China trip

[tashuff at aol.com]

 Garrett, 


I have said in previous postings that I am not opposed to STC sponsoring a group tour. I am opposed to the way this tour was offered and the misleading message sent by People to People.

Ask your wife--if she knew that People to People used deceptive marketing tactics to promote their organization would she feel the same way about her experience? 

The academic list serve did not post all of the information I made available to the Lone Writers SIG or to the STC president. I guess someone felt it necessary to censor the information available to this group. They probably do not share my belief that discussing STC's operations is appropriate for the list serve. I believe that sharing anything that STC puts on the table and into organizational operation is germane to all of the members. The lone writer SIG has been quite lively in the discussion.



It just so happens that I was driving today when a young mother called Dr. Laura Schlesinger to discuss the P2P special invitation that her 11-year-old daughter received for a conference in Washington DC. What kind of special qualifications does a pre-teen need to have to be invited to a worldwide conference in our nations capital? I guess if she is breathing she is qualified to travel unaccompanied for this great experience. The cost of the discussed trip was in the $2,000-$3,000 for a few days.



I believe in profit, and I believe in good corporate citizenship. They are not mutually exclusive ideas. I don't see Ambassador Group as a good corporate citizen when they willingly prey on the hopes and dreams of our nations youth. I'm the parent of a teenager who would take this type of invitation very seriously. The only recommendation he needs to be selected for this trip is to sign up to take his SAT exam. The P2P marketers are buying the College Board list and using deceptive language and practices to entice unwitting consumers (teenagers).

Have you ever had a conversation with a teenager who REALLY wants something? How many families have had to deal with the negative consequences of telling their kid that the trip is just not in the family's plans. Or worse, how many families have maxed the credit cards and mortgaged the house to fund their little "ambassodor's" adventures with a company that promotes itself as a good world citizen, when in fact it is a front for a huge travel agency's marketing machine?

I work with not-for-profit agencies and I was an advertising executive for a travel magazine. P2P's solicitation set-off my skeptics buttons on all fronts. It didn't feel a little wrong--it felt really sour. Inviting me to be part of a "professional delegation" and telling me that my “professional background and
experience are primary criteria for invitation.” It went on to state that,
“Only selected professionals are invited to participate.” I could “apply” to
attend. Well, I've never been particularly active in STC, and there was no selective mechanism in my STC membership that should have triggered such a wondrous honor. 

BTW--there are oodles of tour operators who offer similar services for far less money. I think future travel by STC would be better served by a tour operator who shares our organizational values. If I am mistaken, and the STC values do mesh nicely with Ambassador Group, then I know that I joined the wrong organization.

Caveat Emptor!





 





Teresa Trujillo

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Fullerton, California 92831

Phone (714) 525-0882

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Cell (714) 926-8343



 





 



-----Original Message-----

From: gromaine3 at comcast.net

To: stc-ac <stc-ac at lists.stc.org>

Sent: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 3:30 pm

Subject: [stc-ac] Re: China trip













My two cents:



My wife is on the board of directors for the Special Libraries Association, and 

went on a People-to-People visit to South Africa in 2007. The cost was in the 

$4800 range for about 12 days, so a little cheaper than the China trip but in 

the ball park. Overall, she had a wonderful visit, and met many, many 

professional librarians there. The trip seemed to have a nice balance between 

touristy stuff (Parliament, Nelson Mandela's jail cell) and serious, 

business-type stuff. She thought P-2-P did their job and earned their money. She 

encouraged me to go on the China trip, but it could just be to get me out of the 

house. 



It looks like for the cost of one participant, about $5,000, STC gets a good 

return. We send our president, who is always going to be our most able 

ambassador, to hob-nob with the Chinese and proselytize for our cause. If we get 

an additional 20 Chinese members who stay in the Society for two years, her 

costs are covered. Even without a surge in membership, our global messaging gets 

added luster. 



If it turns out that Ambassadors Group makes a profit, I think that's permitted. 

I wouldn't want to see them turn around and peddle our membership list, and 

hopefully there are safeguards against that. Our members are free to pick and 

choose for themselves, and if the whole effort falls apart, we can try something 

else. But I do favor reaching out to members who are outside North America, and 

I think the spirit was right on this one.



-Garret Romaine

Willamette Valley chapter







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