Dale Curtis Communications, LLC

05/08/2026

I never met Ted Turner, but he played a big role in my career.

Back when I was editing Greenwire, the Turner Foundation helped expand access to our reporting. That led to an idea when the United Nations Foundation was launched: maybe there should be a daily news service covering the UN.

That idea became UN Wire in 1998.

It was a fascinating window into global issues—and a reminder of how complex and interconnected the world really is. It also introduced me to great friends and eventually launched me into the next phase of my career, doing public affairs PR for clients with great causes.

I even found an old edition online, which brought it all back.

I'm grateful for the ripple effects of big ideas and the people behind them.

01/28/2026

New podcast episode out today 🎙️

I joined Patrick Van de Wille on his Pitch Perfect podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about public affairs communications in Washington. We discussed what it means to work in a “post-facts” environment and why values and credibility still matter—now more than ever.

Patrick is a sharp, thoughtful interviewer, and I appreciated the chance to reflect on the work and the moment we’re in.

If you care about public affairs, communications, or navigating polarization with principle, give it a listen.

Link in comments 👇

Thanks, Patrick, for the conversation.

12/18/2025

Dear Colleagues -- In this season of light and love, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to you.

Thank you, Clients, for entrusting us with your business—some of you for over a decade! We love helping you advance your objectives through better content and communications.

Thanks also to my team and all the talented partners who have helped make this business what it is – past, present, and future.

We are a small but mighty team of PR, marketing, and advocacy talent, working with our clients to make the world a better place. If you or anyone you know have any gaps in your content and communications operations that need to be filled—any challenges that might be easier to handle with a little outside help—we’d be happy to help you brainstorm solutions.

In the meantime, we wish you and yours a very happy and safe holiday season!

Dale

09/29/2025

Anybody planning your budget for 2026?

If you’re like many of the folks I work with, these next few weeks are when your organization is finalizing its strategic and tactical plans for the coming year. Do you have adequate budget and staffing planned for content and communications outreach?

There's no one formula that works for everyone, but the U.S. Small Business Administration says the average business should invest around 5 to 7 percent of their gross revenues in marketing, branding, and PR.

How much is 5 to 7 percent of your gross revenues, and are you investing anywhere near that amount in your brand and reputation?? Probably not – which means any budget increase up to that point is likely to produce an appreciable return on investment.

Where should you begin? Check out my blog for the first step you take in ensuring you have a smarter, better-planned comms strategy ... a set of messaging resources that make you proud ... and a targeted outreach plan that will make the right impressions on the right people.

06/14/2025

During National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (TC Week) this year, we noticed that public recognition and appreciation of 9-1-1 professionals has exploded in popularity. 🎉

In fact, we counted 289 social media posts by local public safety authorities, companies, and individuals honoring 9-1-1 telecommunicators and using the hashtags and/or on Facebook and LinkedIn.

We don’t have any data for prior years, but I’m certain that’s a huge increase over what occurred every April when I first got into this field over 10 years ago. 📈

So then I was curious: Who did it best?

After reviewing all 289 posts, this DCC Blog identifies the most notable events and activities of TC Week 2025: https://www.dalecurtiscommunications.com/blog/2025/6/13/the-9-1-1-community-marks-a-special-month-part-ii

If you’d like to see these and more examples of TC appreciation, follow the links in the blog or check out the NENA hashtag toolkit, which provides a wealth of templates and examples that can be adapted to your needs.https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.nena.org/resource/resmgr/comms/ty911_toolkit/NENA_Thank_You_Toolkit_2024_.pdf

If you’re going to be at and want to brainstorm on the best ways to earn some love for your local 9-1-1 telecommunicators, please attend a special session on Monday, June 23 entitled, “Leveraging PR and Community Relationships to Build Local Appreciation.” The discussion will be led by myself and my colleagues Laura Tucker and Chris Nussman of NENA: The 9-1-1 Association.

06/13/2025

In case you didn't know, April is National 9-1-1 Education Month, and the second full week of April is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week ( or ), dedicated to recognizing the hard-working women and men of America’s 9-1-1 services. 🎉

Naturally, our client NENA - National Emergency Number Association works to make the most of these dates for public education and member engagement purposes. One of our signature activities is a month-long social media campaign on NENA’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages, reaching thousands of association members as well as their colleagues, families, and friends.

