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KALAMAZOO, MI Carol Heflin will be remembered as someone who was an ardent supporter of women, for helping those less fortunate and as someone who never shied from standing up for causes she believed in.

The former chair of the Kalamazoo County Democratic Party, Heflin died at the age of 67 on Tuesday, March 15, just three weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, her family and friends confirmed earlier this week.

Heflins husband of 30 years, David Heflin, preceded her in death after succumbing to early onset Alzheimers disease in January 2021.

Carol was just a furiously strong and ardent advocate for women, said Michelle Zukowski-Serlin, a friend of Heflins for 35 years.

She worked alongside Heflin on numerous causes such as supporting Medicaid-funded abortion, making marital rape illegal and participating in organizations like the National Organization of Women (NOW) and events such as the Kalamazoo Area Womens Festival.

Whatever she believed in, she put her whole self into, Zukowski-Serlin said. Whether it was feeding the homeless in Bronson Park, taking people into their home when they were in need, fighting for human rights. Carol was there and she didnt have to be asked. She was always fighting for people.

Heflin, who is survived by six children, was involved in numerous political campaigns throughout her life and met her first husband while attending an anti-war rally in the 1970s when she was in her late teens, her daughter Lynneea Brown told MLive.

Growing up, it didnt take long before Brown, now 35, realized her mother was different from most other moms.

One of the first tell-tale signs, Brown said, was when she was just 5, and her mother pulled her out of school to meet President Bill Clinton. That same year, Brown also recalls standing on the steps of Kalamazoo City Hall alongside current city commissioner Don Cooney, carrying a sign for living wages.

Nobody elses kids were out knocking on doors, handing out flyers, Brown said. She was born politically active, something she got from my grandmother, and now she has six kids and 21 grandkids who are doing or going to be doing the same thing.

Heflin worked on national, statewide and local campaigns. They included, among many others, those of former attorney general candidate Amos Williams, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former state Rep. Ed LaForge.

Its hard to remember all the things she was involved with, said LaForges widow, Ann LaForge, one of Heflins closest friends and a former business partner. She was never too busy or had so much on her plate that she would not reach out and help someone who needed it.

Heflin and Ann LaForges friendship began when the two worked together at a small community newspaper east of Kalamazoo. At the time the paper folded, they had been working on a project focused on the rise of women-owned businesses.

LaForge recalls Heflin asking their boss if the two could take the work they had done with them and use it for another project. That project became known as WomaNet, a publication the two produced for a few years in the mid-late 90s that served as a directory for women-led businesses and organizations in Southwest Michigan, as well as a community resource guide for women in need of crisis intervention or who may be experiencing domestic violence.

Her passion for helping those in need did not stop with her political voice, or the publication.

She had a much expanded version of what family is, said her son, Shawn Malone, 45. It wasnt just blood. Anybody who was down on their luck, in a marginalized community. She was the first person to bring them into the family. Growing up, I cant think of an Easter or Thanksgiving where there wasnt somebody who was there that we didnt know.

At one point, we had a young woman living with us with her child, who had been been abused by her boyfriend. She stayed with us a few months until mom was able to help her get on her feet. Thats just who she was. She was all about How can we really make a difference in peoples lives every day?

That commitment carried over to catering meals for the homeless, both when there was an encampment at Bronson Park in 2018, and for months afterward when the encampment was no longer visible, said her friend Cheri Bell, an Oshtemo Township trustee.

Without fanfare, she reached out to congregations and people she knew cared about that issue, organized, cooked and delivered meals for weeks for the people in Bronson Park, Bell said. The issue of whether or not that was an appropriate place for the encampment, what did it mean for the city, none of that mattered.

Her care and concern was about the individuals suffering on the ground, and that is where she came from as a human being.

That care is what also led Carol and David Heflin to open their Dowagiac restaurant Foodies Fresh Caf that they owned and operated for about seven years on holidays and prepare free meals for community members in need, Brown said. Her mother would also routinely hire people who were in the early stages of recovery and try to help them up.

