The founder of JCH Enterprises, Judy Hoffman, understands being on the “hot seat.” For more than 16 years, she was the Manager of Public Affairs and the media spokesperson for a chemical manufacturing company in New York State. The company made a chemical with an objectionable odor noticeable to the human nose at extremely low levels.

If the least little thing went wrong and the wind was blowing toward the surrounding community, her phone would ring with concerned or angry neighbors on the other end of the line. Her community relations programs had to be proactive. Her skills of dealing with angry people needed to be effective. And Judy had to know how to handle the media who were only too happy to cover the controversy.

There were plenty of opportunities for her to practice her skills: handling odorous emissions (one of which caused the evacuation of the local high school and middle school), an overturned railcar of flammable materials, a bomb threat, labor union unrest, a regulatory fine, and an employee injured on site.

Judy started her own crisis communications and community outreach consulting firm in 1995. Since then, she has traveled around the country providing her one-day workshop “Coaching to Meet the Press and Other Hostile Audiences” for many different organizations. Specializing in the chemical industry because of her background and experience, she has demonstrated her unique ability among media trainers to relate to their issues and concerns.

However, the principles of crisis management are similar whether dealing with crises in healthcare, banking, telecommunications, utilities, not-for-profit agencies, and others. (Click here to view her client list and testimonials.) The types of community relations situations she has managed are outlined in the Case Studies section. (Click here for Case Studies.)

While employed in the chemical industry, Judy was asked to be a frequent speaker at conferences of the Chemical Manufacturers Association (now the American Chemistry Council) and the New York State Chemical Alliance. Subjects ranged from “Doing Public Relations on a Shoestring Budget” to “How to Prevent a Chemical Accident from Becoming a Public Relations Disaster” to “Preparing for Crummy Headlines: Communicating Risk Management Plans and Worst Case Scenarios.” The most popular topic now is “Prepare for the Glare of Unflattering Headlines.” Click here for list of organizations and testimonials.

She has now expanded her list of speech topics to include dealing with angry people. “Handling the Hostile Hordes” has proven popular with many different organizations from health care facilities to home inspectors, mayors, women engineers, town clerks, parents, customer service representatives, etc. Click here for lists of organizations and testimonials.

Instrumental in establishing her company’s Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER) program in 1985, she served as that organization’s Co-Chair for six years. She is also the Facilitator for two Community Advisory Panels (CAP’s) for chemical companies which are seeking to enhance dialogue with concerned citizens in the communities around their facilities.

She serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of The Orange County Partnership (the economic development arm of the county in which she resides) and as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the New York State Chemical Alliance and is an Elder in St Paul Lutheran Church, Monroe, NY.

Judy is a cum laude graduate of Gettysburg College with a B.A. in Political Science. She can be reached at info@judyhoffman.com.

Karen Friedman is an award-winning television news anchor and reporter. A tough interviewer and investigator for WPVI-TV Philadelphia, WITI-TV, Milwaukee and WAFF-TV, Huntsville, Alabama, Karen’s breaking coverage of local and national events over twenty years has aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, the Today Show, Good Morning America and Nightline. She is the recipient of numerous awards including American Women in Radio and TV’s Reporter of the Year, the American Red Cross Outstanding Community Service Award and was nominated for Philadelphia’s Top 50 Women in Business Award.

Clients rely on Karen’s know-how to communicate during nationwide educational campaigns, manufacturing shutdowns, Justice Department inquiries; product launches and recalls, employee issues, chemical spills, and during presentations to seek approval for new drugs being presented before the FDA Advisory Committee. Her unique ability in message development was recognized when a U.S. delegation led by former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton tapped Karen to provide media and political training for women in South and Central America. She taught journalism at the University of Wisconsin, conducts seminars at the University of Pennsylvania and once ran for a hotly contested seat in the Pennsylvania State House.