Touchstone 3.1: Sending Good News and Bad News Overview: In any job, you need to be an effective communicator, and sometimes that means delivering information that has an impact on

Sample Message for Business Communication Touchstone 3.1

This message is not a response to any of the prompts in your assignment but is a similar message conveying both good news and bad news. In this scenario a longtime employee at a parks organization is retiring and will not be replaced. The author of the message (the parks director) wants to acknowledge the positive impact this person had while giving the bad news that the position will be eliminated and her program discontinued due to waning interest.

Subject: 2022 Winter Festival and beyond (and a fond farewell)

Hi everyone,

First, congratulations on another successful Winter Sports festival; this has been a favorite yearly event for many of us, and this year was particularly enjoyable thanks to all the snow! I hope you’ve had a chance to browse the many photos on our social media channels and tagged yourself and your families, if you choose to do so!

With the 2022 festival behind us, longtime coordinator Elena Prince has told us that she will retire after an impressive thirty-year career with the parks. As you probably know, Elena conceived and launched the first festival in 1995, which had an immeasurably positive impact on our organization and the community. Plans for a retirement ceremony are underway and you will receive news on this soon. In the meantime, please tell Elena “congratulations,” and “thank you,” the next time you see her.

As Elena takes her well-earned retirement, we’ve had to make some tough decisions about the future of the festival. Although every year has brought joy and pride to the parks organization and to the community, it has faced declining participation over the past few years, a trend we noticed even before the pandemic. Declining participation has resulted in fewer volunteers, and unfortunately the needs are the same, so it has been increasingly difficult to maintain the quality experience our community deserves. As such, we have decided that 2022 will be the last year of the festival. Since Elena’s title was festival director, this means we will not be filling her very big shoes. Instead we hope to dedicate our resources to the daily activities and offerings of our parks, where demand has continued to be brisk. Note that for now this is internal news only, if anybody asks about 2023 and beyond, just tell them that plans are underway. Obviously we will have an announcement as soon as possible. If you have any questions, you can direct them to me.

That is all for now, and it’s a lot of news for one day! Thanks again for a fabulous festival and thanks especially to Elena for all her contributions over the years.

Best wishes,

Stuart Dent, Parks Director