Leadership New Jersey produces podcasts about the role of the lieutenant governor

New Jersey residents interested in discussions about how to define the role of the lieutenant governor can hear thought-provoking panel discussions about the new elected office, thanks to public policy training program Leadership New Jersey and Cherry Hill based Professional Podcasts LLC.

For the fourth year, Leadership New Jersey has worked with Professional Podcasts to produce audio podcasts based on its annual “Forum on the Future of New Jersey.” This year’s Forum, “Who will be New Jersey’s FIRST Lieutenant Governor? And what should the Lieutenant Governor do?” featured panel discussions of the role of a lieutenant governor in New Jersey’s government. This year’s conference was held at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, Monmouth County, on October 8, 2009.

Again this year, the podcast programs are available to the public for downloading and listening on computers or digital audio players at no charge. Listeners can download the programs at Leadership New Jersey’s podcast blog, http://lnjpodcasts.blogspot.com, and at http://leadershipnj.org/ffnj2009.html.

Members of the panel on "What Lieutenant Governors Do in Other States," pose after their presentation. From left: Michael Willmann, CEO of Haddonfield-based WMSH Marketing Communications, Forum Chair; ; Charles Fogarty, former Lt. Governor of Rhode Island; panel moderator Ingrid Reed of the Eagleton Institute of Politics; Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown; Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy; Julie Hurst, executive director of the National Lieutenant Governors Association; and Katherine Kish, Forum Chair. More photos of the Forum are here.

Cherry Hill-based Professional Podcasts LLC produced the podcasts for the nonprofit organization that helps civic and business leaders to develop their knowledge of state issues while honing their skills to solve statewide problems. The firm has produced podcasts from Forum on the Future of New Jersey since 2006.

“We are very pleased to partner once again with Professional Podcasts to advance Leadership New Jersey’s objective of helping our leaders make sound public policy choices,” said Michael Willmann, CEO of WMSH Marketing Communications in Haddonfield, and co-chair of the Forum. Willmann is a Leadership New Jersey Class of 2001 Fellow. “Podcasting is especially effective for distributing LNJ’s unique insights, because many of our Fellows– and others active in civic life -- are busy professionals who need actionable information and news from us in a portable format.”

“Podcasts dramatically extend the longevity of a single-day event like the Forum on the Future of New Jersey, because interested audiences who couldn’t attend can still benefit from the content,” said Steven L. Lubetkin, managing partner of Professional Podcasts and Lubetkin Communications. “Leadership New Jersey has a clear vision for how to use podcasting as a business application, allowing busy and time-constrained listeners to get the information they need -- at a time when they want it.”

The podcasts are also available to listeners through an RSS feed, which is “subscription” technology that automatically alerts subscribers when new program content is made available, so that they receive future episodes in the series automatically. (There is no charge for “subscribing” to podcasts). Podcast listeners can subscribe to the RSS "feed" for the podcast programs at http://feeds.feedburner.com/lnjpodcasts.

The programs are also available at no charge to subscribers to the Apple iTunes Music store (www.itunes.com), at this URL:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=201750461.

The 2008, 2007, and 2006 Leadership New Jersey podcast programs also remain available to listeners at these web addresses.

Podcasts are digital audio or video recordings distributed using Internet technology. Visitors to an organization’s website can download podcast programs for review on their desktop computers, or synchronize them with a portable digital media device. Software programs called “feed readers” or “podcatchers” allow users to “subscribe” to podcasts at no cost, and receive new programs in a podcast series automatically.

About Leadership New Jersey

Leadership New Jersey's goal is to expand and improve the pool of the state's civic leaders. The program, founded in 1986, honors men and women who combine a successful career with leadership in serving their communities. It challenges them to do more.

Each year, LNJ selects a new group of about 50 emerging leaders from more than 100 applicants. Fellows come from all parts of the state and from diverse backgrounds in business, government, non-profits, the arts, health care, the professions, and labor. Their politics and philosophies differ, but they share a commitment to making New Jersey a better place in which to live and work.

For the 2009 Forum on the Future of New Jersey, Leadership New Jersey received generous financial support from BD, Berkeley College, the Hall Institute of Public Policy – New Jersey, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, New Jersey Natural Gas, Atlantic City Electric/Pepco Holdings, the Fund for New Jersey, NRG Energy, Inc., Saint Barnabas Health Care System, the Women’s Political Caucus – NJ, Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation, Princeton Public Affairs Group, Verizon, Steve Morgan ’05 and American Clean Energy, and the Chemistry Council of New Jersey. More information is available at http://www.leadershipnj.org.

Two Cherry Hill NJ Video Firms Honored for Jewish Family Services Documentary

Two Cherry Hill video firms have won a Silver JASPER Award from the Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association (JSPRAA) for a documentary video they produced for a local social service agency.

Take This Journey LLC and Lubetkin Communications/Professional Podcasts LLC collaborated on the video documentary “Touching People’s Lives,” for the Samost Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Southern New Jersey.

Celebrating the award are (from left): Steve Lubetkin of Professional Podcasts; Jennifer Dubrow Weiss, executive director of Samost JFCS; Lori Braunstein of Take This Journey LLC; and Sherry Wolkoff, public relations director of Samost JFCS.

