

2. Post on Facebook and Twitter to encourage people to vocalize their support.

The Facebook post will be a simple line or two that asks people to post on their own Facebook about their favorite times from the event, why it is important to them and why funding for the event is important. This will show the federal government along with local petitioners how important this event is to people from all over the country.

3. Call donors and prominent attendees to vocalize their support.Similarly to the Facebook post above, it is important that you reach out to the donors of the event and prominent attendees to vocalize their support via social media, contacting government officials or contacting media to give quotes. It will be vital for donors to reach out and make comments about how they cannot fully fund the event themselves and that the NEA funding allows the events to grow and covers extra costs. Without the prominent faces from the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the other messages from other attendees will not mean much more than numbers. The voices of prominent people will show the importance of the event and funding and put a face to the numbers.

4. Give brochures to local business and organizations to hand out and have for their own knowledge.

It will be important to educate the community leaders on the gathering and the benefits to Elko community. The community leaders such as business and organization leaders will be able to communicate with their circle of influence about the event. The brochure will serve as a reference and resource for community leaders with key facts, messages and appropriate contact information. It will include information on funding and the cultural and historical impacts. Their help to spread a positive word about the gathering will help to put further impressions upon the Elko community.

5. Call local residents to talk about the benefits and petition.The gathering should have an open conversation with the residents of the community because the gathering needs the community support just as

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much as it needs the funding. It is important the the caller drives home the message of what this gathering provides for Elko’s economy. This conversation with the residents will allow them to vocalize their support against the protesters. Once the community member supports the gathering and funding, then the caller can direct them to sign the online petition. Again, it is important that you reach as many people as possible before the “We Know it Poets” reach them to create a larger following behind your cause.

6. Have a fact sheet about the event, funding and current controversy for employees of the Western Folklife Center.

A fact sheet should be created as a reference for employees of the Western Folklife Center including all possible questions about the current situation regarding the funding and event. It will be important that all answers coming from the Western Folklife Center remain consistent.

7. Have a cowboy poet at the standoff reading poetry. Along with your spokesperson and paper petition, a cowboy poet should be present at the standoff to artistically and peacefully respond to the protesters. This will highlight the art and culture surrounding the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and will expose the art and culture to those who have never experienced it before. The poem will focus on the shared experiences at the event and, again, the different benefits the gathering has to the Elko community and preserving western culture.

8. Send a listserv email to returning attendees of the gathering.An email should be sent to dedicated attendees asking them to sign the online petition. It will inform the recipients about the crisis occurring and will ask them to voice their support for continued funding via social media and signing the petition. See page 25 for the email we drafted.

9. Have Senator Heller read Mike Puhallo’s poem about Elko at the one-night, cowboy poetry event.

Senator Heller serves as a friendly face to the majority of republican community members of Elko so he is the perfect government official to have present at the one-night, cowboy poetry event. He will read Mike Puhallo’s poem regarding the beginning of the gathering and how it saved the Elko community and economy. This poem can be found at http://www.cowboypoetry.com/elkopoems.htm.

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10. Invite Dan Flores to speak on the American West and the importance of cowboy poetry for the one-night, cowboy poetry event.

Dan Flores is a writer and historian that focuses on cultural and environmental studies of the American West. Dan Flores was the keynote speaker at the 2016 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Flores would introduce the art, its historical and cultural importance, and he would speak on the significance of funding to support the arts.

11. Invite Waddie Mitchell to share a poem during the one-night, cowboy poetry event.

Mitchell is an American cowboy poet who has released several popular tracks. You would invite him to the event and encourage him to share a poem or two that focuses on the gathering. You would also encourage him to share stories that show the positive impact the gathering has had on the community as well as the impact cowboy poetry has had on him personally. David Roche will approve his poem to ensure it follows the same key messages you are putting forth.

12.Create clips of the event to share on social media.You would designate an individual to be in charge of documenting the event so that videos could later be posted on social media and sent to different media outlets to showcase the success and excitement.

