There’s an interesting article on the local fishwrap’s site today about a Toyota dealership that reneged on the promise of funding scholarships to a local community college for four students at a Baltimore City high school. Apparently, when the JROTC instructor for the school dropped dead of a heart attack in the parking lot, the school wanted to change the scholarship presentation into having more of a memorial service feel and wouldn’t let the dealership hang its banners nor would it allow media, which the dealership stipulated as a condition for giving the money. Seems the dealership wanted to squeeze some positive PR out of its benevolence and the high school wanted a more low-key affair.
According to the story it goes a little deeper than one side wanting a memorial service-esque somber mood and the other wanting some recognition for its deeds. It sounds to me like the school just wanted the dealership to fork over the cash and get out of the way. Some in the school thought the dealership was trying to turn the senior award ceremony into a “media circus.” Truthfully, if the dealership alerted the media, who would show up? Maybe a TV station, maybe a newspaper reporter, maybe a radio person or two? I mean, hell. This thing blew up on May 23 and it’s only being reported in the paper today. It’s not like a scholarship award ceremony was going to get wall-to-wall coverage, with above the fold front page stories and leading every newscast. It was a human interest story that might have had prominent alumni and a city official present and likely would have made both the school and the dealership look pretty good. The school for having worthy students and the dealership for recognizing them and providing them opportunity. It seems like a win/win to me. And trust me, Baltimore City schools need a win.
Using the death of the JROTC instructor as an excuse to squeeze out everything regarding the dealership except for its money seems like a convenient excuse. Just because they were still “in mourning” at the school doesn’t mean their students shouldn’t be happy for their acheivements and what they got for them in reward. And, honestly, out of 1,600-1,900 students in the school (depending on where you look for enrollment info), how many kids even knew the JROTC instructor or know what JROTC is? 20? 40? 100? I’m not diminishing the fact that a beloved member of the staff passed, but I don’t think it’s going to wreck the lives of the vast majority of students that he did.
The whole thing kind of reminds me of Goodwill. You go in there and give them a perfectly good TV that has one button on it that’s loose and wiggles around some but is perfectly functional and all you ask for in return is a slip of paper to get a little tax break, but they reject it because the TV isn’t given to them exactly how they want it.
And if that’s how this school acts as an institution, it makes me wonder what exactly it’s teaching its students.
Leave it to people to screw everything up.
My local Goodwill “employs” ex-cons, gang members, and supposedly sober tweakers and alcoholics who keep the good stuff for themselves and resell it wherever they can. My neighbor donated a few things, and the Goodwill worker helping her move items from the trunk of her car also helped himself to her purse. He went crazy with her credit cards and checkbook, and a year later the bills are still coming in. For the most part, Goodwill sucks. I’ve no idea what they do with the nice things people give them, there is nothing but garbage in their stores.
Leslie: While I wouldn’t let any Goodwill person near my car to help me do anything whether he’s harmless or not, I wouldn’t care if someone working there resold my stuff on the side. It’s not like I’d buy it myself and I’d still get my little tax write-off slip. But you’re right, Goodwill stuff is generally crap.