Idaho Falls names new public information officer

Brad Huerta

Brad Huerta of Pocatello has been selected as the new public information officer for the city of Idaho Falls. He begins May 21.
Huerta served as director of public affairs for Portneuf Medical Center until 2010, when he started his own company, Insight Communication Strategies. A state-licensed public information officer, Huerta has done media work as well as strategic development and planning.

He holds a bachelors degree in political science from Idaho State University and a masters in public administration from the University of Colorado. He has served on the ISU Adjunct Faculty.

Eastern Idaho Regional names new community relations and marketing specialist

Michele Badrov

Michele Badrov has joined Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center as its new community relations and marketing specialist.

Originally from Seattle, she moved to Idaho Falls four years ago with her family. Her business experience includes a Prudential-affiliated real estate appraisal and development firm in South Carolina. When she had children, she transferred her skills and abilities to the volunteer sector, serving on executive boards for the education foundation, school site councils, PTA and youth sports. She is president of the Southpoint Homeowners Association.

She holds a master's in health care administration from Idaho State University. Now that her children are older, she said it was time to refocus on her career.

"I hired Michele because she brings community-based involvement and a business background," said Cindy Smith-Putnam, the hospital's executive director of business development, marketing and community relations.

Don't waste your marketing dollars on social media

There's nothing like a good headline to get someone's attention, and when I saw "Don't waste your marketing dollars on social media," I knew I had to read the story.

The post, by Joshua Moser on the My Super Marketer Web site, is not suggesting that social media is a waste, only that a lot of people have a wrong or inflated idea of what it can do for them.

I'll give you his bullet points, but if you're interested in this I suggest you read both the blog entry and the comments that follow,

• Define your audience.
• Make a compelling offer to capture their attention.
• Collect the right amount data and usable customer feedback.
• Take it beyond Facebook into a cost effective nurture marketing process.
• Test. Analyze. Refine. Repeat.

On the whole, the site looks like it has a lot of good information and writing on it. Here's the link: http://mysupermarketer.com/index.php/blog/entry/dont-waste-your-marketing-dollars-on-social-media-1

First-class cabin service returns to Idaho Falls

SkyWest began flying 76-seat Canadair RJ 700s in and out of Idaho Falls this week. This marks the first time a regular commercial service has offered a plane with a first-class cabin since 1997, when Delta quit landing 737s in Idaho Falls.

Since Delta stopped flying 737s into Idaho Falls Regional Airport in 1997, one of the major complaints from an economic development standpoint has been the lack of first-class cabins in the regional jets that took their place.

That ended Wednesday, when SkyWest began its early morning flight to Salt Lake City with a larger Canadair Regional Jet 700. The 76-seat aircraft has a first-class cabin, which means corporate types who would never fly coach under any circumstance may be likely to feel more at ease about visiting Idaho Falls to check it out.

It's also good news for people who fly all the time, said Airport Manager Len Nelson. "When you have people who are premium fliers, those upgrades are signficant," he said.

SkyWest, which operates the Delta Connection to Salt Lake City and the United flights between Idaho Falls, Denver and San Francisco, has brought RJ 900s into service, freeing up the RJ 700s for other routes. Right now it's only the plane that comes in late and leaves early in the morning, but if the flights are full a second RJ 700 could be added.

Idaho Falls was ranked second among 228 SkyWest locations for operations efficiency and on-time performance in April. "This is a good indication of the competency and steady performance of the SkyWest managment and staff here at Idaho Falls," Nelson said. "Given the volatile weather conditions we have from day to day, it is no easy task to keep flights running smoothly and on time."

A few facts about the Idaho Falls Regional Airport

This is kind of in the "Hey, did you know?" department. I'm looking into the economic impact of the Idaho Falls Regional Airport, and found these facts and numbers in the 2010 Idaho Airport System Plan.

• IFRA is the third largest airport in the state, behind Boise's Gowen Field and Hailey's Friedman Memorial.
• Total Employment: 1,269
• Total Payroll: $31.5 million
• Total Economic Output: $103.1 million

On the historical side of things (which I love) here are a few things worth noting:

• The airport first got its operating license in 1938, after the first hangar, administration building and tower -- all made of hand-hewn white pine -- were built by the Works Project Administration.
• The airport as we know it was laid out by H.P. "Pete" Hill, who was appointed manager in 1953. Hill, who died in 1999, was the son of an aviation pioneer and had a flying license that was signed by Orville Wright.