Fall 2007 AEPA Meeting-Day Two

Day two begins with bid awards. Also, as a side note, I picked up some great ideas in terms of marketing etc. from both Michigan and Iowa. Iowa prepares a front/back document for their superintendents that articulates total dollars spent for each vendor PLUS the dollars each school district saved by using AEPA. Michigan has the same "service" culture as Greenbush and uses direct contact with school administrators extensively including simple calls (everything old is new again!). Michigan is also exhibiting at their school business official convention this year for the first time so we plan to collaborate to learn from their upcoming experience with that group.

In terms of gross total sales through AEPA, Kansas ranks seventh out of 22 states...not bad, but we will do better!

I also would like to review Indiana's E-Procurement system.

• Artificial Turf bid awarded to: Atlas Tracks
• Tracks & Courts bid awarded to: multiple award to Atlas Tracks and Robert Cohen
• Hardwood and Synthetic Flooring bid awarded to: multiple award to Atlas Tracks and Robert Cohen
• Indoor and Outdoor Lighting Systems bid awarded to: no bids received
• Athletic Seating bid awarded to: Irwin Seating Company bid rejected
  

The following bids were EXTENDED:

• Administrative Software
• Ground, Tracks, Fields, Courts
• Library Books
• Athletic Equipment
• Carpeting
• Digital Copiers (Kyocera Mita has additional products)
• Roofing
• Vehicles
• Furniture
• Online Training
• Sports and Health Catalogs (Kansas will meet with BSN Sports staff to streamline the purchasing process for Kansas schools)
  
• Technology Catalogs
• Modular and Portable Buildings
• Office Supplies
• Classroom Supplies
• Web Based Auctions
• Administrative Software (Food)
  
• Administrative Software (Transportation)
• Administrative Software (Professional Development): MASTERTeacher is not extended
• Custodial Supplies
  

Fall 2007 AEPA Meeting

I plan to update my blog throughout the day on Tuesday and Wednesday with notes from the fall 2007 AEPA meeting:

• First on today's agenda is Arkansas' and Minnesota's status as AEPA members
• Arkansas: moved to terminate their membership due to inactivity (Arkansas purchases through TCPN), motion was seconded, motion passed. Arkansas is removed from AEPA, Inc.
• Minnesota: moved to terminate their membership due to conflict of interest with a national for profit purchasing organization (NJPA), motion was seconded, vote was 10-yes to 10-no, motion did not pass. Minnesota is still a member of AEPA, Inc.
  

• Next agenda item deals with expanding AEPA into non-AEPA states and how best to accomplish that goal. A sub-committee will be formed to study the issue further and bring a proposal to the spring 2008 AEPA meeting. Kansas volunteered to serve on this sub-committee.
• Partnership with AESA: comments were solicited from all states in regard to support/non-support of exploring a partnership with AESA. Many states wished to explore a partnership in some form. Questions include: 1) What will it cost AEPA? 2) What form of partnership will work best?
• AEPA will sponsor an event for the 2007 AESA Conference. $7500 is the cost and each member will pay a pro-rated share.
• Discussion on whether to hire a "President." A sub-committee will be formed and tasked with outlining the potential structure of AEPA staff.
• Requirements of Vendor Reports: New Mexico suggested the following categories for the report:
• name of school
  
• purchase order number
• date of sale
• amount of sale
• total
• administrative fee

Marketing Opportunity

I will be manning the Greenbush booth at the Fall Assessment Conference on Oct. 29 and 30 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka, Kan. This will be a great opportunity to promote business partners' products and services.

Good Press for Custom Energy...A High Quality Greenbush Business Partner

Custom Energy received some good press from the Pittsburg, Kan., Morning Sun newspaper on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Click on the link below...

City of Pittsburg, Kan. Chooses Custom Energy!

Amplification System Invitation for Bid

I am currently preparing an invitation for bid for classroom amplification systems. I will post the link to my blog once the bid is let which should be sometime in October.

