As long as we’re on the subject of OPM (pronounced “O-pee-em”), we might as well clean out the job-jar on that subject. At least for now.
Hopefully you remember our post last month reporting that Marty and Kat at Systems in Sync had decided to send a Dear Paul letter to the Brunswick School Department. Reporting on that heart-breaking split gave us a chance to remember Seinfeld’s “It’s not you, it’s me” break-up classic.
As we were mourning the loss of Marty and Kat’s affections, we consoled ourselves by looking longingly at their web site. Doing so was not quite as rewarding as banging our head against the wall in front of the Town Council, but it came close.
Looking at the list of their clients, we noticed two things:
1) Its makeup is 90% plus government schools, government agencies, and ‘non-profits,’ most of whom exist on government funds in some form. These are all people who spend OPM, and they don’t have the same thresholds of reason and economic incentives that private sector entities do. Think GSA conferences in Las Vegas, and MSHA conferences all around the country, plus hundreds of thousands on ‘trainings,’ catering, and consultants of all sizes, shapes, and areas of expertise.
2) The largest segment of clients is comprised of government schools and school districts. As we said before, there is only one listing in Maine, that being Brunswick, and Systems in Sync has put on ‘its all overcoat’ and headed back to Vermont.
If you stop and think about this, you’ll realize that Marty and Kat and their ilk are really a form of shadow government. They exist almost totally because of government, and they survive almost totally on government funds, which they extract from others without any taxpayer approval.
We couldn’t help but wonder if there is some common linkage between their clients that gave Marty and Kat an advantage in marketing their services to faraway, little-known Brunswick.
There is, we deduced, and that would be state teachers unions, who are knit together by the national teachers unions. Among other possibilities.
Hmmmm. Could there have been a glowing reference given by those in another state? Through whom, and to whom? Or was even worse mischief afoot? (or ameter, if you’re a euro-metric proponent.)
The least likely scenario, we are convinced, is that the natural alignment of the cosmos and serendipity brought Marty, Kat, and Paul together.
Only The Shadow knows for sure. And The Shadow isn’t very talkative. Yet.
But we’ll keep trying to see if we can get him to open up. The problem is, he keeps hiding out in the shadows.
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As a convenience to those who may not wish to visit Marty and Kat’s web site, we’re posting the client list here. Enjoy.
SCHOOLS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Bethel School District, Bethel, VT
Brunswick School Department, Brunswick, ME
Caledonia Central Supervisory Union, Danville, VT
Caledonia North Supervisory Union, Lyndonville, VT
Canaan Elementary School, Canaan, NH
Chelsea Public Schools, Chelsea, VT
Claremont Middle School, Claremont, NH
Conval High School, Peterborough, NH
Dartmouth Medical School, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Lebanon, NH
Dartmouth SEEDS Consulting Group, Hanover, NH
Disnard Elementary School, Claremont, NH
Georgia Elementary and Middle School, Georgia, VT
Lisbon Regional Schools, Lisbon, NH
Ludlow Elementary/Union #39 School Districts, Ludlow, VT
Maple Ave. Elementary School, Claremont, NH
Montpelier Public Schools, Montpelier, VT
Newport Middle School, Newport, NH
Northfield School District, Northfield, VT
Peterborough Elementary School, Peterborough, NH
Pierce Elementary School, Bennington, NH
River Bend Career and Technical Center, Bradford, VT
Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
SAU #1, Peterborough, NH
SAU #6, Claremont, NH
SAU #70, Hanover, NH
Southwestern Community Services Head Start, Keene, NH
Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union, Bennington, VT
Unity Elementary School, Unity, NH
Washington South Supervisory Union, Northfield, VT
Windsor School District, Windsor, VT
Winooski School District, Winooski, VT
NONPROFIT AND GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
The Alternative Life Center, Conway, NH
Autism Resources for Community and Home, Norwich, VT
Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District, Montpelier, VT
Circle Of Life, Derry, NH
Community Health Center of Burlington, Burlington, VT
Council for Children and Adolescents with Chronic Health Conditions, Concord, NH
Concord Peer Support, Concord, NH
Cornerbridge, Laconia, NH
The Family Center of Washington County, Montpelier, VT
The Fort at No. 4, Charlestown, NH
Granite State Monarchs, Keene, NH
Helping Hands North, Inc., Colebrook, NH
Mascoma Valley Health Initiative, Canaan, NH
Mount Washington Observatory, North Conway, NH
NH Center for Nonprofits, Concord, NH
NH Healthy Kids, Concord, NH
NH Providers Association, Concord, NH
NH State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Concord, NH
Northeast Kingdom Community Action, Newport, VT
On The Road To Recovery, Inc., Manchester, NH
Orleans-Northern Essex AHS District, Newport, VT
Project Crash, Waterbury, VT
Rural Community Transportation, Inc. St. Johnsbury, VT
Seacoast Consumer Alliance, Portsmouth, NH
Stepping Stone Peer Support Agency, Claremont, NH
Tri-City Consumers’ Action Cooperative, Dover, NH
Vermont Agency of Transportation, Montpelier, VT
Vermont Department of Education, Montpelier, VT
Volunteer NH, Concord, NH
Women’s Information Services, Lebanon, NH
BUSINESSES
Atlantic Cellular, West Lebanon, NH
Bradford Veneer, Bradford, VT
Grant Ducharme, Builder, Sharon, VT
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