Four Score Strategies
Strategic Communications Consulting Services
7247101783
Strategic Communications and Executive Leadership Consulting
We’re Four Score Strategies, and we’re here to help you succeed. Using our proven end-to-end methods, we’ll equip you and your organization with integrated communication plans designed to help you succeed under any circumstance. You can count on us to give you the best insights towards your future. Contact us today.
THE VALLEY IS BURNING:
When Communications Becomes the Crisis
“As National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on-scene spokesperson for over 35 accidents, including the Merrimack Valley accident, I have made plenty of mistakes. Looking back, I wish I had the benefit of reading The Valley is Burning: When Communications Becomes the Crisis before stepping into my NTSB communications role.” —Robert L. Sumwalt III, NTSB Board Member, 2006-2021; NTSB Chairman, 2017-2021
When the unthinkable happens, will you be prepared?
On September 13, 2018, a series of natural gas explosions on a Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (CMA) pipeline system devastated the Merrimack Valley, just north of Boston, Massachusetts. Twenty-one people were injured, and one person was killed. Thousands of residents in the area were left without heat or hot water for months for months, causing CMA and its parent company, NiSource, to race against mother nature to replace nearly 45 miles of pipeline and thousands of appliances to affected residents, before the cold northeastern winter bore down on the area.
Sarah Barczyk’s The Valley is Burning: When Communications Becomes the Crisis examines the communications function during the event—what went right, what went wrong, and key takeaways from a communicator who worked side-by-side with project leadership under intense scrutiny.
Four Score Strategies
The Right Services For Your Success
Strategic Communications Guidance
Expert Guidance
Need help planning or executing your next project? Let us help you. Building for the future in today’s rapidly evolving environment means implementing a strong plan with strategic moves. Four Score Strategies designs and executes communications strategies for clients dealing with both internal and external stakeholders. We work closely with you to align opportunities, manage crises, navigate disruptions, and articulate brand. We will meet with you to determine what you need to communicate and how, when, and why that message needs to be communicated. We will then distill the information into a cohesive and integrated action plan and help you to implement change to impact the right audiences.
Writing, Editing and Public Relations
Polish Your Look
Press releases, social media posts, blogs, organization announcements, company reports, and brochures: we do it all, in your own voice.
We also understand that public relations is about more than a standalone press release and a social media post. It’s about sharing a comprehensive story with the right audience via the appropriate channels. We’ll help you employ a comprehensive plan to deliver results.
Executive Communications and Thought Leadership
Position Yourself and Your Company For Success
Let us help you tell your story and affect change with your employees and stakeholders. Inspiring video messaging, action-driven blog posts, company emails that get results, impactful presentations—meet with us and discover your voice. At Four Score Strategies, we combine our insights and skills to transform your leadership capabilities, and in turn, your company. We’re proud to help shape executive reputations to position companies for ultimate success.
When a company faces an unforeseen crisis, millions of dollars and the fabric of your business is at stake. Our experience in managing some of the most high-profile crises for clients across the natural gas industry can help you to protect your reputation when crisis hits. We’ll help you to find peace of mind by building a proactive crisis management plan.
When a crisis or issue does arise, we can manage immediate needs and formulate action plans to ensure that you are prepared to deal with the consequences. We will customize the type and level of support and guidance during a crisis to meet your needs, from baseline to comprehensive support.
Who We Are
Solutions for Success
President—Sarah Barczyk
Sarah is the Founder and President of Four Score Strategies. With a career spanning over two decades, she is well known across a variety of industries and has proven herself as a stand-out executive in the energy and utilities industry.
Sarah’s career began as a technical writer in the nuclear industry, where she distilled complex information for distribution to a wider audience. She then moved into an executive communications role, providing support for top leaders at the company, include the chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief technology officer and chief legal officer. She was internally recruited to work on the Nuclear Exporters’ Code of Conduct with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a project that is important not only domestically, but across the globe.
Sarah then set her sights on the oil and gas industry, working to achieve legislative and regulatory approval for large transmission pipeline projects and compressor stations. One of her career highlights was providing legislative and external affairs support for a multi-million dollar cryogenic processing plant, a process with which she was involved from start to finish. Sarah’s outstanding skills in stakeholder relations, customer communications, government and municipal affairs, corporate citizenship, and internal coordination helped to ensure the success of billions of dollars’ worth of assets over the years.
After moving into a communications position in the regulated utility industry, Sarah has helped to lead the communications for multiple challenging restoration and recovery efforts by creating integrated communications plans including the following elements: media relations, stakeholder outreach, customer communications, advertising, and internal communications. Calm and cool under pressure, Sarah’s executive presence makes her invaluable in a crisis or working on any high-stakes project with a tight deadline.
Sarah is recognized across the oil and natural gas industry as a communications expert and her ongoing involvement with key industry groups allows her to stay connected to her peers and understand issues facing the energy industry.
Sarah was born and raised in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and earned both her Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master’s Degree in Writing from Seton Hill College (now University). She resides in Melbourne, Florida, but retains close ties to her colleagues in the Northeast.
In her free time, she writes fiction and non-fiction, and under her pen name "S.J. Cunningham" is the author of several published books. She is also an adjunct professor teaching public relations and communications to the next generation of professional communicators.
A Message From Sarah Barczyk, Founder of Four Score Strategies
Four Score Strategies strives to provide you with relevant, timely and informative content to help your business succeed. Check back for important messages and information on a regular basis or reach out to Sarah to suggest video topics that may be of interest.
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