Jan 10, 2023

Did you know St. Louis claims the fourth largest sewer district in the country, only behind New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago? The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is responsible for servicing nearly 10,000 miles of pipeline and over a million customers. So, you may be wondering what all this has to do with rural America.  Geographically speaking, St. Louis sits in the middle of the heartland and is known as the gateway to the west.  There are also a number of world-class agriculture companies located there, like Monsanto, Purina and Anheuser Busch (yes, beer is made using grains grown in rural America).  And, if you think about rural America as a mindset and a lifestyle, there are thousands of rural Americans who live there.  So, in this episode,  Sean Hadley from St. Louis joins the podcast to talk about their approach to mass communications for a major city utility system.

Tune in to hear from Sean as he shares valuable insight on crisis communications, the importance of telling your own story, and some interesting facts about the fourth-largest sewer system in the country. 

What you’ll learn: 

• Details on the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD), the public affairs team, and Sean’s role with MSD
• How Sean’s initial career path in news media and broadcast communications led him to the role that he serves today
• A recent crisis management situation regarding storms and flooding that impacted MSD
• Insight into the construction of the wastewater tunnels and details on the consent decree St. Louis is under due to the Clean Water Act
• What Sean thinks it takes to be successful in a media career 
• How organizations can tell their own stories without relying on media outlets
• Sean’s thoughts on the diversity of rural America, from St. Louis and Warrensburg, Missouri