Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Wendy said:

> Any how, I think the question of "where were the
> American companies?" is a dam good question.
Since the Western States Trail Foundation has been garnering support from
US sources for decades now (the ride is, after all, 50 years old), one
presumes that any American companies who have provided this support have
done so without drawing undue attention to themselves in the process.  It
would be a mistake to think that just because the UAE Endurance Village is
the only supporter that drew enough attention to itself to attract unwanted
attention that it is the only entity to have ever provided support to the
Foundation.

Not having been there, I cannot say what it is that they did to draw enough
unwanted attention as to be considered offensive; however, the fact that
this discussion is going on is proof that they did.

Personally, I am of the opinion that there is no such thing as a tasteful
way to "plaster your name" all over the place (_I_ find even the
embroidered polo player on Ralph Lauren shirts to be tacky, and I just got
done picking the Pikeur label off of the pocket of my dressage coat...it is
beyond me why people are willing to pay money to be a walking billboard),
so Christoph?s assertion that it was done with class is an oxymoron to me
:).

Whether the way that this sponsorship was handled is likely to increase or
decrease future financial support to the Foundation is unknown.  It depends
on whether the number of people who withdraw their support because of it is
more or less than the number of people who increase their support.  It is
possible that the "small time" contributor will no longer feel the need to
contribute because the Foundation now has a big name sponsor making large
donations, but it is also possible that the publicity associated with
making a big donation is sufficient to attract more large donors.

It is also possible that the Foundation could have accepted the donation
from the UAE Endurance Village without displaying its name in places that
many of the attendees considered inappropriate or offensive while at the
same time providing sufficient appreciation to a large donor in such a way
as to encourage other large donations from others.

However, the answer to the question "Where were the American companies?" is:

"We don?t know, because none of them, if there were any, felt the need to
make their donation so obvious."

Personally, I do my giving anonymously and/or in private and will tell
recipients that they may use the fact of my donation in publicity if they
think it will help them to garner further support for something that I
consider to be a worthy cause but that I didn?t make the donation so that I
could get attention for having done so, and therefore, it is not necessary
to publicize it on my account.  

I one expects publicity and/or reward for a "donation," it ceases to be a
donation and ought not be called such :).

kat
Orange County Calif.


--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-