Safety Foreman

EPHRATA – Kyle Foreman helps the Grant County Sheriff’s Office keep the public informed of significant situations, crimes and how to be prepared for an emergency. His role as a public information officer ensures accurate information from the sheriff’s office gets out quickly.

“He kind of set the standard of what it looks like for law enforcement communicating and sending good, vital information to the media,” said Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete.

Foreman said his main duties as a PIO are being responsible for providing the public with timely, accurate and actionable information and help promote a positive public image for the sheriff’s office. The most challenging part of his job is making sure the GCSO is publishing accurate information.

“To do that, I prefer to go to the scene,” Foreman said. “I have found through experience that this is the best way to gather information rather than rely on others who are focusing on their duties to help manage the incident. It’s simply the best way to gather information before sharing it with our audiences. It allows the incident commander to focus on their job and not be conflicted by having to perform two completely different yet equally important tasks.”

Foreman has worn many hats throughout his life from being a volunteer firefighter, EMT and working in emergency management, among other roles, to now being the PIO for the sheriff’s office.

Working for the previous Department of Emergency Management in Grant County, Foreman worked alongside GCSO in distributing information to the public from 2007, when he started the PIO program. He left the DEM in 2011. At that point, he was asked to continue to be the PIO for GCSO on a volunteer basis until 2021, when he was hired as a full-time staff member.

He said a specific incident is what really pushed him into taking on the role. In late 2007, three children were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning near Royal City. Foreman said there was a power outage, it was cold outside, and their parents brought a gas-powered generator into the home to power a heater and some lights. The parents went to work, and the children were overcome by carbon monoxide and died.

“This was before there was widespread rural internet access,” Foreman said. “It was before people really used social media.”

He said that because of that, it was really hard to get the message out of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. The news media was willing to help get the word out but Foreman said no one wanted to step up and talk to the media about it.

“That was really the first time we took on that public education, public information role with the intent of preventing future similar incidents,” He said.

Taking on the role independently, he knew he had areas he could improve upon. He said reading books was a big part of learning how to become an effective PIO.

“Once I started getting into doing it and was self-aware enough that I didn’t know what I was – I wanted to do it better – I didn’t know what I was doing but I had a vision of where I wanted it to be,” said Foreman. “In order to get there I needed to educate myself and so I bought a bunch of books on everything; working with the media, marketing, crisis communication, a lot of self-teach (books).”

His hard work has paid off, according to Kriete.

“What he’s done for our agency and making us recognizable through the entire state is, it’s because of (Kyle’s work),” Kriete said. “He’s really put us on the map as far as the media side of things and he’s done a great job.”

Kriete noted that the GCSO Facebook page, which is their primary communication platform, just topped 41,000 followers. The Facebook page for the sheriff’s office was something Foreman started in February 2013.

Another big aspect of being a PIO, Foreman said, is to dispel rumors and get accurate information out as fast as possible. Ideally, Foreman said he likes to have something out about an incident within 10 minutes.

“If you don’t provide the information, then people are open to creating their own information, which may not be accurate,” he said.

What Foreman started at the sheriff’s office about 10 years ago, has now grown to include nine other individuals who assist in various PIO capacities. Sharon Palmerton, Michele Wurl and Rafael Villalobos volunteer professional skills in communication for the sheriff’s office. There are also several GCSO employees who have some level of cross-training: Amy Hilliard, Josh Sainsbury, LeeAnn Driesen, Jason McDonnell, Liz Flores and Mireya Garcia.

Garcia, Flores and Villalobos help the sheriff’s office reach the county’s Spanish-speaking audience. Everyone steps up when there is a major incident, Foreman said.

“He kind of leads the volunteers,” Kriete said. “He’s trying to get them up to speed and share information with them. To try to mentor them, to fill the standard that he has set. Of course it says a lot about his character as a mentor to try to make sure others are also meeting that same standard that he has set.”

Kriete said that the path that Foreman has carved, building the PIO program at the Sheriff’s office, has not only strengthened the relationship between the sheriff’s office and the public, but also set an example for PIOs everywhere.

“He’s a trailblazer, he set the standard on what a high-quality PIO looks like,” said Kriete.

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.