Chanute Classroom Amplification Systems

Chanute, Kansas, USD 413 contacted me today about purchasing more than 40 classroom amplification systems for their district. Greenbush licensed audiologists will contact their technology director and begin the process of assessing their needs to best align the right product for them.

Kansas State Department of Education

I encourage all Greenbush Business Partners to check out the Kansas State Department of Education website at www.ksde.org for the latest news related to education in Kansas.

Communication with School Districts This Week

I mailed a flyer today to all Kansas school superintendents that contained AEPA vendors of athletic surfaces/athletic supplies.

Also this week, I plan to mail a flyer to all Kansas food service directors apprising them of the products and services available to them from AEPA.

Finally, today I am preparing a mailing to school superintendents who are NOT current users of SchoolReach.

Hopefully, these direct mailings will result in Kansas school administrators having a little more knowledge of educational resources available to them from Greenbush Business Partners.

Check us out on the web at techresources.greenbush.org/partners and techresources.greenbush.org/coop/aepa.html

AEPA Catalogs

I sent AEPA catalogs to all Kansas school superintendents this week. I will follow that mailing up with one next week to all Kansas athletic directors.

United School Administrators of Kansas 2008 Convention

The 2008 United School Administrators (USA) of Kansas Convention will be held Jan. 23-25 at the Wichita Hyatt in Wichita, Kan.

Greenbush will facilitate a "Greenbush Partner Alley" again this year as a venue for any business partner of Greenbush to exhibit their products and/or services.

Check out the USA website for more information at: 2008 USA Convention

To join "Greenbush Partner Alley" please shoot me an email or call me at Greenbush at 620.724.6281.

DeSieghardt Strategic Communications

Hey, Mr. Superintendent...do you want to pass your next school bond? If you answered "yes" click on the following link to see how DeSieghardt Strategic Communications can help you make that happen.

DeSieghardt Strategic Communications video Podcast

School Purchasing Trends

I found this article in the September 2007 edition of "District Administration." It's an interesting look at current school purchasing trends.

http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1263

U, Inc.

Greenbush has a very interesting new partner inquiry process occurring now with a company called "U, Inc." U, Inc. provides online training for classified school personnel, a huge niche within the school districts served by Greenbush.

Stay posted as this one develops!

eLearning

One of Greenbush's newer business partners, JKT eLearning, is prepared to launch their fall 2007 online professional development course listing this week. JKT eLearning provides eLearning professional development opportunities including online courses, webcasts, and eSeminars.

It's no secret that teachers are leaving their buildings less and less in order to receive quality professional development. JKT eLearning in another tool in the toolbelt of school administratros for ensuring their teachers hae every opportunity to receive quality professional development via the delivery vehicle that best suits their needs.

Contact Stacy Shireman in the Greenbush School Improvement Services department for more info. stacy.shireman@greenbush.org

Partners Newsletter for Superintendents

I am starting a new marketing initiative to provide a brief business partners "newsletter" to each school superintendent when they attend superintendent forums at Greenbush. Each "newsletter" will highlight three Greenbush business partners. This will be unique as compared to the usual print items superintendents receive at forums. We'll see how well it is received!

Check out the September 2007 edition on the Greenbush Business Partners website at techresources.greenbush.org/partners

Pack 'em Back to School

Greenbush is partnering with KOAM TV and KKOW radio to assist in the distribution of school supplies to school districts affected by this summer's floods.

The program “Pack ‘em Back to School” entails collection points at Wal Mart stores in southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri, and northeast Oklahoma for fundamental school supplies. Consumers shopping at Wal Mart stores may purchase extra school supplies and place them in a collection bin for donation to students in schools affected by floods in June and July.

KOAM and KKOW will deliver donated supplies to Greenbush on August 20. Greenbush staff members will then sort the donated materials into bundles, one bundle for each of the ten participating schools.

Pack ‘em Back to School is another vehicle with which Greenbush can continue to perpetuate our mission of ensuring equal educational opportunities for everyone. For more information please shoot me an email by clicking on "View my complete profile" on the right hand side of this page.

