Remember John "Obama" Branam -- the Goldschmidt protegé at the Portland school district development office whose unsuccessful City Council campaign (on taxpayer "clean money") provided us with months of entertainment? Well, he's back at work, apparently sending out notices to folks. But with a Virginia return address! Here's a sample, sent to us by an alert reader (who doesn't like Mr. Branam). Somebody's selling something. Anyone know what it is?
Comments (6)
My guess is that they sublet out the work described in the postcard for a "directory" to some logistics company in Virginia who will collate the information and print it up.
While it seems fishy (and I'm sure there are local companies that could do the same, if not better work) it's probably not as sinister as it's being made out to be.
However, this is a Goldschmidt Disciple we're talking about, so sinister works can't be far behind...
I got three or four virtually identical mailings from the same company, except they were putting together a "directory" for my high school back in Illinois. You're urgently requested to call their toll-free number so that they can "update their records" on you (and coincidentally, try to sell you a copy of said directory). My guess is that it's a way for them to try to get around the restrictions of the Do Not Call list.
"Yeah...directory compilers....you get listed for free....they're trying to get you to buy one. Harris does it all over the country."
No, I think MachineShedFred is right; PPS outsourced the directory compilation to Harris. My graduate school did the same thing and used the same company.
Agree that it would be better if PPS used a local company (might even get a better yield, since locals know the city and PPS alumni better).
PPS did this more than ten years ago (some schools did it individually around 2004). The deal was that it would cost the district nothing. Harris did the work and got paid by folks buying the directory of their high school. (Some closed high schools were combined because there were not enough alums to justify the costs.)
The project did something that was not available at the time by creating an alumni directory under a single system rather than twelve or more different systems using several computer, paper, microfiche, high school administrative records programs. The district was losing staff and drastically cutting money from classrooms, including the records section, and did not have the capacity to do the work. But it was clear that PPS needed to find some way to know who graduated from the district and where they were then.
(One thing that always comes up: The directory folks have a record of successfully suing folks who use the directories for commercial purposes and they are not afraid to bring a lawsuit. They track the books constantly. Also, confidentiality is a part of the contract as well. They do this for colleges around the world.)
I do not know what the contract is with Harris or another company. I'd guess that Branam got the best deal he could so that the district can get an updated version of the previous set of directories. In some contracts the individual schools get some money as well. The schools do not have the staff or the parents to do the work to go through the records. Reconnecting the hundreds of thousands of PPS alums with their schools is the goal.
I bit on one of these at the first go around Lew is talking about. Ended up ordering the directory too. A sucker is born every minute... me, in this case.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (6)
My guess is that they sublet out the work described in the postcard for a "directory" to some logistics company in Virginia who will collate the information and print it up.
While it seems fishy (and I'm sure there are local companies that could do the same, if not better work) it's probably not as sinister as it's being made out to be.
However, this is a Goldschmidt Disciple we're talking about, so sinister works can't be far behind...
Posted by MachineShedFred | July 23, 2008 11:27 AM
I got three or four virtually identical mailings from the same company, except they were putting together a "directory" for my high school back in Illinois. You're urgently requested to call their toll-free number so that they can "update their records" on you (and coincidentally, try to sell you a copy of said directory). My guess is that it's a way for them to try to get around the restrictions of the Do Not Call list.
Posted by Max | July 23, 2008 11:45 AM
Yeah...directory compilers....you get listed for free....they're trying to get you to buy one. Harris does it all over the country.
Caveat emptor!
Posted by veiledorchid | July 23, 2008 12:09 PM
"Yeah...directory compilers....you get listed for free....they're trying to get you to buy one. Harris does it all over the country."
No, I think MachineShedFred is right; PPS outsourced the directory compilation to Harris. My graduate school did the same thing and used the same company.
Agree that it would be better if PPS used a local company (might even get a better yield, since locals know the city and PPS alumni better).
Posted by Ari | July 23, 2008 12:58 PM
PPS did this more than ten years ago (some schools did it individually around 2004). The deal was that it would cost the district nothing. Harris did the work and got paid by folks buying the directory of their high school. (Some closed high schools were combined because there were not enough alums to justify the costs.)
The project did something that was not available at the time by creating an alumni directory under a single system rather than twelve or more different systems using several computer, paper, microfiche, high school administrative records programs. The district was losing staff and drastically cutting money from classrooms, including the records section, and did not have the capacity to do the work. But it was clear that PPS needed to find some way to know who graduated from the district and where they were then.
(One thing that always comes up: The directory folks have a record of successfully suing folks who use the directories for commercial purposes and they are not afraid to bring a lawsuit. They track the books constantly. Also, confidentiality is a part of the contract as well. They do this for colleges around the world.)
I do not know what the contract is with Harris or another company. I'd guess that Branam got the best deal he could so that the district can get an updated version of the previous set of directories. In some contracts the individual schools get some money as well. The schools do not have the staff or the parents to do the work to go through the records. Reconnecting the hundreds of thousands of PPS alums with their schools is the goal.
Posted by Lew | July 23, 2008 7:25 PM
I bit on one of these at the first go around Lew is talking about. Ended up ordering the directory too. A sucker is born every minute... me, in this case.
Posted by Dave Lister | July 24, 2008 11:04 AM