Here’s what we did and what we learned this year, including a brand-new public education video that’s been re-shared almost 1,000 times already.

https://www.dalecurtiscommunications.com/blog/2025/6/13/the-9-1-1-community-marks-a-special-month-part-i

Part I: NENA Sets Records for Social Media Engagement   As everyone in the 9-1-1 Community knows, April is National 9-1-1 Education Month, and the second full week of April is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW or TC Week). The former is an occasion to educate the public

04/25/2025

It was fun to attend this Harvard Club of DC event featuring my good friend Jeffrey Madison -- a renaissance man, airline pilot, and author of "YIKES! 100 Smart Pilots and the Dumb Things They Did Yet Lived to Tell About ‘Em." Jeff shared a few of his own “yikes!” stories, as well as insights into the recent tragic spate of airplane crashes.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of Jeffrey's book go to the Victor Kilo Fund, which is working to transform the aviation and aerospace industries by supporting under-resourced flight schools, Civil Air Patrol Squadrons, and other STEM organizations serving under-represented communities.

I read the book and found myself exclaiming “yikes!” more than once. You don't need to be a pilot to understand the stories.
Learn more and order the book here: https://victorkilofund.org/

L to R, some of my DC-area Harvard crowd: me, Maria Carmona, Jeffrey Z Madison, Roz Jones, Ari Fitzgerald, Suzanne Malloy, Maude Windsor

04/13/2025

In honor of National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week — which this year comes April 13-19 — we salute the hard-working women and men of 9-1-1 everywhere. We are blessed to have had the opportunity to work hard for *them*. Among many highlights of that experience, here’s one of my favorite professional stories ever.

In the fall of 2012, in connection with my 9-1-1 client, NENA - National Emergency Number Association, we heard that Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry would be playing a frontline 9-1-1 call-taker in the forthcoming film, The Call.

Our PR minds went into overdrive. How could we catch a ride on the wave of publicity that would accompany this film?

We started persistently contacting her people and the film producers, and eventually we connected with them. We explained who we were, and asked if we could collaborate.

The end result? During the film’s premiere week, we organized a special screening in Los Angeles for 200 local 9-1-1 professionals, including several of those she had worked with in preparing for the role.

The icing on the cake? The gorgeous, talented Halle Berry herself dropped by to share a few words of appreciation for the people of 9-1-1.

Needless to say, our client and everyone in attendance was over the moon.

Read more: https://www.dalecurtiscommunications.com/blog/2025/4/11/pr-pro-tips-be-audacious-and-persistent

And check out NENA’s YouTube channel to see all the celebrity shout-outs we’ve gathered from stars including Rob Lowe, Anthony Anderson, Paula Abdul, and Ice-T, who graced us with the highest-performing NENA social media post ever. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4pXpdceffkl0eF0rxGvApyZpxZtc4uAm

01/10/2025

Friends: If you care about the quality of 9-1-1 service in your community, please consider the following.

Every holiday season, NENA: The 9-1-1 Association raises funds for the Gold Line Scholarship Program to help change the lives of 9-1-1 professionals.

Through this program, NENA provides vital training for 9-1-1 professionals --opportunities to learn, grow, and be their best when we need them the most -- opportunities they might not have otherwise.

The 2024 Gold Line Fundraising Campaign ends TODAY, so please click the link below NOW – either for yourself or for your company or organization – and help NENA raise enough money to award 50 scholarships in 2025.

Click this link to hear the gratitude of several past recipients of this life-changing scholarship – and then donate today.

Every contribution—no matter the amount—helps NENA empower these dedicated public servants to thrive in their careers.

This training doesn’t just enhance careers; it truly changes lives.

https://lnkd.in/eydzc-kq

09/24/2024

ARE YOU PLANNING FOR FY'25?

If you're like most execs, the autumn weeks are when you make strategic and tactical plans for your organization for the coming year. During your planning phase, don't overlook your and needs, and do consider the value proposition of hiring a strategic comms consultant. Why? Read on.

If you're like most execs, the autumn weeks are when you make strategic and tactical plans for your organization for the coming year. During your planning phase, don't overlook your content and communications needs, and do consider the value proposition of hiring a strategic comms consultant.