13.Advertise for the event.Like any event, there needs to be advertisements for people to be aware it’s happening. You will create a flyer that can be posted on social media, on the website, at the standoff and throughout the community to advertise the poetry night. It will include the date, special guests and the website where further information can be found. See page 26 for the advertisement we drafted.

Audiences and Contacting Important Publics

Identifying the audiences is key to any crisis and communications plan as they are the targets of all the communication tactics listed above. In order to combat this crisis, we have strategically identified three audiences that need to hear your messages regarding the historic, economic and cultural impact.

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Primary audience

The most important audience is Elko locals, especially those who are against federal funding for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. These are the people that pose the most present danger to the funding the gathering receives. In targeting this audience, we hope to change people’s minds regarding their negative views of the funding the gathering receives from the NEA. Efforts towards this audience should also help reach Elko locals before the petitioners. We do not have a concrete number as to how many people plan on attending the standoff, so it is important to reach as many people as possible to revert people from attending the standoff in support for removing federal funding and to impress positive images of the gathering to the greater community before the petitioners propose a more negative image.

Secondary audience

The second most important audience is federal lawmakers and relevant government officials within the state of Nevada. The group “We Know It, Poets” is protesting the federal funding, so it is vital to reach out to federal lawmakers in Nevada. Senator Reid, who has advocated for the gathering’s funding in the past, and Senator Heller should be the most critical targets of those efforts, but efforts should also include informing congressional representatives of the state including Heck, Titus and Amodei for voices in the other house. You must advocate to keep the funding and explain the purpose of continued funding to the gathering if the crisis moves to budget changes of the NEA so that they can advocate as lawmakers on the gathering’s behalf. Governor Sandoval and Mayor Johnson should also informed about the events and the efforts to battle the petitioners. As mentioned above, they should be encouraged to speak up about their support for the gathering. Contacting the local offices via phone will produce the best results, and then they can pass along any pertinent information.

Tertiary audience

The media is the final audience but still important to the crisis, as media professionals can deliver positive messages to locals in Elko as well as people invested in protecting culture in the west. If you can plant important stories and exciting events in the local media, the conversation of potential protesters will be overwhelmed with more positive comments. The crisis

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will die out if you have the media on your side spreading positive information about the history, economics and culture of the event.

Communicating with other publics (that are not the direct audiences)

The first people to contact via phone would include sponsors of the event such as local businesses and the NEA. Their continued financial support is a key to continuing the event for years to come. We strongly encourage calling local businesses and sponsors to inform them about the standoff and be transparent about the efforts to battle the protest. As they are supporters of the gathering, it will be important that they receive the information from the primary source and not news outlets.

The NEA should be aware that people are protesting the money that they give to the gathering. We encourage you call your contact at the NEA and inform them of what you know and be transparent about your efforts to confront the protestors. Be clear in your message to them that you still need the money. We encourage that you tell them what the funds go to and why you still need the funding from the NEA. Along with the NEA, the NEH should also be informed about the standoff and protest efforts.

The internal publics, such as active volunteers, employees of the Western Folklife Center and dedicated attendees of the gathering, should be contacted next. To keep employees updated, we suggest using an email listserv and call them in case of emergency. A similar email should also be sent to volunteers and dedicated attendees of the gathering to keep their support of the event and to prevent any startling if the news spreads beyond the Elko community. As mentioned above, we also suggest you reach out to them to speak out in support of the gathering and share their experiences.

The local police should also be contacted and made aware of the standoff. Their presence may further intensify the standoff, but they should be aware of it in case their response is needed so they have a background on the situation.

Lastly, community members and businesses surrounding the area of the standoff should be made aware of the event in order to be courteous to them and tell them that it may temporarily disrupt their daily activities.

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Key Messages

To slow down the protest against the funding, you will have three key messages regarding economic, historical and cultural benefits from the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering to Elko and western traditions. It is important to focus on the positive impacts of the event to Elko in an effort to combat the petitioners standoff to remove funding. It is imperative that the Elko community sees that without the funding, the event would not exist and then it would not bring the same benefits to Elko or the west as a whole.