Participating schools:

• Coffeyville
• Caney Valley
• Cherryvale
• Neodesha
• Chanute
• Erie
• Chetopa-St. Paul
• Afton, OK
• Miami, OK
• Quapaw, OK
  

New Business Partners Website

I am moving the Greenbush Business Partners website to a new platform. Please check it out at http://techresources.greenbush.org/partners.

It will be hyperlinked soon from the Greenbush homepage at www.greenbush.org.

I hope this new site will serve the needs of both our partners as well as our school district customers. Please email your comments to me so the I may continue to improve the site.

Kansas Superintendent Changes for 2007-08

Following is a link that contains a list of superintendent changes for the state of Kansas for the 2007-08 school year that was provided to Greenbush by United School Administrators of Kansas. The listings in blue reflect new superintendents in Greenbush's primary service area. CLICK HERE

You may locate contact information for these and all Kansas school districts at http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=426 via the 06-07 Kansas School Directory. This directory will be updated soon and I will notify you when it is published.

As always, should you want specific information on any of the school districts in Greenbush's primary service area please contact me directly and I will be happy to assist you in any way I can.

We're looking forward to a great 2007-08 school year and a great year for Greenbush Business Partners. We're stepping up our marketing efforts to meet and exceed your needs and to customize these efforts to each partner's product or service. Be on the look out for a new business partners website to serve as a clearinghouse of information for you and the school districts we serve.

Thank you for your continued efforts toward K-12 education in Kansas.

Summer Almost Gone

July is wrapping up and Greenbush is gearing up for another year of serving school districts. Marketing efforts will be in full swing soon for all Greenbush business partners and AEPA vendors.

...and I need to get back out to the trout streams for some late summer fly fishing!

"Fun" Friday

A very "fun" Friday at Greenbush...

Mid-Summer at Greenbush

Long time, no blog! Been a busy summer with Greenbush Business Partners. We continue to hone the process by which we provide partners' products and services to the school districts we serve. We're making great strides but we're not satisfied.

Shark Week begins July 29 on The Discovery Channel!!!

Midwest Cooperative Purchasing Meeting in St. Louis Day 2

June 27, 2007, meeting notes:

Corporate Express:

• Corporate Express wants non-AEPA states to piggyback on AEPA states contracts

Atlas Track & Tennis:

• key selling point is Atlas can provide a "turn key" total project solution
• Greenbush will contact Atlas to inquire about school playground padding

Williams Scotsman:

• has office in Kansas City
• marketing mainly via email blasts and mailers
• need digital copies of email and snail mail marketing

School Specialty:

• producing a furniture catalog for AEPA states; due out early fall 2007
  

Midwest Cooperative Purchasing Meeting in St. Louis

June 26, 2007, meeting notes:

Our regional AEPA meeting kicked off with informational presentations from the states in attendance. Those states include, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and New Mexico. Marketing seems to be high atop this list of interests of the state AEPA members.

Indiana:

• utilize e-marketing almost exclusively
• have extensive databases of school personnel and staff to keep it updated

Missouri:

• Greenbush needs to investigate CSD's (Cooperating School Districts) REAP initiative
• CSD has cable TV and IDL...how can CSD partner with GreenbushTV?
• CSD websites: www.schoolsupplies.org, www.csd.org

New Mexico:

• Greenbush needs to investigate Job Order Contracting
• Cooperative Educational Services (CSD) website: www.nmedu.org

The MASTER Teacher:

• new marketing initiatives and inside/outside sales force
• how can Greenbush partner with MASTER Teacher to market Greenbush business partner/AEPA products/services

AEPA states/Non-AEPA states transaction PROPOSAL by Tom Post, Missouri:

• non-AEPA states may piggyback on AEPA states' contracts
• 2% administration fee divided among AEPA and adjoining AEPA states

Konica Minolta:

• selling point to schools is cost comparison of in-house vs outsourcing printing
• will request supporting documentation for that cost comparison
  

Week of June 25

I will be out of the office June 25-27 attending a Midwest regional AEPA meeting in St. Louis. I will have access to email and voicemail. I’ll be back in the office at Greenbush on June 28.

