Dave Benjamin Email & Phone Number

Illinois, United States

Executive Director and Media Relations Director Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project – Homewood, IL-- Represents organization to public through presentations, speeches, and participating in community events.-- Drafts press releases and preps media interview subjects to highlight key messages.-- Conducts top-tier media interviews, highlighting key messages of major developments and enhancing company reputation.-- Represents organization at industry conferences and events.-- Creates promotional materials and provides insightful information to social media, websites, and print media to educate public.-- Worked closely with organizational leadership and board of directors to guide operational strategy.

Homewood, Illinois, United States

The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, Inc. (GLSRP) is a nonprofit 501c3 corporation that is about saving lives!The GLSPR: 1. Tracks the Great Lakes drowning statistics (Over 1,150 drownings since 2010) 2. Performs “Great Lakes Water Safety” presentations and trainings (Over 1,030+ in 7 of the 8 Great Lakes states since 2011) 3. Works with family and friends of Great Lakes drowning victims to advocate water safety. 4. Performs Open Water Surf Lifeguard In-service Training and First Responder In-service Training5. Leads the Great Lakes Water Safety Public Relations and Media Relations Campaigns6. Leads Great Lakes Water Safety "Special Projects"Mission: To eradicate drownings by being the leader of Great Lakes water safety by providingtraining, public preparedness, and public awareness.Vision: Everyone in the GreatLakes region, nationwide and worldwide, is knowledgeable, engaged and proactive in water safety with an emphasis on the Great Lakes region.

COMMUNITY PROJECTIONS – Projecting Your Projects into Your Communities WRITING SERVICES• Press Releases & Ready to Publish Feature Stories• Brochure Copy / Ad Copy• Internet & Intranet Copy• Company Newsletters• Family Newsletters• Research & Development• Operations Manuals & Policy & Procedure ManualsMEDIA RELATIONS• Develop, implement, and evaluate strategic and integrated regional and local public relations campaigns that help to achieve regional program goals.• Monitor, identify, and seize opportunities for pro-active outreach to media; understand, leverage, and integrate new media opportunities into public relations campaigns.• Identify and cultivate individual, influential reporters and online media in the regional markets where responsible.• Develop and execute region/market-specific communication programs designed to enhance and protect your company’s reputation as an innovative leader in your industry.

Owner and operator of a residential and commercial painting business Directed all operations of business ownership which includes: • Supervise projects from concept to completion• Conducted sales presentations / Assess clients wants & needs / Explain parameters of projects (Painting Processes: prep work, paint systems/techniques, number of coats, costs of materials, total labor hours, and costs of labor hours)• Write and present proposals / contracts and close deals• Purchasing (Purchase materials and tools to get the job done with the highest quality.)• Human resources – employee orientation, training, evaluations• Manage Project Calendar, Customer Service & Quality Control• Negotiate pricing of materials• Accounts receivable & accounts payable• Marketing and advertising

• Created and documented the franchisor corporate office structure to create organization between the departments; e.g. Franchise Sales, Business Development, Franchisee Training and Field Consultants.• Conducted sales presentation for franchise candidates and lead sales meetings with staff • Planned and coordinated Discovery Days, Business Development Training Seminars, and Clinical Training Seminars. Also developed informational and instructional materials for all of the above. • Hosted weekly staff meetings, drafted press releases, edited press releases from outside sources, and monitored quality control by gathering all relative quality control feedback from employees and franchisees.

• Conducted Sales Presentations in a team environment to prospective clients highlighting Francorp’s “Full Development Program” (Strategic Planning Department, Legal Department, Operations Department, Franchise Marketing Department, and Franchise Sales Training Department) • Conducted Individual Sales Presentations to prospective clients highlighting the services of the Operations Department, the importance of the Franchise Operations Manual, and how the Operations Department works seamlessly with all other departments during the completion of clients’ Full Development Programs• Recommended to clients who were franchising their businesses how to simplify their operations, which improved efficiency and made their business easier to duplicate.• Wrote Operations Manuals for clients’ franchisees to open, run and grow their businesses.• Wrote Franchise Sales Brochure copy for the service, retail and restaurant industries.

Pitched, drafted and edited business features and personality profiles for the Business, Dimension and Home Sections.

Management Cornerstones, Inc. has met the challenges faced by nonprofit organizations and the nonprofit sector by providing technical assistance to enable nonprofit organizations to be more effectively and efficiently managed. In this position, I wrote management audits, researched non-profit publications and wrote executive summaries of targeted articles and drafted financial analyses of current funding trends for its clients.

Selp Coach, Production Supervisor, Assistant Head Coach, Leadership Coaching

Ba, English

Activities and Societies: Kappa Delta RhoB. A. in English and three minors: 1) Professional Writing 2) Creative Writing 3) Business.

Ba, Bs, English, Writing, Business

Education record