Emails, phone calls, letters, social media – what’s the best way to connect with Missoula County?
Communications Manager Allison Franz shares how local government works better when we’re hearing from the people we serve, no matter what form of communication works best for them. The important thing is that people know their voice matters and that Missoula County is listening and responsive.
She shares exciting news about two new tools recently implemented to help the County better engage with and respond to the public, an online community engagement platform and a public records request tool.
She explains the importance of making sure the County is proactive and transparent with its communications to help dispel misinformation and to keep the details accurate. And there’s a bit of a grammar lesson to help people know how to accurately communicate their most their important messages.
Connect with Missoula County and stay updated on projects at missoulacountyvoice.com.
Thank you to MCAT Missoula for your podcast recording support.
Thank you to Missoula's Community Media Resource for podcast recording support!
Emails, phone calls, letters, social media – what’s the best way to connect with Missoula County?
Communications Manager Allison Franz shares how local government works better when we’re hearing from the people we serve, no matter what form of communication works best for them. The important thing is that people know their voice matters and that Missoula County is listening and responsive.
She shares exciting news about two new tools recently implemented to help the County better engage with and respond to the public, an online community engagement platform and a public records request tool.
She explains the importance of making sure the County is proactive and transparent with its communications to help dispel misinformation and to keep the details accurate. And there’s a bit of a grammar lesson to help people know how to accurately communicate their most their important messages.
Connect with Missoula County and stay updated on projects at missoulacountyvoice.com.
Thank you to MCAT Missoula for your podcast recording support.
Thank you to Missoula's Community Media Resource for podcast recording support!
Welcome back to Tip of the Spear with your Missoula County commissioners. I'm Josh Slotnick, and I'm joined by my friends Juanita Vero and Dave, our fellow commissioners. And today we have a special guest, our friend and communications manager, Allison Franz. And Allison, we know that you have a new a new feature, a new product, a new piece of technology to unveil. But before we get to that, more importantly, how did you find yourself in this role of being a communications manager.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:For local government.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:For local government.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Local government, everybody's dream job, right?
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Yeah, absolutely.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Well, so like you said, I am Allison Franz. I'm the communications manager for Missoula County. And I started here about four years ago as the communications coordinator and then have been in the current role for about two years. My background is in journalism. I am a proud graduate of the, UM School of Journalism, and I was an editor at the Great Falls Tribune for about five years or so. And then I was over at the University in their communications for a few years after that, and then found this job listing for a local government communications person and thought that it would be a good fit with with my background in journalism and just kind of having the skills to really communicate about important things in a way that people kind of understand and understand how it impacts their lives. So it's been a good fit and a good transition for that. For that background. Yeah.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:I did not know you spent time in Great Falls.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Oh, I did, yes.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:You carry no scars.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Did you go to The Sip and Dip?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:I technically did two tours of duty in Great Falls. We went I went there right after graduation and came back when my husband was in law school. And then we went back when he was doing a clerkship over there. So two separate tours of duty in Great Falls. And yes, we did spend some time at The Sip and Dip.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Okay.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:One of the only things to do there.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:So Allison, communications, talk to us a little bit about, well, how does your department communicate with the public here in Missoula County?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:So, yeah, so our department, we as you guys know, we're based in the Commissioner's Office, but we do communications kind of at large for the entire county, really, and especially the public facing departments. And we have our communications coordinator now is Sarah Bell and a community engagement coordinator Emmie Bristow. So we've got the three of us in the department with, you know, we have various responsibilities and all of that. So really our main goal is that we're always wanting to communicate clear, accurate and timely information to the public in a way that is accessible to them, that they understand it. It's not it's not, you know, government jargon or acronyms. We're communicating it in a way that they can understand it and understand how it impacts their lives. And that, in turn, makes them more engaged in the work that we're doing at Missoula County.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:What would be an example? When you think about local government like snoozefest, but this is this is the stuff that is...