The video was recognized in the JSPRAA competition’s “Video Documentary (10 to 30 minutes)” category. The JASPER award was presented at JSPRAA’s awards dinner at the Robert B. Meyner Reception Center at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, Monmouth County, on October 9.

Lori Braunstein, principal of Take This Journey, produced the video. Steve Lubetkin, managing partner of Lubetkin Communications/Professional Podcasts, wrote the script and recorded the voice-over narrations and the musical scoring used in the production.

The JFCS documentary can be viewed in the player above.

It is also available as a video podcast on the JFCS website at http://www.jfcssnj.org/about_us.

The documentary uses interviews with agency clients to illustrate the broader definition of “family” that guides the agency’s response to community members in crisis or needing support services.

“Our collaboration with Professional Podcasts so far has resulted in three emotionally powerful and moving documentary videos paying tribute to heroes in the South Jersey community – the hard-working counselors and therapists of Samost Jewish Family and Children’s Services; the extraordinary generosity of the Brown family in funding the relocation of Kellman Brown Academy, South Jersey’s only Jewish day school; and the inspirational philanthropy of three generations of impressive women, honored by the Jewish Community Foundation,” said Braunstein. “The JASPER Award demonstrates that Steve and I have found a highly successful formula for video documentary production that can be effective for many different organizations, and we’re very proud to be recognized in this way.”

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be recognized for a second time by our peers in the advertising and public relations communities for our content creation work with clients and partners, especially for meaningful projects like this one with Take This Journey,” said Lubetkin. “The Internet’s ability to serve as a broadcast platform for audio and video programs means the video documentary format can move far beyond the traditional TV screen or movie theater, making these productions highly accessible -- and easily affordable -- for organizations of all sizes to tell their stories to interested worldwide audiences.”

In 2008, Lubetkin Communications/Professional Podcasts won a Silver JASPER Award for podcast audio programs it produced for NAPL, a global printing and graphic communications trade association.

About JSPRAA

In existence since 1965, the Jersey Shore Public Relations & Advertising Association has grown into the Central New Jersey area’s largest communications association, with members from the advertising, graphic design, marketing, and public relations professions. It established the JASPER Awards in 1974 to honor excellence in communications. More information is at http://www.jspraa.org/.

About Take This Journey LLC

Take This Journey LLC creates documentary videos, family history videos, special event video montages, multimedia programs, and recordings of ethical wills, visual testaments in which individuals transmit their values, beliefs, advice and the stories of their families and their lives. Its website is http://www.takethisjourney.com/.

About Professional Podcasts LLC/Lubetkin Communications

Professional Podcasts LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lubetkin Communications, produces audio, video and other multimedia content and provides podcasting services for corporations and professional organizations. Since 2005, Professional Podcasts has been counseling clients about the effective use of social media, like podcasts and blogs (online journals) as tools that facilitate two-way communications with customers, employees, and others.

The firm produces high-quality audio and video content distributed as podcasts for such clients as the New Jersey Technology Council; the National Association of Realtors; the CCIM Institute; Foundations Community Partnership; the American Institute of CPCU/Insurance Institute of America; Amboy Bank, Sun National Bank, the Rutgers University School of Business Administration’s popular Quarterly Business Outlook Seminar; Leadership NJ; the New Jersey Bank Marketing Association, and the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians. The firm also produces its own podcasts focusing on public relations, computer technology, bond ratings, and interviews with book authors.

More information is available at http://www.professionalpodcasts.com. Video podcasts are available at http://professionalpodcasts.blip.tv/.

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Editors, Note: Ms. Braunstein and Mr. Lubetkin are available to discuss how video documentaries using podcasting technology can help organizations communicate effectively with their audiences. Please call Lori Braunstein at (856) 427-9426 or email lori@takethisjourney.com, or Steve Lubetkin at (856) 751-5491 or email steve@professionalpodcasts.com.

NJ Tech Council Partners on Website Video with Cherry Hill Podcast Firm

MT. LAUREL, N.J., Oct. 9  -- The New Jersey Technology Council, a non-profit membership trade organization dedicated to the growth and support of the various technology sectors in the region, added a new multimedia component to its already successful website www.njtc.org. Thanks to NJTC member Cherry Hill-based Professional Podcasts LLC, visitors to NJTC's URL can now view a welcome video featuring Maxine Ballen, NJTC president and CEO.

RADIO NEWS WRAPPER REPORT: South Jersey Rabbi, a Kidney Transplant Survivor, Joins Zoo Walk to Raise Money for Kidney Foundation on Sunday

South Jersey Rabbi Andy Bossov, senior rabbi at Temple Adath Emanuel in Mt. Laurel, Burlington County, will join thousands of other walkers for the National Kidney Foundation’s Zoo Walk this Sunday at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Bossov, a Mt. Laurel resident, made international headlines two and a half years ago, when he received a live kidney donation from Methodist minister Karen Onesti, who offered to donate her kidney when she learned at a gathering of local clergy that Bossov needed one.

In this news wrapper with correspondent Steve Lubetkin (loo BEHT kin), Bossov (BAH sawv) talks about the experience and describes the goals of the Zoo Walk.

Download the news wrapper here. (2.1 mb stereo MP3 file, 01:45 duration, standard outcue).