Champions and heroes sometimes are the people doing the work that you dont see, Bell said. And Carol Heflin, while sometimes she had a more public persona than others, she was always doing the work to lift up people in need whether she was out front or not.

A memorial service for Heflin will be held at 11 a.m. May 21 at the band shell in Portage.

Also on MLive:

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Peregrine falcon chicks could hatch before your eyes, on live cam high above downtown Kalamazoo

Walk to End Homelessness will support Kalamazoo nonprofits $100K fundraising goal

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Kalamazoo County Democrat Carol Heflin remembered as advocate for women, those less fortunate - MLive.com

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Failing in the polls and struggling to craft a compelling message ahead of this Novembers elections, Democrats are turning to a new strategy. Or, really, an old strategy: health care.

Placing health care front and center paid dividends for Democrats in 2018 and 2020, when they won both chambers of Congress and the White House after spending monthsand millionsreminding voters that Republicans had just worked tirelessly to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

But as the 2022 midterm season ramped up, Democrats had little fodder to revive that playbookuntil Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) opened his mouth.

In a March 7 interview with Breitbart News, Johnson said that if Republicans took control of Congress in 2022, they could actually make good on what we established as our priorities.

Can Three New Words Save Democrats From Disaster?

And Johnson went straight to Obamacare as an example. If were going to repeal and replace ObamacareI still think we need to fix our health-care systemwe need to have the plan ahead of time so that once we get in office, we can implement it immediately, not knock around like we did last time and fail, he said.

The Wisconsin Republican, who is up for reelection in November, later attempted to walk back those comments, saying he was not suggesting repealing and replacing Obamacare should be one of those priorities.

But by that point, it was too late. Democratic organizations had already blasted out a seemingly endless stream of press releases about Johnsons comments, designed to put vulnerable Republicans on the spot.

House Democrats official campaign arm, for example, quickly sent out a half-dozen emails about it. GOP getting more honest about their agenda, the release said, before asking if 16 different Republican congressional candidates in various states agreed with Johnson.

Democrats arent expecting to get eight months of mileage out of an offhand comment from a rank-and-file senator. But Johnson isnt the only Republican still talking about repealing Obamacare.

Story continues

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), chairman of the Senate GOPs campaign arm, recently put out a plan that proposed raising taxes on low-income Americans and ending all federal programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and presumably the ACA, unless Congress can reauthorize them.

Why Republicans Are Starting to Love Health Reform

Those developments have cracked open the door for Democrats to pivot toward an issue that, perhaps more than any other, allows them to set up the contrast they want with Republicans.

One of the things we have to do is remind people whose side were on, said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI). And the stakes couldnt be higher in this election because Republicans have already demonstrated what they want to do.

Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist who helped set the partys messaging on health care in several election cycles, argued that Democrats have seen over and over how Republicans keep putting their hands on the hot stove, again and again when it comes to health care.

That may be the case for some, but GOP leaders and campaign organizations decided long ago to avoid the issue, after the political winner turned into a surefire political loser. Virtually no Republican in a competitive race in this election year is on the campaign trail professing their passion to destroy the health-care law. In fact, many GOP candidates have even adopted Obamacares most popular parts in their own health-care messaging.

Because of that, its hard to imagine Democrats Obamacare-focused pitch having even close to the same effect it did in 2018 or 2020. But some Democrats believeor, at least, hopethat Republicans will continue burning themselves on that hot stove. And they are trying to create as many opportunities as possible for them to do just that.

A Democratic aide, speaking anonymously to candidly describe party strategy, told The Daily Beast they cant emphasize enough how important the health-care contrast will be for the party in 2022.

Unequivocally, Democrats are going to hold Republicans feet to the fire on this, and make this an issue for them they have to own and talk about, the aide said.

Asked about the partys strategy on Obamacare, Chris Taylor, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the DCCC plans to remind voters frequently about the GOPs stances on health care.

Democrats want to lower the costs of medicines, protect health care, and lower costs for families, Taylor said. Were going to make sure voters know the difference between us and them.

