Creating a brand that resonates with your community is like cooking up a crowd-pleasing dish – it takes the right ingredients, a careful blend of flavors, and a pinch of creativity to bring it all together.

In this session, we’ll reveal our secret recipe for building a memorable, authentic brand for local government agencies. Whether you’re a small community or a big city, the same elements apply: a generous scoop of research, a dash of local flavor, a pinch of risk-taking, and a heaping measure of community pride.

Attendees will see branding theory in action through a case study of the City of Glendora’s award-winning brand, showing how combining these elements can unify diverse perspectives and create a brand that feels truly authentic. This case study proves that sticking to the recipe can help transform community values, history, and aspirations into a brand that resonates. Leave with a practical, proven recipe for uncovering and cultivating a brand that your community can proudly call its own.

What You’ll Learn:

• Foundational Research: Discover the research techniques that serve as the foundation for a successful rebrand.
• Branding Synergy: Master the recipe for uncovering and celebrating your community’s unique identity.
• Strategic collaboration: Learn strategies to harmonize differing voices and aspirations within your community.

SPEAKERS

Greg Morton
Sr. Digital Media Specialist/Public Information and Media
City of Glendora

Lyndzee McNeil
Digital Media Technician
City of Glendora

Molly Schellenger
Art Director
JPW Communications

Baylee Akins
Sr. Marketing and Communications Manager
JPW Communications

Date: July 16, 2025
Time: 11 am to 12 p.m.

Cost: $30 CAPIO members/ Free for professional+/ $45 non-members

Register

This session is good for:
APR Continuing Education Unit

SPEAKER BIOS

Greg Morton

Greg Morton is a Senior Digital Media Specialist for the City of Glendora with more than 30 years of diverse experience in television, organizational leadership and design. His passion for storytelling has led to innovative leadership, communication and engagement methodologies. Through award-winning communications strategies and engaging marketing campaigns, he’s transformed the City into a trusted community partner.

Lyndzee McNeil

Lyndzee McNeil is a Digital Media Technician for the City of Glendora with extensive creative expertise in digital media. Her ability to merge topical pop-culture sensibilities with timeless style has helped her transform the City’s media platforms.  As an integral member of Glendora’s Public Information and Media team, she effortlessly steps into the various media roles to guide projects from concept to production to delivery, while building trust and a strong sense of community.   

Molly Schellenger

Molly Schellenger is an Art Director at JPW with a broad range of experience in print and digital design across the public and private sectors. She is passionate about working on projects that inform communities in creative and engaging ways that cultivate meaningful connections. She brings a keen sense for creating impactful designs that capture the audience’s attention and promote positive change.

Baylee Akins

Baylee Akins is a Senior Manager at JPW with eight years of experience spearheading comprehensive marketing and communications campaigns for government agencies. Her passion is developing strategic messaging and marketing initiatives to elevate brands, agencies and stories to educate and drive behavior change. She is driven to help public agencies tell their stories and spread their messages; if you’re at a loss for words, she will help you find them.