1. “The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering brings millions of much needed money to the Elko economy every year.”

The event occurs during winter when tourism and agriculture is very slow, so the economy is also slow. The gathering attracts thousands of people to Elko for one week which brings business to hotels, restaurants and other local businesses. The event brings about $7 million to Elko each year and stimulates the local economy.

2. “The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering has preserved the artistic traditions of the west for over three decades.”

The first cowboy poetry event took place in 1926, and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering began in the 1980s. For over 30 years, it has been expressing the western way of life, preserving tradition and creating a traditional event in itself.

3. “The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering brings old west traditions to modern western culture.”

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering educates attendees about western culture beyond poems. Attendees learn the two-step, traditional skills, discuss future possibilities for ranchers and the west, listen to tales and myths and meet new friends who share the same values and culture. This event constantly celebrates the old western traditions and culture in an ever-changing world.

Key People to be Involved in the Efforts

Within the Western Folklife Center, there are five people who need to collaborate in these efforts: David Roche, Lucy Tomera-Miller, Darcy Minter, Katie Aiken and Taki Telonidis. As Executive Director of the

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Western Folklife Center, Roche will need to oversee all of the efforts. Tomera-Miller will be instrumental in gathering and relaying information on the funds used for the gathering as she is the Chief Financial Officer. Communication Director Minter and Media Producer Telonidis need to collaborate on creating the content for the tactics, dispersing information and contacting appropriate publics and media. As manager of the gathering, Aiken knows the most about the event, so she will be the best person for fact-checking and putting on the one-night poetry event to support NEA funding.

Media spokesperson: David Roche, executive director of the Western Folklife Center

David Roche is the perfect spokesperson due to his history regarding funding and support for art programs. Roche has led non-profit organizations for thirty five years of his life, and he joined the Western Folklife Center team in 2014. For seven years, Roche was the executive director of Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music. While in Chicago, Roche was in charge of raising over two million dollars in new funding for Chicago art programs. Roche oversees all of the efforts and so he will be well informed about all aspects of the communication efforts, the center’s activities and the gathering itself. He is also an older male who can relate to the protesters who probably share his same demographic.

Key media to contact

Elko Daily: Marianne Kobak McKownMcKown is a staff writer for the Elko Daily who focuses her stories around local news. You would reach out to her with your media packages and create a positive relationship with her in hopes to reach the Elko community in a welcoming manner. Because Elko is a smaller town, news reporters are always looking for relevant, local stories. Your cause will provide timely, relevant information on the gathering and your efforts to keep federal funding.

Reno Gazette-Journal: Jenny Kane Kane is the RGJ’s Burning Man, arts and culture writer. You would reach out to Kane with media packages regarding the historic and cultural importance of cowboy poetry. With her being the head reporter on Burning Man, she would also be familiar with related issues on land and art

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disputes and could publish stories concerning your presence and efforts at the standoff.

KENV: James BurnsBurns is a part of KENV, which is the local television news station in Elko. We encourage you to reach out to Burns and invite him to the one-night cowboy poetry event hosted by the Western Folklife Center. As it is a small town, they need local events to cover, so this will be a great opportunity to capture the culture of the town with many supporting visuals. It will also be important to have positive relations with him so that if he shows up at the standoff, he captures your side of the story as well as the petitioners.

Travel Nevada: Sydney MartinezMartinez is the content manager for Travel Nevada. She takes photos and videos while exploring the backcountry in Nevada and then blogs about her experiences. You will reach out to Martinez with a media package regarding the previous National Cowboy Poetry Gatherings and their impact locally and nationally. You will also invite her to your poetry event and provide her with information about Elko.

Spokespeople of related organizations

National Endowment for the Arts: Clifford MurphyMurphy is the Folk and Traditional Arts Director for the NEA, and since the gathering celebrates a traditional and folk art, he would be the spokesperson from this organization. He could give insight to the importance of funding for traditional arts and speak on the positive influence traditional arts have on the community and culture.