GOP Plows Forward on Plans to Kill Obamacare, Pandemic Be Damned

Its a good time for Democrats to refocus on favorable turf, given that the current political landscape is bleak for the party as the midterm season heats up. And with the anniversary of the law coming up next week, national and state level Democratic Party organizations have a slate of events planned to keep it on the agenda.

The slumping of their legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, plus the growing political challenge posed by inflation, have forced Democrats to engage in some public soul-searching over what, exactly, their pitch will be to voters.

The chair of the DCCC, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), has candidly acknowledged Democrats communications struggles. The problem is not the voters, he said last week. The problem is us.

Its much smarter for the Democrat in charge of House campaign strategy to talk about the failings of his party than to just ignore them. But for Democrats, to play the inflation political game is to lose: they can propose as many solutions as they like, but even if they pass, current inflation is a global phenomenon with complex causes.

Republicans know that, in just hammering home the problem and blaming the party in power, Democrats risk looking insensitiveor just out-of-touch if they minimize the impact of rising costs or reject the blame.

And so, Democrats are now trying to talk about inflation, but through the frame of health care. Increasingly, Democrats are framing their health-care talking points in the kitchen-table language of costs.

That might help bail Democrats out. One strategist with access to recent polling information found that voters have given Republicans a 5-point advantage on reducing inflation. But they gave Democrats a 10-point advantage on reducing the cost of health care.

A recent press release from Building Back Together, a Democratic political group, highlighted Johnsons comments while declaring that President Joe Biden is laser-focused on lowering costs while congressional Republicans unveil plans to increase strain on working Americans.

GOP Senator Denies Wanting to Raise Taxes... After Releasing Plan to Raise Taxes

Democrats believe that the COVID pandemic has only underscored that advantage, and that their programs to rein in individuals health-care costslike the ACAwill look even more essential to voters as prices increase on all manner of goods and services.

The biggest problem for Democrats, however, might be that they havent yet made good on their lofty promises to enact significant changes to lower health-care costs.

The partys marquee legislationthe multi-trillion dollar package formerly known as the Build Back Better Actwas supposed to carry measures to lower the cost of prescription drugs and expand Medicaid.

That legislation fell apart last year after months of talks. Democrats are hoping a last-ditch effort to pass a narrower package with health-care measures could succeed, but the odds are not especially good.

Leaving Democratic candidates empty-handed on the campaign trail is a nightmare scenario for many in the party. But right now, operatives insist that the party will not lose credibility with voters if they dont make progress in expanding health-care access and lowering costsmostly because they are confident they can persuade voters that Republicans would do much worse.

Democrats have a credibility contrast no matter what happens when it comes to the issue of health care, said Jess Floyd, president of American Bridge 21st Century, a major Democratic super PAC. She noted a number of GOP Senate hopefuls in key swing states who have taken actions to dismantle Obamacare, previewing the potential attack lines for Democrats later in the year.

Most Democrats emphasize that health care is just one key component of a broader message that, if successful, could shore up the partys cred with pocketbook-focused voters.

The party would be overjoyed if they could spend the next year just running against the policy plan proposed by Scott, the Senate GOP campaign chair. His proposal to give Americans skin in the game by imposing taxes on those who dont pay them was a gold mine for the party.

The plan quickly became such a lightning rod that many Republicans, including Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY), publicly distanced themselves from it. A national GOP strategist told The Daily Beast that Scotts plan was incredibly dumb, which is why you havent seen many serious Republican candidates across the country embracing it. Faced with such criticism, Scott has defended his plan as a defiance of Beltway cowardice.

In a brief interview in the Capitol, Scott downplayed Republicans designs on health care. Notably, Obamacare is not mentioned once in his 11-page document, and he affirmed his support for keeping protections for patients with pre-existing medical conditions.

I dont think the Democrats have anything to attack us on, he said, arguing that Democrats are not doing anything to make sure people get health insurance, theyre not doing anything to fix Medicare.

Of course, congressional Democrats tried for the better part of a year to give millions more people health insurance. Some, like Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI), believe that the politics of the issue are so bad for Republicans that they wouldnt even take a pass at Obamacare, or other key health-care programs, if they had the chance.

