You can read more about it here, but basically – when your father-in-law asks you to do something, you should probably do it.
My father-in-law, (ret) Colonel Rick Lohnes, has always been vocal about politics. And with his recent retirement, he intends to do something to change that. A life long civil servant that wants to speak to more people than just the ones in his living room, he has decided to work to become a Clark County servant.
The only problem was, he is running up against a 29+ year incumbent who a lot of people, until recently, have had little to no problem with, Roger Tackett. Mr. Tackett (d) is a Vietnam war veteran, who is very well-respected and liked, not just in Clark County, OH where this race is being held, but around the state of Ohio. He has done much for our country and also for Clark County. But for the past few years, he hasn’t been making responsible decisions and his attendance has been lacking for one reason or another – it is time for a change. Insert Rick Lohnes.
Rick’s #1 problem was going to be name recognition. Since he retired as the Commander of the Air National Guard Base in Springfield, he was rather invisible in the community. People know who he is, but when it comes to November, he needed to give his message out to everyone and let them make the decision on what is best for Clark County. He needed a website design. Glad to say, Rick was my client #2 (after my family business, Young’s Jersey Dairy of course!) I presented Rick with a simple website design that showed off his values and visions for what he thought Clark County’s direction should be. I also encouraged him to be involved in social media marketing, use Facebook & Twitter to converse with other Clark County residents.
Mr. Tackett has ZERO web presence. Well, I won’t say exactly zero, but you can’t find it easily. There is a page dedicated to him on the Clark County Commissioner’s website, but it looks dated and when you are trying to reel in youthful voters, that just doesn’t cut it.
Considering Rick flew fighter jets for 31 ½ years, the transition into Facebook/Twitter/Blogging wasn’t as difficult as I think he initially thought. (According to his wife) He is on Facebook all the time now, finding new friends from high school & college, commenting on my anti-Cincinnati Bengals rants and getting into conversations about his ideas for Clark County.
We also have included some video (and will bump that up as November gets closer) on the website. With TV advertising being so expensive (and outdated, if you ask me) – having a video that is live 24/7 is a much better value. Will you reach the same amount of people? No. But as we get the message out through many other streams, people will come to Rick’s site to see what he’s all about and hopefully share the message.
With Rick’s experience, ability to do the job, drive to accomplish his vision for Clark County and his presence online – he has the tools to win the race in November – but only time will tell.