Nevada Humanities: Christina BarrBarr is the executive director for Nevada Humanities. Nevada Humanities celebrates the culture and heritage of the state with programs that engage and inform the community. Barr would be the spokesperson from this organization because she could help you communicate with other Nevadans to inform them about the culture and heritage of this western art that has deep roots in the state.

Tools and Supplies

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You will need several tools and supplies in order for your tactics to be successful. Along with the previously discussed paper petition, infographic and brochures, creating a website in support of federal funding from the NEA for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering would go hand-in-hand with the positive news stories combating the negativity. Therefore, spearheading advertisements for the one-night poetry gathering, both in digital and print form, is also vital for the event to gain optimal coverage and positivity. You can advertise in online and print newspapers, on websites, social media outlets, posters, word-of-mouth, etc. In terms of logistics, you will need refreshments, lighting and sound equipment, a stage and seating for the event as well. Another possible way to attract people to the event is to host a relevant giveaway where patrons can potentially win a western culture-related prize.

Notable Details

We discovered several practical details throughout our research that are imperative to the Cowboy Poetry Gathering and the standoff. To start, 2017 will be the 33rd annual gathering, therefore it is clearly a tradition in itself. The weeklong event, which goes from the end of January through the beginning of February, has a following of 6,000-7,000 people in attendance per year, including thousands of school children present (without entry costs), to learn about old western culture. Thus, most of the funding comes from ticket sales, donors and sponsorships; however, the funds from the NEA help the event thrive significantly. The gathering alone impacts the Elko economy with a $7 million boost each year, especially given the fact that the local economy is slow during winter. All in all, the gathering truly solidifies longstanding Western traditions and greatly benefits the community.

Website and Social Media

All of the efforts need to be consistent on all platforms, so below are suggestions regarding website modifications and social media updates.

We suggest putting a positive message on the front of the Western Folklife Center website as well as the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering website that thanks donors and return attendees for the donations and constant

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support for the celebration of old western culture. A recommended quote for placement on the website is listed below:

Front page of website

“Thank you to all our funders for the support of this organization. The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering brings in a great revenue to Elko economy and has been doing so for the past three decades. The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering will continue to preserve the old western traditions in today's modern western culture.”

Blogs and social media

The social media sites of the Western Folklife Center have a larger following than the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering’s sites, so that will be the focus of all the efforts to get the widest reach while keeping the gathering’s social media up to date with important information, updates and posts. The Western Folklife Center has a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but there will be minimal posts to Instagram as this plan does not have many visuals. Positive posts from other users regarding the Western Folklife Center or the gathering should always be shared to show the support for the programs. Keeping social media content consistent with other efforts will be important, and social media is a great tool to stay transparent with the audiences about the ongoing efforts.

Megg Mueller, editor for Nevada Magazine, blogs for Travel Nevada. She uses photos and videos as support features to her writing regarding her travels around Nevada. It will be important to create a positive relation and invite her to the one-night poetry event. The event will provide many visual elements to add to her blog, and you should provide any other information she needs such as Elko demographics and a tour to highlight the town’s other tourists attractions.

Questions and Answers

Trick questions to prepare forQ: “If donors contribute so much, why do you still need funding from the government?”A: “Not only does the federal funding provide national legitimacy and recognition for the event, but also the funding from the National

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Endowment for the Arts allows for the event to grow and accommodate increasing attendance to the event. Let me put this into perspective by saying that while only 3% of funding comes from the NEA, it allows for millions of dollars to come into the Elko community during the slow winter months.”

Q: “Why should the NEA fund cowboy poetry instead of other projects like school art programs?”A: “The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering preserves a long standing western tradition of cowboy poetry with thousands of school children present each year to learn about the old western tradition. Therefore, the NEA is still providing an art education to school children while funding the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.”

Q: “Why should the government spend money on arts?”A: “Arts are essential to preserving and advancing culture. The arts are also a celebration of creativity and provide a platform for adults and children to express themselves. Let me emphasize again that without the NEA funding the cowboy poetry tradition would not be preserved in modern western culture.”