LearnKey Visit & Secondlife Demo

LearnKey, a new AEPA vendor, visited Greenbush on Wednesday, June 13, to tour the campus and discuss logistics of our new partnership. Sharon Hoch (Greenbush Virtual Prescriptive Learning director) met with us also.

Rich White demonstrated the Greenbush Secondlife island on Tuesday, June 12, to the Learning Tree Institute Board of Directors. Vendor Tower is coming along!

Corporate Express Meeting and iNTouch

Had a good meeting today with Randy Jones and Chuck Luchen with Corporate Express, one of our AEPA vendors. We discussed marketing and logistics to move our partnership forward to better serve Kansas school districts.

Drafted a memorandum of understanding for our pending partnership with iNTouch Consulting. iNTouch has a great employment survey service for school administrators to use to aid them in hiring the right teachers and administrators the FIRST time.

Also, June is one of the best flyfishing months in the year...I'm taking a day off on June 18 to flyfish at Roaring River State Park with a couple of other hard core flyfisherman from Greenbush!

Catch-Up Friday

Caught up on updating partner web links on www.greenbushbusinesspartners.org.

My six year old son had his first T-ball game on Thursday, June 7. I think there were some major league scouts present! A great way to spend a Thursday evening!

Have a great weekend!

Morgan-Hunter

Had a great conference call today with representatives from Morgan-Hunter. This was the first step in our partnership inquiry process and, hopefully, provide the school districts we serve with a total solution for substitute teacher staffing. This would be another exciting educational resource for school districts. More to come!

AEPA Catalogs Mailed to Superintendents & New Website

AEPA catalogs were mailed to 120+ superintendents today. They will now be more aware of the educational resources available to them through AEPA!

I am meeting today with staff from Greenbush's IT and cooperative purchasing departments to kickoff a redesign of our cooperative purchasing and AEPA websites. We will be using the content manager "Joomla" for our new site...exciting!

Recycled Computers, New Partners and More!

Had a very successful computer recycling day at Hiawatha Kansas on Friday, June 1. We recycled more than 430 pieces of computer equipment that would've otherwise ended up...well, who knows where it would have ended up!

We're excited to begin working with two new business partners: Custom Energy and iNTouch Consulting. Check out their links on my blog for more info.

Out of the Office on Friday, June 1

I'll be in Hiawatha Kansas on Friday, June 1 to facilitate a computer recycling event.

Computer Recycle Day in Northeast Kansas

Friday, June 1, 2007, will be our second computer equipment recycling event in partnership with Apple Computers. Friday's event will be held in Hiawatha, Kansas, for the school districts we serve in northeast Kansas. We have five schools participating bringing more than 420 pieces of equipment.

Apple provides certificates to the school districts that states their equipment was recycled in an environmentally sound manner with the hard drives cleared.

E-Marketing, Partners Podcast

Greenbush is really stepping up our e-marketing efforts to be more targeted for specific school administrators and teachers as well as partners' products. If any business partner of Greenbush has any pdf documents for marketing please email those to me.

This week's business partners Podcast should be online by Wednesday, May 23.

Partner Revenue Spreadsheets

In order to keep my CFO happy and to ensure I continue to receive my paychecks I spent this morning developing spreadsheets with which to track partner revenue. Our partnerships are 50/50 deals and we rely on effort from our partners as well as myself in order to ensure tracking occurs and revenue flows to both parters and Greenbush.

I'm not a bean counter but I am a chronic anal retentive!

Frog Dissection and Podcasts

Taught frog dissection at our science education center to a great group of fifth graders this morning and will record the business partners weekly Podcast this afternoon.

Conference call with another potential partner at 1:30.

