quote:

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Why don't they spend all the money and work to help people in need in this area instead of burning it up on the great Aggie bonfire?

D.J. RUST

Bryan

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http://www.theeagle.com/stories/010406/opinions_20060104034.php

Aggie Student Bonfire is a business and Bonfire is it's main event. The money pumped into the local economy as a result of Bonfire (and the taxes ASB pays) indirectly goes to help fund social programs that benefit the needy just like any other business. On top of this, the profits from Bonfire go towards scholarships for students who require help in paying for school. Needy students.

When you ask for ASB's donation to society, look at the neighbors of HRH who profited well from the event by charging for parking. Look at Mr. Brown who is nursing a sick wife and needed Bonfire to be profitable to help pay the bills. Most importantly, look at the students who work on Bonfire. The leadership skills they learn at Bonfire are used later in life as they take on jobs helping the abused, volunteer on non-profit boards, and open their wallets to charities.

To say ASB should direct it's main activity in favor of one that would more help those in need is asinine. ASB does what it can to support local businesses when it can, and make enough money to help needy students. To imply that this is not helping those in "need" is simply ignorant.


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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

Did you reply with that to the eagle? Might be a good idea to.

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OC Hogs Build The Hell...
oc.studentbonfire.com

He must be bitter because he forgot to ask Big Event to paint his house last year.

Where exactly does he think "all the money" is coming from? There would be no money if it weren't for the event. How exactly would we give all the money to charity if we had no money to begin with?

I agree. Send that in. That guy needs to realize that Texas A&M supports Bonfire and Bonfire supports our community.

Edited for flow and submitted.

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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

Shortly after Dr. Bowen announced there would be no on-campus Bonfire in 2002, the gentleman who was then in charge of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce was quoted in the Eagle as saying that Aggie Bonfire, the on-campus version, brough a capital infusion of one million dollars into the local economy each year that the game was played in Austin. (Ostensibly, it was difficult to separate Bonfire-generated receipts from those spent by football fans for the years in which the game was played at Kyle Field.)

quote:

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Edited for flow and submitted.

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Haven't seen it in the paper yet...

Ah, but it made it to the online editorial page this morning.

http://www.theeagle.com/stories/010906/opinions_20060109028.php

They did a decent job editing it.

Oh, and if you didn't know who I was by now, this pretty much lets the cat out of the bag.

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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

Well done, Opie.


Remember '99.
OC Hogs Build Bonfire!

I liked your letter.

I would have liked it better if you hadn't characterized opponents and opposing ideas as ignorant and asinine.

Ah, there's the letter.

[This message has been edited by Aggienk (edited 1/9/2006 7:25p).]

as

t

Nice letter and good usage.

DualAg, I agree with your commentary on my verbage in part. Had I been dealing with someone who had made a more complete arguement (i.e. more than one sentence) for ASB to stop building Bonfire, I would not have resorted to such terse words.

Given the circumstances and the audience, it was not the right media for an illustrated and drawn-out intelectual (sp) discussion of the merits of Bonfire. The lexicon I used has the impact I inteded without insulting the individual writer. Could I have made the same point without resorting to ad-hominm (sp) arguements? Yes. Was this uninformed guy worth all that effort? Not really.

-Opie "stickin' to my guns" '03


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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

Wonder if Mr. Rust has internet access to even read this????

I wonder if Mr. Rust has the reading comprehension to understand words such as "ignorant" and "asinine."

Enough with the personal attacks. They are the tools of those without education and tact. He threw down the gauntlet, and it was answered.

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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

I would doubt it (access online). Mr. Rust is probably about 90. He is really a nice guy and has done well for himself working very hard as a diesel mechanic. Not sure if he is retired yet (would surprise me, knowing how he felt about his business). Just because he thinks differently from you isn't a reason to rip into him. Make your arguments about the issue at hand and please leave personal attacks out of this.

[This message has been edited by College Station Aggie (edited 1/10/2006 2:50p).]

FYI, the letter was in yesterday's paper. Not just online.

Scott Coker '92

Opie,

Thanks for responding positively to what I meant as constructive criticism.

My grandfather used to say that you trap more flies with honey than with vinegar. If you can respond to criticism in a non-pejorative way, you demonstrate maturity to the reader. I'm not so much concerned with putting Mr. Rust in his place as I am about the effect that a hostile reply has on those who didn't see his one-sentence letter buried at the bottom of the Eagle's letter page.

I'll bet 99 percent of us didn't know about scholarships being generated with Bonfire revenue. That in itself would have adequately parried Mr. Rust's uniformed jab. It's certainly a pro-Bonfire talking point for the future. Has the organization considered making a media event of awarding the scholarship?

[This message has been edited by DualAG (edited 1/10/2006 4:32p).]

quote:

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FYI, the letter was in yesterday's paper. Not just online.

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Aw Crap. Here comes the flood.

Dual, the scholarships are awarded out of any profits that the group makes after the dust settles from the year. Previous years barely made enough money to break even so scholarships weren't possible. This year looks promising, but we still have quite a bit of clean up to do. The more (wo)man power we can get out there to help when needed, the better chances are of handing out a significant scholarship to (a) deserving receipient(s).





