Communication is key during COVID pandemic. New hire hopes to keep Manatee informed

Perhaps there has been no time in modern history that communication has played a more vital role than amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

With rapidly changing guidelines, the uncertainty of lock downs and business closures, and now, vaccines, “The need for transparency and swift communication with the public is at all time high,” said Chloe Conboy, the new strategic affairs manager for Manatee County’s public safety department.

Conboy is returning to her native Manatee County, after more than two years working as U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s press secretary in Washington, D.C.

It’s a position Public Safety Director Jacob Saur has wanted to fill for a couple of years, but the pandemic highlighted the need to strengthen the county’s overall communications team.

“Our communications department has done a good job, but when COVID hit, they were getting pretty bogged down trying to keep up with what we were doing,” Saur said. “Now the vaccine situation is pretty much like a hurricane for us sitting off the Gulf for a couple of months. It’s been a nonstop need to keep the information flowing.”

Saur said Conboy has the experience to “make sure our residents are aware of what is occurring, whether it’s the pandemic, vaccines or hurricane information. She’s from here and is already well networked.”

Conboy is the first person to serve in this capacity for the county.

“My No. 1 priority is going to be distributing timely, accurate information about the COVID-19 pandemic to the residents of Manatee County. I’m very eager to serve the community that I have called home my entire life.”

While natural disasters are a big part of the county’s public safety department, COVID-19 was a big part of the conversation between Saur and Conboy.

“Right now our team meets every week and every week is new when it comes to vaccines, especially,” Saur said. “Every week we learn how much we are getting and then managing second doses is a whole other entity. There is a ton of information that we decide week to week and it’s important that she gets mixed into our team and understands what is occurring to push that information out and be prepared for any questions the public may have.”

Saur said that will be Conboy’s No. 1 job, “but job No. 2 is getting all the messages out of all the great things public safety does that the public just doesn’t know about. Then, of course, during a hurricane, her role is switched to public information officer in charge of the information for the county.”

The public safety department consists of 911 communications, animal services, beach patrol, community paramedicine, emergency management and emergency medical services.

Her experience working in Washington will serve her well in her new venture.

“It has been the greatest honor to serve as press secretary for Congressman Buchanan, a genuine leader who works tirelessly for the people he represents,” Conboy said.

Conboy knows how the pandemic has created so much uncertainty for people. She looks forward to playing a vital role to ease public concern by providing key information.

“These are stressful times for everyone,” she said. “It will be my job to hopefully relieve some of that uncertainty by relaying accurate information to the press and public in a timely manner.”

This story was originally published February 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.