When we won in 2018, health care was front and center. Its an issue that affects everyone, regardless of what their political ideology is, whether theyre political or apolitical, Kildee said. Republicans will make a mistake if they decide theyre going to threaten health care again. Well make sure people know that.

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Democrats Want to Party Like Its 2018 and Push Health Care - Yahoo News

Quick Tips For Subscribers: Learn how to use the e-Edition

Learn how to easily access and navigate the e-Edition.

USA TODAY NETWORK

As previously announced, the Tallahassee Democrat will end printing of its Saturday edition as we continue to respond to readership trends.

While our dedication to covering the Big Bend hasn't changed, readerhabits have. Many people still enjoy the printed paper, but these days, more and morepeople want to readnews as it happens on their computer, tablet or phone.

More: Tallahassee Democrat making Saturday edition digital starting in March

Instead of the Saturday print edition, starting March 26 subscribers will now get afull digitalnewspaper an e-Editionwhich will still be filled with local and national news, sports, ads,features, comics and puzzles.

The Tallahassee Democrat'sE-Edition, a popular feature among subscribers,is viewedabout 3.8million times each month with an average read time of 17 minutes and 39 seconds.We've also seen an almost 60%growth rate in new users from 2018 to 2021.

UNIVERSAL E-EDITION ACCESS: Subscribers can now access the electronic edition of USA TODAY plus more than 200 daily publications through their e-Editions. Simply click on e-Edition at tallahassee.com or go directly to https://tallahasseedemocrat-fl.newsmemory.comand select the Universal icon on the right-hand menu. From there, you can choose a publications to read. You can also find it through your e-Editionapp.

NEW NATIONAL SECTIONS: Also new to the e-Edition are two daily sections available right now Nation & World Extra and Sports Extra. Here you'll find news not in the printednewspaper due to the lateness of the news and print deadlines. (This content is in the e-Edition pages but can also be found in the Bonus section.)

We're also re-arranging some print features. Here's the rundown:

All print subscriptions already include digital access. Customers must first link their accounts by activating access.

On tallahassee.com, click on "sign-in" in the top right corner and then activate your account and follow the process. Or go directly tohttps://cm.tallahassee.com/account-activation.

Download the Tallahassee Democrat e-edition app

As a subscriber to Tallahassee Democrat, you can access a digital replica of our print edition, right on your phone! Download the e-Edition app TODAY from the Apple Store or Google Play store!

MORE PUZZLES: Subscribers also get ad-free, 24/7 access to our daily USA TODAY crossword puzzles at puzzles.usatoday.com or through the USA TODAY Crossword app available on iPhone or Android devices.

SHARE YOUR DIGITAL ACCESS: As a subscriber, you can share your subscription with a friend or family member. They will receive their own login and can access it as long as you remain a subscriber. Go to tallahassee.com and make sure you are logged in (in the top right corner, you should see a button labeled "Hi *your name* if you are already logged in. If not, click on the button for Sign In.). Next, select your name and go to Manage Account." In the left-hand menu, look for Share digital subscription." Click on that and enter in the name and e-mail address of the person to share access. An e-mail will be sent to their inbox with further instructions on setting up their own credentials.

Subscribers with questions or concerns can find help at help.tallahassee.com/contact-us.

The labor shortage and other challenges haveimpacted delivery times for some customers in recent months. To contact customer service about an issue please visit help.tallahassee.com to chat live with a service representative or call 1-800-999-2271. It's not necessary to speak with customer service when reporting a missed paper by phone. Our automated system alerts managers to the problem, and accounts are credited in the form of a 1-day extension in your subscription.

We hope that you will enjoy the added features, as well as the enhancements to the e-Edition. We're here to help you navigate these changes and appreciate your loyal readership.

Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.

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As Saturday newspaper goes digital, here's everything you need to know about the change - Tallahassee Democrat

Social media is a vast and constantly changing digital landscape. This powerful tool for communication, connection, and expression are not to be overlooked. In fact, it can be an integral part of any marketing strategy. Learn the art of social media for in-house marketing for your business or a new career path with The Complete 2022 Social Media Marketing Manager Bundle.