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Right.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:That really touches people in ways that you just don't appreciate it.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:So I'm reminded of, I don't know if it was the last time we were on KGVO or one of those times the three of us were on KGVO, one of the callers who was angry with us and mad generally, she opened her comments with, I have to say, though, the County is so great about getting me information and letting me know when meetings are and I really appreciate it. You guys do a great job with that, but you're totally wrong.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:But she appreciated that she had the information. Yeah.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:She led with that.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Right. Right.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:She got, not only did she get the information, she got it in a timely way and she was notified about when meetings were so she could participate.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Right. Yeah. I'm going back to just an example. I think just something that, well, I've just been really involved in lately is with elections. You know, there's been a lot of controversy over elections and people just, you know, not understanding how how those processes work. So just really kind of taking like the 30,000 foot view and figuring out, okay, how do we explain this in a way that people understand it, that it's not too in the weeds, but they're still you're still painting a picture for them. So and you know, sometimes that's with words, sometimes that's with graphics, sometimes it's with video. So, you know, just kind of figuring out the best way to communicate something to.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Does that approach differ when you're engaging the media versus members of the public and you've kind of been on both sides of that coin having been in the media yourself, so.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Right. And yeah, I mean, I would say, especially when we're engaging with the media, we try to, you know, follow the inverted pyramid style of writing.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:And what does that mean?
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Probably something that we do not follow.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:All of that yeah. A pyramid is like a like a triangle, right? I'm not sure.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:With a few more sides. Yeah.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Okay, more sides.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:So yeah, it's basically you want, you want the most important information, the information that everybody absolutely needs to know about this topic. You want that to be the first. Paragraph the first couple of paragraphs.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Date, time and place.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Who, what, when, where, why exactly. Yeah. And then. So then that's broader at the top and then you kind of narrow it down to information that isn't is necessary. It's nice to have information but isn't as necessary. So.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:All right. So, Allison, as I said right at the outset, we do have this new piece of technology around communication that we're about to unveil. Do you want to talk about it for a few minutes? Describe to folks what it is.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yes.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:How it's going to work.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:So we are going to be launching later this week. It should be live by the time this podcast is up. It's a community engagement platform. It's online, it's going to be at missoulacountyvoice.com. And it is an engagement platform where we'll be able to feature different projects and initiatives that the county's staff are working on and have different tools we can use to get feedback from the public on on those projects. For example, we're going to have a map that shows all the County roads and then if a road needs maintenance or if there's a pothole somewhere, somebody can just go drop a pin and say, there's a pothole right here. And then our public works staff will see that and they'll be able to respond more quickly than, say, if they're just getting emails or phone calls.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:That tool be on fire, I think.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Right. Potholefinder.com (jokingly - not a real website).
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Right, yeah. But then lots of other great county initiatives too will be on there. Let me see. There was one about the property inventory that we're going to be doing here that kind of came up with the large amount of stuff that we're going to be inventorying properties. So that'll be another example of where there's going to be a map. People can look at what it is and kind of suggest what sort of use they might want to have.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:This is the process where Emily Brock and helpers are going to inventory all the property that the County owns and then run all those properties through some type of evaluative matrix and determining what is and what isn't a good prospect for development.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Right. But that's a good example of where we just really want community to be involved in that from the beginning. And that's really one of the hopes with this too, is sometimes folks, you know, they don't hear about a project until maybe it's in front of you guys at a public hearing. And then at that point, that may be too late to put a lot of meaningful feedback in. So the goal with this is to really get those projects up there out to the public, get people engaging, and then they can sign up for updates about projects they're interested in. And it'll just be a really good way for people to be involved.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:So what if somebody wants to comment on something that isn't described on the Missoula County Voice website? Is there a way for them to do that or can they only respond to the projects that are described there?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:So, I think right now, the way it is set up mainly is it's it's just project based and initiative based. I think we have a just a general email that would go to the communications department. So there's something like that. We do have, this is an exciting feature, it's called Mythbusters. So there's some rumors.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Nice. Great.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Out there. People are hearing they could submit a question and then we can we'll work to provide the accurate information on that.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:So wait, so in addition to missoualcountyvoice.com, what are some of the other ways residents can engage or should engage?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:We try to use as many channels as is possible and realistic. You know, we're we're on social media. Most of the social media platforms. We have good relationships with local media. And, you know, depending on if there's a certain project, you know, you might get a mailer if it's something that's affecting your neighborhood, things like that. One thing that we are trying to be really conscious of, especially as a lot of our channels are digital based, is how can we make sure we're not leaving behind the people who are, you know, maybe in more rural communities, they don't have great Internet or they're older and just they're just not going to be able to get news through those technological ways. So we've been working really hard to, you know, connect with some local organizations that reach those audiences to make sure that we're getting information out to them to this tool.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:I mean, I'm kind of a Luddite and it's super easy to navigate and it's beautiful. And so I'm really personally really excited about this. But how does this differ from the City's engagement platform?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:You know, it is it's through the same company that they use. And so it should be if people are already familiar with that, then this should be a pretty, pretty easy transition. But it does, you know, I mean, there's a lot of confusion sometimes between the City and the County. So this we, you know, try to really differentiate it from these are county projects. This is what the County is working on. We do, you know, as you guys know, we work a lot with the City on different projects. So there might be some overlap sometimes. And so it kind of depends on who's the lead agency. But if the County is the lead agency, we're going to have that on our site and obviously refer to the City and then vice versa. But it's similar, but I think we're also going to be employing a few different tools and stuff than what the City is doing.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:So what's like a main message you'd like to share with residents about engaging with Missoula County.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Well, really, the main message I would say is, you know, local government works better when we're hearing from the people we serve.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:That's a great message.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yeah, this is just one of those tools that you can use.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:And it's so hard to believe, like you just as a resident, you just don't. I didn't believe it until I'm actually seeing how hard you guys all work and you just have to reach out.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:And it's really helpful to hear about things before we make a decision on those same things than afterwards.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Right.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Afterwards, it doesn't...