Later,
Brad

Kansas Education Conference List Coming Soon

I am working on a list of education-related conferences in Kansas per the request of our business partners who would like to exhibit at those events. I should have a complete list by week's end, if not sooner. I'll post it to my Business Partners website at www.greenbushbusinesspartners.org and also to this blog.

We're also honing our e-mail blaster to really rock the world of e-marketing in the upcoming months.

Back at Greenbush and Ready for Another Week

Well, I've returned from the PSU Administrator's Conference at Roaring River State Park, Missouri. Great people, great speakers, great food, and great networking with the leaders of the school districts Greenbush serves.

The remainder of the spring will be a whirlwind of activity as we gear up to serve not only our school districts but our 35+ business partners.

More later this week after I catch up a bit!

OUT OF OFFICE MAY 9-11

I will be out of the office May 9-11 at the Pittsburg State University School Administrator's Conference at Roaring River State Park in Missouri. Due to the Ozark Mountains I will have no cell phone reception and no access to e-mail. Please feel free to e-mail me or leave me a voicemail and I will return messages promptly on Monday, May 14.

Take2 Podcast and Roaring River School Administrator's Conference

We're getting ready to cut another Take2 Podcast. Check us out at: http://take2.greenbush.us

Next week I'll be assisting with the annual PSU Roaring River School Administrator's Conference. It's a great way for school administrators to network and prepare to wrap-up another school year.

Have a great weekend!

Take2 Podcast and Roaring River School Administrator's Conference

We're getting ready to cut another Take2 Podcast. Check us out at: http://take2.greenbush.us

Next week I'll be assisting with the annual PSU Roaring River School Administrator's Conference. It's a great way for school administrators to network and prepare to wrap-up another school year.

Have a great weekend!

New Marketing Monitor is Up and Running!

One of our AEPA vendors, CDW-G, helped underwrite a 22" flat-screen monitor for the area outside our meeting rooms here at Greenbush. It is constantly being fed AEPA and business partner marketing slides as well as live streamed video from GreenbushTV! Every person who visits Greenbush for a meeting or professional development will see this monitor multiple times per day!

Many thanks to Dean Murdakes at CDW-G for helping to provide the monitor!

AEPA Spring 2007 Meeting, April 24

The AEPA members voted to accept Texas and Arkansas as members and proceeded to ratify AEPA, Inc. bylaws, policies, and procedures. Lots of "administrivia" but necessary.

The afternoon general session continued with discussion regarding AEPA members marketing AEPA contracts in non-AEPA states.

I volunteered to serve on the furniture bid committee with Tom Post from Missouri.

Begin fall meeting Tuesday, November 27 at 10am. AEPA fall 2007 meeting is November 27-28.

Spring 2008 meeting will be April 10, 11, 12 in Arlington, Virginia.

AEPA Spring 2007 Meeting, April 23

Day two of the AEPA Spring 2007 meeting began with a continuation of the general session and review of bids.

• AEPA members are concerned over the lack of communication from ABC School Supplies

Vendor Concerns:

• consistent admin fee across AEPA members
  
• uniform reporting template
  
• how to encourage states to sign more vendor contracts
• more robust and user friendly AEPA website
• more e-mail communication to vendors from AEPA; possibly an e-newsletter
• how does AEPA position itself with other national COOP's?

Action plans from today's meeting:

• extend invitations to five AEPA members to visit Greenbush by July 1, 2007
• create list of Kansas trade shows and post to Greenbush websites

The afternoon general session was dedicated to roundtable meetings between AEPA members and vendors. The meetings allowed members and vendors to communicate on marketing strategies and product/service information. Although each roundtable meeting lasted only 10 minutes, it was a great opportunity to network with our vendor partners and strategize about how to best serve the needs of school districts.

Atlas Track and Tennis sponsored a dinner cruise on the Ohio river for AEPA members.

