Bill Gibbons From: Sent: To: Subject: Bill Gibbons Wednesday, October 24, 2018 1:24 PM Blair Taylor Re: from bill rhodes Ok. Linda and I have to leave for Nashville at 2:30, and we will have limited ability to make changes. We will take two versions with us - one with FedEx and one without. Keep us posted! Bill Gibbons Executive Director Public Safety Institute The University of Memphis 317 Robison Hall Memphis, TN. 48152 901.355.4043 I memphis.edu/psi/ On Oct 24, 2018, at 1:05 PM, Blair Taylor wrote: but yes we might should delete them if I don't hear anything back by tomorrow. but I'm sure I will. Blair Taylor President Memphis Tomorrow 22 North Front Street, Suite 670 Memphis, TN 38103 Office: 901.322.8080 From: Bill Gibbons Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 1:02 PM To: Blair Taylor Subject: Re: from bill rhodes Got it. Down to FedEx. We could delete them since there is no direct donation. Bill Gibbons Executive Director Public Safety Institute The University of Memphis 317 Robison Hall Memphis, TN. 48152 1 901.355.4043 I memphis.edu/psi/ On Oct 24, 2018, at 12:52 PM, Blair Taylor wrote: Blair Taylor President Memphis Tomorrow 22 North Front Street, Suite 670 Memphis, TN 38103 Office: 901.322.8080 From: Rhodes, Bill Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 8:30 AM To: Blair Taylor Subject: Re: Confidential: MPD Recruit/Retain Initiative donors in the media Plan looks good to me. From: Blair Taylor Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 7:52 AM To: Rhodes, Bill Cc: Bryan Jordan Subject: RE: Confidential: MPD Recruit/Retain Initiative donors in the media Ok thanks Bill. Gibbons has confirmed agreement by the following reporters (selected by group consultation among Strickland's comms team-Ursula and Dan Springer- and me) that under embargoed terms (no coverage til 5pm Thursday after the crime commission quarterly board meeting) they will get an advance copy (Thursday mid-afternoon) of the attached press release on the city's MPD staffing report. • Bill Dries — Daily Memphian • Karanja Ajanaku —TriState Defender • Sam Hardimon — MBJ (new reporter there for only 3 weeks) • Bill also is reaching out to Jaimie Munks -City Hall reporter at the CA Bill is also making himself available to speak with them in person just prior to the crime commission board meeting around 2:30/3pm. Our goal is the get maximum controlled and friendly coverage. Yes, I will definitely provide any emails or info that are to be turned over to Wendi by City (Mayors team is working closely with us and will let us know in advance). City legal is still going through everything and won't likely be finished for another couple of 2 weeks. But we wanted this to come out as organically as possible so decided on this fourth quarter crime commission meeting when the staffing project report was being presented and could constitute the main news. Of course don't hesitate to call me with any further questions. I've attached the press release for you, Ray and team. Blair Taylor President Memphis Tomorrow 22 North Front Street, Suite 670 Memphis, TN 38103 Office: 901.322.8080 From: Rhodes, Bill Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 5:45 AM To: Blair Taylor Cc: Bryan Jordan Subject: Re: Confidential: MPD Recruit/Retain Initiative donors in the media Blair, I have reviewed with our team internally. We are aligned with your plan. Ray suggests we get the information to Bill Dries with the Daily Memphian. Also, will you please ask the Mayor's team to share any concerning emails or presentations with us so we aren't caught off guard? From: Blair Taylor Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2018 7:05 PM To: Rhodes, Bill Cc: Bryan Jordan Subject: Confidential: MPD Recruit/Retain Initiative donors in the media Hello Bill. I'm writing to let you know that the Crime Commission will be publishing a report this week on the MPD recruit/retain initiative which will show some good progress; and our MT executive committee has asked that Gibbons publish, along with that report, the names of the companies that so generously donated to the effort. (Note they will NOT be publishing amounts). While Crime Commission wouldn't ordinarily do that, we (our MT executive committee and Strickland) have asked them to do so in order to pre-empt a particular journalist, Wendy Thomas who may have intentions to twist the story of generous giving into something negative. Strickland called Bryan Jordan to let him know that Wendy, after 2 years of trying to get the information on the donors, has finally made an open records request to the Strickland administration for all communications (emails, calendar items) with/from me to which they have to comply by law. While I never provided donor information linked to the initiative, I did send the mayor a thank you list at his request 3 that included your name (without tying it to any initiative), and we think that with that information, Wendy will piece it together with other information from meetings on Strickland's calendar with MT, his staff presentation decks that were sent to me by email in advance of Memphis Tomorrow board meetings, etc to draw reasonable conclusions about the donors. The story is a great news story of corporate citizenship, of course, so we are electing to beat her to the punch on getting the news out there with balanced reporters who can recognize our companies' incredible generosity and commitment to making our community safe for everyone. I have worked closely with Mayor Strickland and his communications team, Bill Gibbons, Bryan Jordan and Rick Shadyac on this and am confident it will go well. That said, it's possible you may receive a call from the media as a result. You obviously will speak for your company, or simply not reply, in whatever manner you choose. We ask though that you please defer any other questions about other companies or Memphis Tomorrow or the Crime Commission or the initiative itself to Bill Gibbons. We're providing a quote from Bryan Jordan in a statement to the media and he'll be available to speak on behalf of Memphis Tomorrow as well. Please confirm you received this email by shooting me a quick reply of "got RI", and feel free to call or email me by close of business tomorrow (Wednesday) if you have any concerns or questions. I'll keep you posted on the news as the story is covered. Thanks and have a great evening! Blair P.S. — As always we appreciate that you not circulate this email beyond yourself. Blair Taylor President Memphis Tomorrow 22 North Front Street, Suite 670 Memphis, TN 38103 Office: 901.322.8080 Mobile: 901.210.5537 4