Communications Manager Allison Franz:You can't do anything about it. Right?
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Right.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:So yeah, I would just say take advantage of this. I know, I know. Not everybody is, like, as nerdy about local government as I am, but and it's not like top of mind. But hopefully it'll be something where it's just easy to kind of pop in and see what's going on and weigh in if it's something you care about.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:So there might be folks out there thinking, you know, I, I already have Commissioner Slotnick's email address or his personal phone number. I can call him at 2 a.m. and let him know about this issue that's of concern to me. What's the advantage of using this new Missoula County Voice platform over emails, phone messages, snail mail, for that matter?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Right. Right. Well, don't stop calling Commissioner Slotnick at 2 a.m. Keep that up if you've got that in your routine. So I would say that the advantage of this, it's a little more interactive. You're communicating directly with the staff who are on the project. I mean, obviously you guys are looped in on things, but you might not know all the details of something. So if you have a question, then it's it's the staff person who's working on the project who's going to answer that directly. And it's it also has a more interactive, active component with other people in the community. Depending on what tool is employed, on which project, you can bounce ideas off of each other and all of that. And there's surveys, polls, just a lot of different ways to engage other than just emailing and saying, I support this or I don't support this. You can kind of give some more structured feedback.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Take things just a slightly different direction because there's more that you do besides managing this new Missoula County Voice platform. And and one of the things you're communication shop is involved with is responding to public records request. So so by law, folks can access public records here in Missoula County government or local government. And my understanding is you've been getting a fair number of such requests in recent years, and that also we've recently gone down the path of using a public request platform, electronic platform for such requests and managing such things. Talk to us a little bit about how this fits into the process of managing public records requests and how this transition really will improve our responsiveness to the public.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yeah, so over the past couple of years, we just really started to see an increase in the volume of these requests that we're getting. You know, some of them are just for four documents, a lot of them are for emails. And like you said, you know, by law, we have pretty broad open records laws in Montana. So, you know, with a few exceptions, pretty much anything, it's accessible by request. And there is a lot that goes into processing these from the outside. It probably doesn't seem that way. And I mean, back in my journalism days, I didn't realize how much was involved in it. And they're just trying to hide something if they're taking too long.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:When you're requesting two years worth of emails from the Cascade County Commission.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Now that I'm on this side, I see how much, you know, it's just a lot of the time it's figuring out which which staff are involved, who might have these records, kind of talking through it just to make sure that we're if we're going to do an email search, we're doing it right. And we're not just going to come back with a bunch of stuff that's irrelevant. So it takes a long time. It can take a lot of tracking and just making sure that you're following through and that people are staying on track with it. So a few months ago we employed a tool called NextRequest that is basically an online portal. The public can go to it, submit their request, we receive it. I can see what it is. I assign it to the correct department, add the relevant staff to it. And it's really been a great tool in helping us with just tracking and making sure that these requests aren't falling through the cracks, because that's honestly what was happening sometimes when you just have a bunch of emails flying around and you're adding people. So it's been a really great tool and especially when it comes to email requests, depending on how broad a request is and you have it search for emails, it it can come back with literally thousands of pages of documents. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I there was one that was pretty broad that came back and it was the 30,000 pages.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Wow.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Not 30,000 emails. 30,000 pages. And honestly, that's because if you have, say, you have ten county staff people copied on the same email, it will come back with that same email each time for each person that's copied. Yeah. So it's just, it's not, it's not a super efficient way to do it. And what's really great about this software we have now is it has a tool to duplicate those emails. So when when those are coming through, we just can kind of process those. And then I'm not having to just sift through the same emails over and over again because we do have to review them to make sure we're not releasing protected information. So I mean, you can see yeah, you can see how that gets super cumbersome and inefficient and it's just not a good use of staff time or taxpayer dollars. So yeah, it's been a really great addition.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Well, thanks for that. So we all live in this highly technological world and see things changing really rapidly. If you're going to be predictive and I'll see looking out a couple of years from now, how do you think people will want to communicate with local government, with elected officials in a way that they're not doing right now?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:I don't know if I want to speculate too much on what sort of like social media might be out there. I mean, and just like right now, I have young kids and I don't have to worry about what social media they're using and I don't even want to know what might be out there when they're on it. But one thing I do feel pretty confident in and that will just have to always be mindful of, is that no matter what channels are out there in the future, there's just going to be more room for misinformation out in the world. And so we just have to be really good about making sure that we're being proactive and transparent with the information that we're putting out there. Because really, I mean, I think it's human nature for, you know, you want to be able to tell a story in your head. And when you when you have gaps in that story, you're just going to fill it in with whatever information makes sense. So if we're being proactive about putting out accurate information and making sure it's accessible to people that will help combat that.