AEPA Spring 2007 Meeting, April 22

The AEPA spring 2007 meeting began on Sunday, April 22, with an evening reception with AEPA members and vendors and the opening of the general session. My notes are as follows:

• Kansas ranks sixth in AEPA sales
• The AEPA website typically has the most activity in December
• Top five AEPA vendors in sales: Tremco, CDW-G, Atlas Track and Tennis, Williams Scotsman, School Specialty
• Many components of the AEPA meeting are sponsored including: evening reception, breakfast, lunch, breaks, and evening “specials”
• Montana has a “How to Order with AEPA” guide on their website
• The vast majority of AEPA vendors were present at the meeting

OUT OF OFFICE APRIL 22-25

I will be out of the office from April 22-25, back in the office on Thursday, April 26. I will be attending the AEPA spring meeting and will have access to e-mail and voicemail.

Please e-mail me at brad.stefanoni@greenbush.org should you need to contact me.

Partner Promotion

We are on the verge of a whole new initiative for promoting products and services from our business partners and AEPA vendors to the school districts Greenbush serves. Following are just a few of the things that are coming for our business partners and AEPA vendors:

• marketing via audio and video Podcasting
• vendor "mall" in Secondlife in which to promote products
• opportunities for sponsoring new Mediaglobe programs
• e-marketing with Matt and Rich
• forum for Q&A about vendors and their products and/or services

"If you build it, they will come..."

OUT OF THE OFFICE ON FRIDAY, APRIL 13

I will be out of the office on Friday, April 13. Please shoot me an e-mail or voicemail and I'll return it on Monday, April 16.

Have a great weekend!

Kaw Valley USD 321 Track Resurfacing, 4All Memory, and Custom Energy

Superintendent Jim McDaniel, Kaw Valley USD 321, called today interested in vendors for track resurfacing. We chatted about AEPA and Atlas Track & Tennis and he plans to call Sarah Morehead at Atlas soon.

A draft memorandum of understanding will soon be finalized with 4All Memory that will provide Greenbush school districts with discounted rates on computer memory.

We are close to partnering with Custom Energy to provide discounted rates to Greenbush school districts on energy conservation training for school districts.

Towanda, Kansas School Board Meeting

Today I will represent Greenbush at the Towanda school board meeting. They are installing FieldTurf under the Atlas Track & Tennis AEPA contract.

Circle School District and KansasBio Partnership Plan

I'll be traveling to Circle school district's board of education meeting on Monday, April 9, as they are using Atlas Track & Tennis, an AEPA vendor, for their track/field turf project.

A draft partnership plan is complete for the KansasBio-Kansas Farm Bureau-Greenbush partnership for K-12 bioscience education. We will have a working meeting on Friday, April 6, to further that mission.

Later,
Brad

Partnership in K-12 Bioscience Education

I've been working on a partnership plan for K-12 bioscience education all week. KansasBio, Kansas Farm Bureau, and Greenbush are the players.

Exciting times loom on the horizon for students and teachers in Kansas!

Teacher for a Day!

I'm dissecting frogs all day today (Friday, 3/30) in our science education center!

Conference call with Leila from YouthFriends at 2pm for KansasBio partnership plan. Another busy day!

Have a great weekend.

Busy Week!

I've been chasing my tail this week!

Had a good partnership inquiry meeting with Custom Energy on Tuesday. I think we have a great opportunity to assist our schools with energy conservation and, in turn, save them money on utility costs.

Today I am assembling a draft partnership plan for a KansasBio-Kansas Farm Bureau-Greenbush partnership in K-12 bioscience education. I'll meet with KansasBio and Kansas Farm Bureau on April 6 to infuse their content into the business plan. Our collective goal is to announce this new partnerhip at an international bioscience conference in Boston on May 6-9.

Friday will be "fillet of frogs" day at Abernathy Science Education Center...I'll be teaching two frog dissection programs! Yum!

KansasBio, Kansas Farm Bureau, and Greenbush

Had a very productive partnership meeting today with Angela Kreps, president of KansasBio, and Harry Watts and Ron Betzen, Kansas Farm Bureau. We are working toward partnering in a new K-12 initiative in education in the biosciences.

