Village Implements Community Engagement Plan

GLENVIEW, IL — The Village of Glenview recently completed the creation of a community engagement plan to identify innovative practices that heighten communication with the Village’s customers and help promote "all things Glenview."

Development of the plan began in 2020 after it was recognized that in an already crowded communication landscape, additional strategies could be incorporated into Village practices to "position Glenview as an industry leader in communications," according to a news release

The Community Engagement Plan, according to the news release, offers specific strategies to invite continual feedback and two-way communication regarding how to better serve the public through open dialogue, financial responsibility and innovation. This includes the ongoing communication of Village services, special projects and initiatives, topical issues, potential hazards and emergencies, community events and other priority matters, through various marketing, social media and communication techniques.

“We developed this strategic plan so we can better empower local businesses to thrive, improve quality of life for our residents and to elevate all things Glenview,” Village President Michael Jenny said. “We look forward to this initiative transforming the way we connect with Glenview residents so that they always have an opportunity to share their voice and we can continue to meet their needs.”

As a first step toward implementing the plan, the Village has announced the hiring of David Just as Community Engagement Manager, a new, full-time position that will be responsible for the implementation and execution of the community engagement plan. The Community Engagement Manager is the primary point of contact for media and is responsible for the development of key messages and content for the Village website, social media channels and newsletters. In addition, this position will help develop and execute engagement strategies and coordinate rapid-response and emergency communications, according to the news release.

The position replaces the previous part-time Communications Manager role, which was vacated after the recent retirement of Lynne Stiefel. Just officially began his new role with the Village on Sept. 7.

“David embodies everything we are looking for in this position,” said Nick Santoro, Village of Glenview Director of Management Services. “He not only has a wealth of valuable communications experience, but is also inquisitive and innovative. Those qualities will prove invaluable as we execute our Community Engagement Plan.”

The Village hired Just as the Community Engagement Manager after an extensive recruitment process that included three rounds of interviews with representatives from across the Village, according to the news release. Just previously worked as a senior account manager at Serafin & Associates, a strategic communications firm, where he was responsible for developing and executing communications strategies for clients in both the public and private sectors. Prior to his position with Serafin & Associates, Just was a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times and several newspapers in Texas, including the Dallas Morning News.

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