Thought Leadership

Thrust Into the Spotlight: Crisis Communication Lessons From the Lens of a Leader in Springfield, Ohio

Springfield, Ohio
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After the September debate in which presidential candidate Donald Trump falsely claimed that Haitian refugees in Springfield, Ohio, were  “eating the dogs… They’re eating the cats…” our small community of 60,000 became headline news for weeks. Not only did the media swarm the city, but also bomb threats and protests followed from nationalists, hate groups and attention-seekers looking for their 15 minutes of fame.

As a 25-year PR professional and founder and CEO of Shift•ology Communication, I’ve been well-prepared for just about everything to come my way in my other job as Clark County Commission president, where Springfield is the county seat. But I did not see this coming!

An influx of refugees

Leading up to former President Trump’s statement in the first few minutes of the debate on Sept. 10, we had been locally addressing many infrastructure issues exacerbated by the three-year migration of nearly 20,000 Haitian refugees to our community. These individuals came to Springfield for available jobs on Temporary Protected Status, a designation provided by the federal government for political asylum to escape pervasive gang violence and an unstable government in Haiti.

A year before, in August 2023, an unlicensed Haitian driver went left of center on a roadway, crashing into a school bus on the first day of school and killing an 11-year-old boy. The driver is serving a 13.5-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide. That was when an undercurrent of tension began to simmer among our residents. At that time, I was among the leaders working to address state laws and licensing procedures, and to bring attention to funding disparities caused by the sudden influx of new residents.

However, those were not the only issues that we recognized as a result of 78,000 people living in a community with a census of 58,000. Housing, social services, transportation and healthcare began to see the impact of inadequate funding and preparation. At the same time, we saw new businesses start up and Haitian refugees become productive citizens of our community.

Leading up to the September 2024 debate, tensions began to rise with lots of false claims about the Haitian population circulating on social media. I heard everything from Haitians stealing and eating people’s pets (fake news!) to an entire wing of the hospital devoted to Haitian women with HIV (debunked!). At the same time, there were real challenges cropping up in the lobby at our county welfare office and license bureaus where application processing increased three-fold, due to language barriers. Traditional locals were frustrated with slow service and their perceptions that the Haitian refugees were getting benefits that were “theirs.”

Each day was like playing a game of Whac-A-Mole as we extinguished rumors and myths. On the day of the debate, the mayor and I held a press conference in which we myth-busted and encouraged our community to be better. Despite our efforts, the truth didn’t reach the top, and the falsehoods were repeated during prime time.

A flurry of media requests

Now that the spotlight was shining on our community, I found myself in the unwitting position to protect my community’s image from claims that these legal immigrants had ruined it and that our people were unwelcoming and hateful. I was right in the middle of a sudden culture clash unfolding on international news. The mayor of Springfield was inundated with demands, media inquiries and death threats, and I decided he should not be on the podium alone during this time.

As a press secretary and PR counselor, I’ve conducted hundreds of media interviews and prepared others for pressers as leaders and subject-matter experts. However, I had never been the leader in the eye of national attention.

Of course, it was amazing to draw on my training and experience for interviews with CNN, MSNBC, NBC Nightly News and Fox News, but it was completely different to be the one executing during this time. Fortunately, I took note of what was different while it was happening so that I could share some lessons with my fellow PR counselors. Here are just a few:

• It takes courage to step into the spotlight during a tumultuous time. Don’t underestimate the inner turmoil your leader might be facing. They are human, too, and even though they look cool and collected, they know their words carry weight that can make or break a situation. In this different position, I had to recognize that my position provided a platform that could truly change the conversation, and I should honor that. I’ll note that of about a dozen local leaders, only three stepped up this way, and I don’t blame others for taking a quiet approach. We don’t have secret service like presidential candidates, yet we were getting threats because simply having a public position made it “our fault.” Leaders are easy to blame and dehumanize when you have a keyboard and your own media channels.

• A PR counselor can be just the friend a leader needs during times of personal and professional challenge. As counselors, we understand the issues but also the human side of relationships. We can empathize with their need for self care at the same time we encourage them to be bold. We may be privy to information about threats and risks to the leader that others are not. Many elected officials seek mental health counseling (according to my own long-time therapist), but PR counselors are the ones who are most immediately available to them during a crisis situation. During this time, as I reached out to family and friends for support, I was mostly met with their opinions and questions rather than empathy for my unenviable position, stress, worries or fears. It was a lonely time!

• Your leader has a platform to promote diversity, equity and inclusion during crisis. There are certain times when your DEI messages and policies are game-changers, as long as there is authentic belief in them and genuine delivery. In this case, I had an opportunity to show the community and the world that conservative political leaders can and should be compassionate human beings who believe in the American “melting pot.” Regardless of anyone’s position on federal immigration policies, I could be a sensible voice because we would be living out these challenges locally after the national political pundits left town.

I’m still recovering from the constant phone calls, sleepless nights and stress, but I can say that when we emerge from this election, our community will be stronger for it. I’m proud of our leaders for the courage to have difficult conversations, face the fallout and protect our citizens of all backgrounds against the rhetoric of division.


Melanie Flax Wilt, APR, is the founder and CEO of Shift•ology Communication, which specializes in agriculture, rural health and communities. Melanie is deeply rooted in her rural lifestyle, residing on a farm with her husband and three teenagers. In addition, she is a public servant who was elected in 2017 as a commissioner in her lifelong home of Clark County, Ohio.

[Photo credit: luke sharrett/stringer]

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Melanie Flax Wilt, APR

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