There are many ways to honor veterans and their families. In a region with more than 100,000 veterans, hundreds of nonprofits and an abundantly generous community, The Patterson Foundation wanted to do something to honor those who have served, are serving or plan to serve in our nation's armed forces.

 

As the lead communications consultant to The Patterson Foundation, I recommended uniting all of these ideas in an umbrella campaign. Through the creativity of the MagnifyGood team, the Legacy of Valor campaign was born and began a movement to honor veterans and their families, inspire patriotism and embrace freedom. 

 

Who

The Patterson Foundation’s commitment to honoring the service and sacrifice of veterans and their families stems from the Patterson family’s legacy of military service and its partnership with the National Cemetery Administration to design, build and donate Patriot Plaza at Sarasota National Cemetery, a first-of-a-kind ceremonial amphitheater.

 

In the year leading up to Patriot Plaza's dedication, The Patterson Foundation believed the more than 100,000 veterans and their families who live and work throughout Southwest Florida deserved to be recognized for their service, sacrifice, and contributions to our community.

 

What

The objectives for building a movement around veterans and their families inlcuded:

-  Informing our region of the vast military/veterans activities already underway

- Engaging community organizations and groups to collaborate with each other and build upon existing activities to educate, build enthusiasm and focus the community to honor and support veterans and their families

- Creating opportunities for every person to be a part of Legacy of Valor through their time, talent and treasure

 

Through more than 100 community partnerships and a significant investment in communications strategy, public relations, and media partnerships developed by my team, the Legacy of Valor campaign kicked off a yearlong movement to honor veterans and their families in our region and offered ways for individuals to show their support for our nation’s service men and women through events and activities under the Legacy of Valor umbrella. The Legacy of Valor creative campaign featured local community veterans of all ages and backgrounds. Their stories were captured on video and were shared through social media to support the campaign.

 

So What?
Public relations efforts leveraged through the Legacy of Valor partners generated more than 150 earned and owned media activities. The public relations campaign earned a Silver Image Award of Distinction from the Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association. The creative campaign won a Silver American Advertising Award. Anecdotal interactions tell us that this movement generated a sense of camaraderie among our community and a shift in the way our community views veterans -- so much so that organizations turned events into annual activities honoring veterans and their families. Data collected indicates that the 200 Legacy of Valor-themed events generated more than 475,000 “touches” throughout Southwest Florida.