Key Points:

State programs cannot, on their own, create audience loyalty, long-lasting program relationships, high levels of innovation, or a positive reputation. Creating these intangible assets requires the participation and the engaged hearts and minds of all who are involved. In the Oklahoma, Communities of Excellence (CX) comprehensive community-based tobacco control program, coalitions represent the hearts and minds of people with a passion to make a difference. Relationship management takes an integrated, long-term, system wide approach to identifying and building relationships with strategically important stakeholders. This presentation is intended to share state, tribal, and local partner experiences in relationship-based program management. Learning Objectives: · Describe one State's comprehensive tobacco control program and state collaborative partnerships. · Describe resources, roles and responsibilities that partners bring to a community-based comprehensive tobacco control coalition efforts. · Describe several different approaches used by a Communities of Excellence Coordinator, CDC Tribal Support Center Coordinator, and a SWAT Regional Coordinator that demonstrate group-led success in obtaining local program outcomes.

Benefits: The first presenter will discuss the formal state partnership and program framework. Following presentations provided by coordinators for the Communities of Excellence program, Cherokee Tribal Tobacco Support Center and Students Working Against Tobacco will demonstrate the local, regional and tribal processes and share their lessons learned in building and establishing productive working relationships to achieve local population-based outcomes.