Other (more simple) questionsQ: “How much funding does the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering receive from the government?”A: “Each year, the National Endowment for the Arts provides $45,000 in support of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering which totals to 3% of the total funding for the event.”

Q: “What does the funding go towards?” A: “It allows for additional performances and events to take place during the week which gives the gathering room to grow. “

Q: “What is the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering?”A: “The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is a celebration of the art of cowboy poetry which shares stories about the hardships and history found within old western culture.”

Q: “What impact does this event have on Elko?”A: “Not only does the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering revive old western traditions, but also it brings millions of much needed funds to the

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Elko community. The event brings thousands of tourists into the area during the slow and cold winter month, stimulating the local economy.”

Q: “How many people attend the event each year?” A: “Six to seven thousand people, including thousands of school children, come from around the country to attend the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering to learn about the old western traditions. The attendance of the event continues to grow every year.”

Q: “Why is this a tradition?”A: “For over three decades, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering has shared the tradition of cowboy poetry and western culture with thousands of returning and new attendees each year.”

Q: “Where does the majority of the funding come from?”A: “The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering raises funds through ticket sales, sponsorships, local business partnerships, individual donors and private foundations.”

List of Prodromes/Triggers

Oregon standoff at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

The Oregon standoff happened during the same time as the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 2016. The organization did not get involved with the standoff and urged its participants to “leave politics at the door.” The standoff began January 2, 2016 and lasted for 41 days. The standoff was between armed anti-government militants and the FBI, and it had occurred due to the arrest of ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. It escalated when the Bundy’s sons Ammon and Ryan came with more militias and drove the media coverage even more. It ended with a shootout with five arrested in one day. The organization needs to be aware of this standoff in particular. Given the location of where this gathering is occurring and the participants involved, it is important that the standoff does not escalate to a similar shootout situation.

Previous attempts to cut funding in 2011

During the drafting of the federal budget bill in 2011, the budget pulled federal funding for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. At that time,

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Senator Reid was the majority leader, so he was able to advocate to keep the funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. However, Senator Reid’s speech to keep NEA funding for the gathering brought the event to light and caused many people to question why the gathering is funded when there are more pressing issues such as the growing national debt. Since 2011, there have not been issues to cut federal funding for the event, but there continue to be conversations regarding cutting arts funding especially at the primary and secondary educational level. This event should serve as a reminder of the tensions that arise in federal funding and the controversy among arts funding.

List of relevant Internet URLs

Western Folklife Website: http://www.westernfolklife.org/National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Website: http://www.cowboypoetry.com/Western Folklife Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westernfolklife/Western Folklife Twitter: https://twitter.com/WesternfolklifeWestern Folklife Wordpress: https://westernfolklifecenter.wordpress.com/Western Folklife Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/westernfolklife

Evaluation of Plans

To measure the first objective, which is to receive public support from government officials, you should look for social media postings from relevant government officials regarding the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.. If the communication efforts are successful, you should post on social media and/or be quoted in a news article or clip within a week.

In order to measure the second objective of having news outlets run two positive stories about the gathering, it is vital to keep a close eye on any news articles or television news stories from the local the regional news. If the efforts are successful, two positive stories about the gathering will be shared on any news outlet within 48 hours of the standoff.

If the objective to decrease the momentum of petitioners is successful, the results will be seen in multiple areas. The petition you start to support

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government funding should have more signatures than the petition to remove NEA funding. Along with any stories about the standoff to stop NEA funding, there should also be a positive story about the gathering and NEA funding. The attendance numbers of the gathering should increase in 2017 from local community members who witnessed the standoff and your efforts. We also suggest you send a survey out to the community members as quickly as possible before, during and after the standoff to measure awareness of the event, support for the event and support for NEA funding. These numbers should all increase if the efforts are successful.

This plan will minimize the negative effects of the standoff and build a greater awareness and appreciation for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. The most important things to remember when following the plan is to keep consistent on all platforms with messaging and visuals and always be prepared for questions.

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