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Learn the art of social media management with this $30 e-learning bundle - WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando

Social media is the place to be and these days every marketing expert talks about digital media. Just look around, there are several webinars and promos to help you to succeed in social media.

Even the so-called experts admit in private that they also dont know what will worktrue to the saying only half of the advertising really works but I dont know which half!

Google changes its search engine options every now and then and many other tech advancements are rapid, leading to confusion on what will work well. Many leading brands are finding that interactions with customers and prospects are getting increasingly complex.

It is less about advertising and more about the basic marketing for the current times. Your customers want help with their problems and lives. The question becomes what you can do to deliver the jobs to be done for your customers.

When we integrate our activities with our customers or prospects, advertising will cease to be seen as such, and the perception will be adding value to their desired experiences.

As a business, you need to be willing to peel away layers one after another and getting comfortable with the loss of control in the conversation or interaction with the target customers.

Playing the digital field

Most brand heads agree they are fully in control of their brand in terms of its perception among the target audience. But what has changed today? Isnt marketing fairly simple?

The hardest part is about getting the real insights. Once we find the one key insight that we can act on, plans will begin to fall in place fairly well. The idea is that you should chat withand not atyour audience. Thats possible only when you have an insight and can create content that can make them discuss their issues or opinion on related issues. Involving them emotionally is important too.

The social revolution is certainly changing the way brands and companies communicate their message to consumers. Recent studies indicate that 60 percent of Twitter usage is on mobile devices, while 26 percent of search results for the worlds Top 20 largest brands are linked to user-generated content. About 32 percent of bloggers post opinions on products and brands.

Multiple channels

In this scenario, SMEs must understand that the conversation is absolutely happening in a number of areas and settings. It is important to observe and learn about such conversations and make sure you are participating well in those conversations. You need to stop going after audiences and pursue highly targeted groups of individuals. Make Twitter one more channel for customers to connect with you for their problems, or jobs to be done.

Many companies have successfully used these principles to achieve super brand status: Starbucks, for instance, is using its brand as the interface for content distribution by putting communities out there for activism, entrepreneurialism, influencers of good music and so on.

The number one brand for long on Facebook, Starbucks uses it as a distribution of information to add value to conversations they are having with their customers.

Virgin is another global super brand in the digital space. It transformed itself into a distribution-facing brand. It is now a space to build and incubate ideas.

Richard Branson launched a programme with the intent of inspiring others to make contributions that benefit the world. Individuals can pitch their entrepreneurial ideas on video and become part of the Pitch TV show on Virgin Airlines, for instance.

If we do not learn from our customers, we cannot expect to be relevant to them in the social media space. The new age of digital is fundamentally different in ways that are not always advantageous to large brands and herein lies the advantage for SMEs.

The open nature of digital platforms increases the availability of information but erodes the advantages of big brand power. Here, for a change, you dont own the shelf spaces anymore.

The social revolution also requires the coordination of marketing, sales and consumer research functions, which traditionally have not always cooperated with one another.

It is important to test and learn is what most experts agree on. Achieving objectives is more important than delivering perfect but irrelevant metrics. The metrics will come but the opportunities may not have been leveraged well. SMEs must think about product and peoplestories.

Here are some winning guidelines for you to make fans and advocates for your brands:

1 Specify the rules of engagement. What types of comments require a response? Which types should be ignored? What are the good manners when posting a response?

2 Who should we engage with? Which target consumers or topics are of interest to our brands?

3 Decide on the chain of command. Who shall be in charge? Who is responsible for implementation and monitoring? Create a flowchart that lists front-line responders along with back-ups. If a firestorm occurs, how to manage it for the benefit of the brand?

4 The response tone must be guided by the structure. Corporate blogs are often criticised for being bland and one-sided. Often this stems from too much bureaucracy. By the time a response is posted, it would have been sanitised multiple times and too late to make the impact. A best practice is to have just two layers of approval and a turnaround time of less than six hours.

Continued here:
SMEs must adapt to the age of social media marketing - Moneycontrol