PRESS RELEASE

MEET THE CANDIDATES IN CYBER SPACE Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce – Bethany Bland, 815-625-4500
The Rock Falls Chamber is utilizing a revolutionary new way to help the public meet their candidates for the April 4th consolidated election, Facebook live. “In recent years attendance and viewing of local meet the candidate forums have dwindled right alongside voter turn outs. The Rock Falls Chamber has hosted candidate forums for years and feels that helping the public understand the issues and the goals of candidates is vital to the health of our community. Social media platforms are the future of communication, and we realized we can communicate to the people we have been missing in a whole new way,” says Bethany Bland, President/CEO of the Rock Falls Chamber.
All candidates running for any office within Whiteside County are invited to take part in the Rock Falls Chamber’s Meet the Candidates online forum. The forum will be displayed and hosted a different format than the typical forum, where multiple candidates converge, even debate all in one place at one time. Instead, candidates will be invited to schedule short interviews that are recorded and posted live on Facebook. All candidates will be given the opportunity to introduce themselves and answer questions relevant to their election. Viewers can tune into Facebook to watch live, or check out the posts at their convenience.
“We are hopeful that the new format will allow more people to be aware of the candidates running to represent them. They may even learn a little bit about local government and have the opportunity to be inspired to get involved in a new way. We are always looking to utilize technology to expand our mission and Facebook live is the perfect fit,” says Bland.
Both candidates in contested and uncontested races are invited to participate. Candidates may schedule an interview to be hosted between March 27th and March 31st, by calling the Rock Falls Chamber at 815-625-4500. Voters can visit the Rock Falls Chamber’s Facebook page for a listing of candidate interview times as they become available and watch the videos of the interviews. www.facebook.com/rockfallschamber