Short post today...

GreenbushTV on YouTube and Sponsorship Opportunities

Check out the GreenbushTV channel on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=GreenbushTV More videos coming soon!

Each year, Greenbush coordinates two school district administrator's planning conferences for the purpose of planning and networking among southeast Kansas school district administrators.

There are five $200 sponsorships available for this year's conferences so please contact me for more information or to register as a sponsor for this year's conferences.

New Weekly Business Partners Podcast!

Started a new endeavor today with the help of the Greenbush Podcast gurus. Each week I will record a Podcast for our sales representatives with our business partners and AEPA vendors. These Podcasts will provide sales leads and information so our business partners and AEPA vendors can better serve the needs of Kansas K-12 school districts.

Visit http://podcast.greenbush.us and click on the Business Partners link to access the Podcasts. You can also subscribe to the Podcast through your RSS aggregator like Netvibes, Google, or Yahoo.

There is also a link to the Podcasts on this blog. Scroll down on the right-hand side to see it.

AEPA Promotion, Interstate Batteries, and "Partners Podcasts"

Completed a PowerPoint promotion slide for each AEPA vendor today. Those will be showing up soon around the Greenbush campus. Currently, they run in the meeting rooms prior to daily workshops for teachers and administrators. We plan to install a flat screen monitor outside the refreshments area near the meeting rooms so teachers and administrators can view not only AEPA and business partners promotions but also other items of interest from Greenbush.

Had a partnership inquiry conference call with Interstate Batteries this afternoon and they will be forwarding a proposal to me next week. This potential partnership could save school districts tons of money on every kind of battery imaginable. Look for a post next week.

Next week I will be piloting a weekly "Partners Podcast" in which I will spend three to five minutes each week communicating sales leads etc. to all of our main contacts with Greenbush Business Partners and AEPA. You will be able to subscribe to the Podcast via iTunes or other means so this information will reach you weekly. I see this as a valuable tool for continuing to create efficient and effective communication models for our business partners and vendors.

Have a great weekend!

AEPA Promotion and Amplification System Inquiry

I've been working today on Powerpoint slides for marquee promotion of AEPA vendor products and services during workshops at Greenbush. About half complete.

I received a call today from an instructor at Labette County Community College inquiring about classroom amplification systems. I called Dean at Lifeline and he has contacted her to answer her questions.

Superintendent forum on Thursday at Greenbush. We'll be recording a Podcast with Destry Brown, superintendent at Frontenac, Kansas, USD 249, on leadership strategies for sustaining student achievement as spring break and summer vacation looms on the horizon.

Learning Tree Institute Board meeting and Greenbush Leadership meeting

We had a productive Learning Tree Institute Board meeting today. We discussed several of Greenbush's business partners including The MASTER Teacher, Lifeline, SchoolReach, and American Digital Security. Board members were pleased to see the impact to schools that these and the rest of our partnerships are showing.

We also had a great Greenbush Leadership meeting this morning. In that meeting we discussed:

• School Improvement Service's new web-based promotion of center-based professional development
• Initial feedback from staff from the Employee Education Reimbursement Program

On Wednesday, I'll have a partnership inquiry meeting at 3pm and will draft an article on AEPA for next month's "Dimensions" Greenbush employee newsletter.

AEPA Catalog, Computer Recycling, a Second Birthday, and James Bond!

A productive Monday...The first-ever Kansas AEPA vendor catalog was sent off for layout today. We're getting closer!

Information for our computer recycle/trade-in day at Hiawatha, Kansas, will be sent out on Tuesday. The Hiawatha recycle day will occur June 1 in partnership with Greenbush, Apple Computers, and Hiawatha USD 415.

Tuesday will be a busy one. We have Greenbush Leadership from 8:30am to 10am, followed by our Learning Tree Institute (LTI) Board of Directors meeting at 11:30am. At the LTI Board meeting I will update Board members on status of our business partners.