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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

From this morning's print and on-line editions of The Eagle:

quote:

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Not a business

In response to Thomas Yantis' uncivil letter (Eagle, Jan. 9) about Aggie Student Bonfire and how it helps the needy, his third sentence really says it all: "This is a business."

Bonfire was never about "profit."

I would also like to correct his statement about Wayne Brown's neighbors "profiting well" by charging for parking. I live just a few houses down from Brown and can assure you that I am not the only one of his neighbors who didn't allow parking and didn't want anything to do with this profit-making endeavor. As if a little cash would compensate any of us for hundreds - and last year thousands - of people tromping around in the dark up and down our road until all hours. We had to lock ourselves and our pets inside, knowing that if we needed to leave our homes, the Sheriff's Office had pretty much barricaded us in and we were going to be stopped at least once, sometimes searched, and then cleared.

Call me ignorant if you must, but I'm going to keep laughing at Yantis' statement about this faux for-profit bonfire "significantly helping the needy." What a crock.

LINSEY OATES, '74

Bryan

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quote:

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Bonfire was never about "profit."

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We are in violent agreement here.

quote:

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I live just a few houses down from Brown and can assure you that I am not the only one of his neighbors who didn't allow parking

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That is not our fault.

quote:

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the Sheriff's Office had pretty much barricaded us in and we were going to be stopped at least once, sometimes searched, and then cleared.

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This isn't our fault either. Take it up with the Sherrif's Office.

quote:

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...people tromping around in the dark up and down our road until all hours

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I thought the county owned the roads; the same county that ASB pays taxes to in order maintain the roads.

Is Bonfire solely about making money? No.
Does Bonfire need to make money to survive? Yes, hence the comment about being a business.
Where does the money go that is left over after everything is paid for? Some is saved for the next year, while the rest goes to a scholarship fund.

If Bonfire is "for profit," who is profiting? In my 5 years of work at both the top (and bottom) of the organization, not a single red cent has been paid to me for anything I have done for Bonfire. I can say the same for every person who has ever been involved in ASB (or UP or SB, etc.); and I have the records in my hand to prove it.

TI guess the profiteers of Bonfire are the members of the Aggie Community, those who build Bonfire, the community at large, and those vedors who supply ASB with the items necessesary (sp) to put on Bonfire. The impact is priceless.

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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

Opie,

Rather than arguing, point-by-point, with today's corrrespondent on a forum he probably won't see, wouldn't it be better to admit that the letter you wrote a few days ago could have been worded in a less confrontational manner?

Also, is there anyone in the organization who thought your description of Aggie Bonfire as a profit-making enterprise constituted a departure from the way that off-campus Bonfire has been justified in the past?

Today's letter writer included his class year ('74) in a not-so-subtle effort to imply that his Aggie Bonfire was never about making money.

Wouldn't it have been better to describe ASB as a "financially self sustaining" organization that plans to donate its eventual profits to scholarships?

Better verbiage could have resulted from a more disciplined communications policy that ASB would be wise to adopt. Only the organization's chairman and its designated public affairs representative should be authorized to speak to the media or write letters to the editor.

Even then, a proposed letter should be circulated among a group of trusted members for comment and editing prior to its dispatch, not after the fact.

Most real businesses have policies limiting their employees' and officers' ability to make comments that may reflect personal rather than corporate views.



[This message has been edited by DualAG (edited 1/11/2006 10:45a).]

I've been giving this whole letter thing some thought, and here are some suggestions I can make as a marketing professional.

1. ASB MUST deal with a negative public image PERCEPTION. In marketing, perception might as well be reality. Without getting PO'd think about this. There is a common public perception (remember that is more important than reality in marketing) that ASB is made up of a bunch of college kids who will go to any length to keep their "party" going. They THINK they've seen you break the law and ignore safety to get what you want. That doesn't mean its true - it just means that you have to change that attitude before you get more community support.

2. Realize that just as you will always have supporters, you will also always have detractors. It was a fact of life when Bonfire was University sanctioned. It wont go away. But you can increase the amount of supporters that you have within the community. Start by really emphasizing your positives. I knew nothing about the scholarships until Opie mentioned them on this post. That is something that will not only change public opinion, it will entice them to participate and contribute.

3. Get off the defensive. Someone posted here that you catch more flies with honey, and that is true. Realize that you are selling a percieved (there is that word again) FLAWED product. 12 people died on your product - albeit when it was under different management, but that is a problem you have to deal with. Think of Tylenol when they had people die from tampered with products. People were scared of their product, so without striking out at the detractors, they implemented a campaign that assured their customers that they were taking steps to impove the safety of their product, and to reinstate the public's trust. They were successful - how many people do you know that are scared of tylenol now? From what I've seen, ASB has been on the defensive and that has to change. I know you are fighting an uphill battle, but you might consider changing your tactics. Instead of insulting Mr. Rust, a better response would have been something like this:

Mr. Rust, we at ASB share your concern for the less fortunate in our community and that is a driving force in our wish to see a student Bonfire restored to its glory. Plans are in place to implement a scholorship funded by Bonfire proceeds. ASB is also aware of the negative economic impact that the community has felt during the Bonfire's absence from campus and it is our hope that with continued success, we can play a part in restoring that financial boon to the area. It is important to note, however, that SAFETY is our main priority. ASB cannot allow the desire to fullfill our community goals to override the need to maintain a safe and educational process. This is why we work hand in hand with local officials to make sure that our product, Student Bonfire, is as safe as possible for us, and for the general community.