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Yeah. Wow. So given that you've worked in the private sector doing journalism and for the University and now in local government, how are those things different and what do you like about working in local government? What are the challenges associated with local government that you didn't face in traditional journalism or at the U.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Well, I will say one thing I like about working in local government that I feel like was specifically, is I feel like we have a good work-life balance. I feel like I'm passionate about what I do, but I can also leave it at the door, which I don't feel like I had that in journalism just because it was, you know.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:All consuming.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:It's all consuming. And just, you know, there was staff shortages all the time. It felt like. So you're always just kind of trying to pick up for the slack on, you know, whatever is missing at the moment. So that was that was a tough industry to be in. There's a little more job security in this sector for sure. So. Yeah.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:But then how what why were you looking to I don't know. You don't need dark secrets or anything, but like, why were you looking to leave the University? Like, why were you curious about.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yeah, you'd think there'd be good work life balance at the University. Yeah, and then there. There was. Yeah, that's a good point. I don't want to throw them under the bus on that or anything. I just thought the role I was doing it just, I, I don't know, I wasn't super passionate about it. I was working and like the Alumni Association at that point, which was great. It was fine. It just I didn't feel like it was something that I was overly passionate about and just wanted to look for something else. And yeah, this was just a good fit and I really enjoyed it.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:We're so lucky.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:We're very lucky to have you.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Yeah, we're super lucky. Research has shown that people respond positively to outrage, like they get amped up when they're mad and click mourn and dig deeper and go to the next link. And you guys don't do that. You're just telling the truth and being transparent about what's happening. And there's no finger pointing and there's not much to be outraged about. Meanwhile, out there in the disinformation world, it's all about outrage, which typically transfers to clicks and likes and all of that. Do you ever feel like you're at a disadvantage being hampered by the truth?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:I mean, sometimes. But I think what we try to keep in mind and a good example of this was last year when we were working on the vaccine, we were working as vaccine PIOs for for that rollout and.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:Public Information Officers.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Sorry. Yes. Public Information Officers. So, and we you know, there was all this misinformation out there and there are just there are some folks who just they're they're watching whatever channels and getting their information, wherever they're embedded in it. We have there's no chance, really, that they're going to see the light. But there are people who are maybe seeing information on one side and on another side who maybe aren't convinced one way or another. But if we can just focus and make sure we're trying to reach those people and not measure our success by we're convincing people who just aren't going to be convinced then then that's to me is a success. And that's a good thing we need to focus on. Yeah.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:So not now. Yeah. Opportunity to dish here so people forget the local government involves real life people and human beings. So what are your pet peeves from a personal level and and from the communications perspective.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:The commissioners asking her to do this today.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Asking off-script dumb questions.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Well, okay. And I'm laughing, too, because this is not a question that we ask other guests.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:It's because you're in communications. And I know that you must have pet peeves, so share them.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Well, okay. Related to communications, I would say probably when something is written in passive voice versus active voice.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Ah, that's a pet peeve of ours.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:I think I just said that in a passive voice, so that me rephrase that.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:And you say it like mistakes were made? That's my favorite one.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:The passive voice was used.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:The passive voice was used. The pixies came and did that.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:So yes, let me rephrase that. When people write in a passive. There we go. So one of my favorite little tricks with that that I like to tell people is if you can say, if you can end your clause with by zombies, that means good, that's good. That means it's passive voice. Then you need to rewrite it to active voice. I also have somewhat strong feelings about the Oxford comma.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:The Oxford comma.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:For our listeners who aren't initiated. What is the Oxford comma?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:The Oxford comma is the comma that some people believe is always a necessary after. And in a series, the red, white, and blue, the Oxford comma will be that last comma after and.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Red comma, white comma and comma.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yes.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Excessive commaing.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yes. Thank you, Josh. Yes. And I strongly believe.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:But eats, shoots and leaves and it's you know.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Yeah, yeah.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:That's not the Oxford comma though.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:Correct.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:So I just got to follow along here. Is there an overused word that you're just you just can't stand anymore?
