A little too much information

When my business phone rings and caller ID reads “unknown caller” it’s almost always a pesky salesperson, so I don’t bother answering. On Tuesday the unknown caller tried a second time so I had to give them the benefit of the doubt. Turns out it was Rich Alcorn calling from China to tell me to check my email because we needed to get a Legal Notice in the newspapers immediately for the Pioneer Valley Chinese Charter Immersion School (opening this September in a, thus far, secret location.)

As a founding member of PVCIC my job was Public Relations (mostly counter-fighting the overly territorial Amherst Regional School Committee) and Display Advertising to get interested parents in the door.

We were the only Charter (out of ten applications) approved this year and even prior to that, were quickly oversubscribed for students…. so I did my job.

I simply cut and paste the Legal Notice from Mr. Alcorn’s email and added an intro sentence:


Hi,
We need this to run ASAP (full press run Legal Notices). Bill to Larry Kelley, 596 South Pleasant St, Amherst, Ma 01002

Thanks,

Larry Kelley
413 256-0080
413 xxx-xxxx (home)

PUBLIC NOTICE:

Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School:
Application Deadline & Lottery Date

The deadline for submitting applications (aka:
"lottery enrollment form" for the current enrollment
cycle is July 31st, 2007. Applications can be sent to:
PVCI Founders, c/o R. Alcorn, 188 Pleasant St.,
Easthampton, MA 01027, FAX: 413-527-5155. Parents or
guardians must attend an information session to submit
an application. If there are more applications than
open slots, then a pre-enrollment lotteries will be
conducted July 11th, 2007 and August 1st, 2007 at
1:30pm at 188 Pleasant Street, Easthampton, MA.
Enrollment in the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion
Charter School is subject to final approval of the
school's opening by the State of Massachusetts.
Additional information is at www.pvcics.org or
413-527-3234.

Well, they forgot to take out my intro sentence with my name, address and home phone number. Yikes! Today they published a make good at no charge without my intro. Luckily I didn’t write “please bury this on the page where nobody will see it.”
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Sunday Afternoon Update:
A fellow Amherst blogger sent me a funny email regarding this post enclosing the Gazette story from June 7’th with the cute comment:

Like the old Calgon commercial used to say: "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"

Chinese charter school sets sights on Hadley
By SCOTT MERZBACH Staff Writer

HADLEY - The founders of the Pioneer Valley Chinese Language Immersion Charter School have chosen a Route 9 location in Hadley as the temporary site on which their school will begin life in September.

-----Response Message-----
From: amherstac@aol.com
To: stephanieokeeffe@yahoo.com
Sent: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 2:32 am
Subject: Re: Whaddya mean "secret?"

And we just know how perfectly correct the Gazette always is, eh?

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Monday Update: I loved Diane Lederman's lead (only thing I would have added: and nobody will notice)
Amherst plans big parade, fest
Monday, July 02, 2007
By DIANE LEDERMAN
dlederman@repub.com

With Independence Day dividing the work week, government activity will slow down.