That was just done on the fly, but I hope it conveys the ATTITUDE that I think will get you the best results.... Duals comments about passing around a reply to several people is an excellent one. NOTHING goes out of our office that hasn't been looked at by at least a couple of pairs of eyes. Don't forget, you aren't writing as "Joe Citizen", when you put your title to it, you are writing as your organization.


[This message has been edited by College Station Aggie (edited 1/11/2006 11:07a).]

Excellent post.



Here's my few thoughts/questions:
I don't discount the value ASB has for it's participants. I am positive lessons in leadership and camaraderie abound. But I still question the REAL charitable impact, as you contend.

I am very open-minded on this issue, and still have a few questions. As you stated, any profits can be used for scholarships. Do you have an estimated dollar figure for that this year? Do you have an estimated "charitable contribution" figure you could share with us? Where does the money pumped into ASB come from in the first place? Solicited donations?

We're ALL paying taxes that, in some amount, go to pay for social programs. I'm trying to find some way in which ASB really, tangibly contributes financially to the community, as you suggest. Perhaps the dollar figures to be considered here are larger than I assume.

TIA.

[This message has been edited by 99_aggie_grad (edited 1/11/2006 11:03a).]

Opie, you know how you are always saying "write that down for next year"? Lots of good stuff in this thread to write down.

Scott Coker '92

quote:

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I'm trying to find some way in which ASB really, tangibly contributes financially to the community, as you suggest.

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Perhaps here is a starting point:

From the the Bryan-College Station Eagle of Feb. 4, 2002.

quote:

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There will be an economic impact on the local area, though, with the loss of Bonfire. [Royce] Hickman estimated that impact at $500,000 to $1 million for years in which the football game was played in Austin.

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Hickman was president of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce in 2002.

http://archive.theeagle.com/aandmnews/020502bonfireannouncemain.htm

Thank you, everyone for your concerned and educational comments.

What started out as a response to an uninformed individual commenting that "ASB should halt Bonfire in favor of donating to the needy" has blown up into a PR debate as to who ASB helps and who it doesn't (and how).

In hindsight, the letter came across as harsh. It could have been worded better. The way that it was edited after I submitted it and the speed at which it was drafted and sent are partially to blame. It should have been put across the desk of a few other people, and I take the blame for that. Letters to the editors regrettibly don't have an "edit" button. Sorry, ladies and gentlemen.

It would have been nice to word it as "financially self sustaining."

"You can keep some of the people happy most of the time and most of the people happy some of the time..."

I really liked the Tylenol example. It makes a lot of sense. I have printed this thread out and will use the tid-bits in the future. Guraranteed.

Thanks, everyone.

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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

[This message has been edited by opie03 (edited 1/11/2006 11:38a).]

Thanks, I tried to put a lot of thought into my comments. I didn't want to be inflamatory... I really do have your best interests at heart. I just also have a little more experience dealing with the public...

Same here, Opie. You and I have argued in the past, but that is indeed behind us. I really want the Aggie Bonfire tradition to continue, preferrably on campus, but I'm willing to go to the mat for you guys and gals if off campus is the only way we can keep the greatest collegiate tradition in the world alive and burning.

We all learn from our life experience, and I'm sure the next time ASB writes a letter to the editor it will be much better.

BTW, on more than one occasion I have submitted a letter to the editor early in the morning, only to find typos or regretable prose after an hour of reflection. In each case, I sent a corrected letter. The Eagle's letters editors have been very nice about letting me amend my words before they were set in type.

[This message has been edited by DualAG (edited 1/11/2006 1:13p).]

Some other thoughts that I had while at lunch. You might want to put together something along the lines of a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. This would give you something to work from when planning your public message.

Strengths - things you have working for you - ie. dedicated workforce, (I'm sure you can think of more)

Weaknesses - inexperience in dealing with the media, lack of concrete and public University support, not having access to the "Big Guns" that TAMU had.

Opportunities - A community that remembers Bonfire (remember, some of the locals were going to Bonfire before your parents were born), media with little competition, so aren't ALWAYS looking for a scandal to boost ratings, potential for growth....

Threats - negative public perception, ongoing university litigation in the media, weather and the law....

Anyway, that gives you a rounded look at how you can approach future opportunies and threats.

HTH

Dual, I don't recall our arguements...

... must have been either a long time ago, on the R&P board, or in person.

Water. Under. Bridge.

BTHOB '06.

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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.