And, on Tuesday...my youngest son will celebrate his second birthday. Two years really goes fast. Also, "Casino Royale", the latest installment in the James Bond series of movies, will become available on DVD.

Bond...James Bond

Happy Friday!

Friday is here and I'm already looking toward Monday to have an entire week to serve our school districts.

We will begin layout of the 2007 AEPA vendor catalog early next week. This is pretty exciting since it will be our first-ever AEPA vendor catalog and has tremendous potential for creating awareness of the benefits of AEPA to the school districts we serve.

Rick Duling, Pittsburg USD 250 technology coordinator, placed an order today for one Lifeline classroom amplification system to pilot in the district. The district is currently piloting a system at Meadowlark Elementary also.

Next week we will begin to infuse some AEPA vendor promotional audio Podcasts into Greenbush's weekly "Take2 Podcast." Check it out at: http://take2.greenbush.us

Have a great weekend everyone!

Learning Tree Institute and KansasBio

Sorry I missed a couple of days. On Tuesday, March 6, I prepared a report on progress of our business partnerships program for the March 13 meeting of our Learning Tree Institute (LTI) board of directors. LTI is our 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit education foundation that supports Greenbush's mission of ensuring equal educational opportunities for everyone.

On Wednesday, March 7, I along with Jim Foresman (bioscience teacher for Pittsburg USD 250 and Greenbush) attended a meeting in Lenexa, Kansas, with Angela Kreps, president of KansasBio. We discussed Jim's summer bioscience academy for high school students as well as a future partnership to perpetuate each agency's bioscience education goals.

As a side note...at 95th Street and Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, Kansas, I saw a Canada goose wearing a green Federal neck collar band. Once a biologist, always a biologist!

AEPA and other business partners stuff...

I e-mailed all AEPA vendors for confirmation of their product/service descriptions for the Kansas AEPA catalog...we're getting closer! Cinda Holmes and I also completed the AEPA membership application.

Dennis Bredel with SchoolReach and I talked this morning about new pricing for SchoolReach for the school districts Greenbush serves. We also discussed some new ideas for creating awareness of SchoolReach.

I scheduled a conference call with Bret Barben of LearnKey to discuss promotion of their AEPA products. We are looking forward to seeing what value LearnKey can also add to Virtual Prescriptive Learning.

All in all a great Monday!

New Partnership Inquiry Meeting

We have a meeting today with a representative from DeSieghardt Strategic Communications regarding a potential partnership. Brian Smith, superintendent of Galena USD 499 and Dennis Burke, superintendent of Baxter Springs USD 508 will be joining Mike Bodensteiner and I in the meeting. Dennis has used DeSieghardt in the past.

Kansas AEPA vendor catalog coming soon!

We have assembled about 95% of the content and vendor logos for the first-ever Kansas AEPA vendor catalog.

AEPA is the Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies and Greenbush's membership provides the school districts we serve with nationwide purchasing power. That translates into cost savings for schools on hundreds of products and services.

Catalog layout should begin next week!

Greenbush, Kansas Farm Bureau, KansasBIO...partnership in the making

Jim Foresman, Ron Betzen (Farm Bureau), and I talked with Mike Matson (communications and PR director for Kansas Farm Bureau) today to outline plans for infusing K-12 bioscience education into Farm Bureau’s radio show, “AgriTalk.”

The outcome was Mike will provide Ron and Jim with ideas for content in the next couple of weeks. We will then proceed with recording 10-15 “segments” for inclusion in a bioscience education series that will air once or twice weekly. We will continue to expand content to ensure a continuity as well as remain flexible to any current hot items that pop up in bioscience.

Additionally, Mike Matson is planning to attend the March 26 meeting with Harry Watts (Farm Bureau) and Anglea Kreps (KansasBIO). This reasserts the need to be prepared on March 26 with Greenbush’s vision for the future of K-12 bioscience education and specific strategies and resources that will be required toward that end.

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Stay tuned for more exciting Greenbush information from Brad!