Sudden tragedy can strike like a thief in the night. And when it does, keeping emotions in check while speaking to the community is a challenge for even the most gifted communicators.
When Houston firefighter Marcelo Garcia was killed in a warehouse fire, Mayor John Whitmire and Fire Chief Thomas Munoz addressed the media soon after the death was announced. A grieving Munoz had tears in his eyes during the entire news briefing. With his arm draped over Munoz’s shoulders, Whitmire comforted the chief while delivering a powerful and empathetic message that he felt the community needed to hear. The message appeared to come from Whitmire’s heart, as you will see in the clip below.
Whitmire, of course, was also grieving as he spoke about the surviving firefighters and their life-altering experience. His message was thought provoking and perfectly appropriate for the community to hear.
The mayor showed us how to handle heartbreak when dealing with the media. It’s not easy and we hope you never find yourself in this position. But if you do, remember the example set by John Whitmire.