Commissioner Juanita Vero:Oh.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:They're they're a handful of government words that make me insane, but or just sort of organizational where it's. I was wondering if you had one that you're just never using that again.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:I don't know. Do you guys have any?
Commissioner Juanita Vero:Threading the needle. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Evidence based.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Threading. Threading the needle. Yes. Well, I.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:I shared that poem with you, right? I wrote a whole poem in the form of an email entirely overused clichés.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:It was so good. We should just post that.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yes, let's post that.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Yeah. Hopefully in a book soon.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:So. Yes, nice, nice. Yeah. Threading the needle is one that we've been saying a lot lately, but.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:What would be a better description because we do aim to do that in local government.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:We do, yes. I, I'm gonna put it in my, my email signature.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:Navigate the rock garden like.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Yeah, that's not bad.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Navigate. Yeah, I don't know what it would be but.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Crossing a log bridge.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:Oh yeah. There we go. And then. Okay. Yeah, I'm personally too. What are the things that. Yeah. Drive Allison Franz crazy?
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Or make you really happy?
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Oxford comma.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yes. Proper Oxford comma use, yes. Oh, well, let's go with here, I will spin something that drives me crazy into something positive. How about that?
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Oh, so good.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:I really appreciate when other drivers see a yellow light and they slow down and they stop instead of running.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Yeah.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:Have you always felt that way when you were 19? Did you feel that way.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Before you had little kids in the back?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:You know, I don't I probably didn't care as much when I was 19, I'm sure. I just haven't you guys noticed it so bad over the past couple of years? People are just flying through it. You're like the.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:We have places to go.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:The light is green and you see someone going through the three.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:The three of us might be guilty of that.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Is it okay if it's red to jus keep on moving?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:We're living in a society. People yellow means slow down.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:We are always late. Okay. Well, before we close, can you share? Yeah, sure. Good book or. Oh, we've said nuggets of wisdom. Is that is that a bad metaphor? Now I'm like, super sensitive to all our our our language here.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:What am I reading right now? All the Things I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. I believe it's pronounced. She's a she's a fiction author.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Do you like reading fiction for relaxation?
Communications Manager Allison Franz:I yeah. I like memoirs a lot. I would say that's mainly what I read, but I do enjoy a good novel too. And there was something there was a podcast I was listening to, Armchair Expert podcast. If you guys listen to that one?
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Yeah, you turned me onto that one.
Communications Manager Allison Franz:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was listening to the episode recently with Daniel Pink and he's an author, researcher, thought leader, I think whatever that means. Exactly. And he his new book is on regret. He's been doing research on regret and just how it can be. It's like this negative emotion, but it can be a really powerful emotion, too. And one of the things that he was talking about that he found out through his research was that, like, we might think that people regret the things that they did do more. And that's kind of what people are. But it's actually people regret the things they didn't do more than the things they did do. You know, the chances they didn't take, essentially. So that was kind of that was interesting and just, you know one thing to keep in mind.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:That really interesting. Great.
Commissioner Juanita Vero:Well, thank you so much for joining us today.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier:Thanks, Allison.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick:Thanks, Allison. And thanks for all the work you do.