Some news (not IR type):
Actually 2 articles:
localbusiness.com
EPA Makes the Grade With Sylvan Learning Center and the Sylvan Book Adventure Foundation
Oct 02, 2000 05:35 AM ET
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PR Newswire
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BALTIMORE, Oct 2, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- After a lengthy review process, Eisner Petrou and Associates, Inc. (EPA) has been named as public relations agency- of-record for Sylvan Learning Center (and the Sylvan Book Adventure Foundation which sponsors a free online reading initiative, Book Adventure.org. EPA's selection came after four agency finalists were chosen from a group of twelve RFP respondents.
EPA will be working with both Sylvan Learning Center and Book Adventure on all public relations initiatives, including media relations, community outreach and other related communications activities. Sylvan -- with more than 800 learning centers in the United States and Canada -- is the nation's leading provider of supplemental education services to families and schools. Book Adventure, a program sponsored by Sylvan's nonprofit foundation, is a free online reading incentive program that capitalizes on children's interest in computers and promotes and encourages reading and reading skill development.
"This is honestly a watershed win for EPA," observed agency co-founder and president David M. Petrou. "We were up against several highly respected and well recognized national 'brands' in the public relations field.
We knew it was incumbent upon us to demonstrate that we could be twice as good as well as more strategic than our competition. Everyone on the EPA Sylvan 'brand team' worked hard to win this business and of course, it's enormously gratifying that our diligence paid off."
Marybeth Morsberger, director of public relations for Sylvan Learning Center, echoed Petrou's sentiments. "This was an exhaustive process for Sylvan and Book Adventure, because we all had to feel confident we'd chosen the agency that could best represent us," commented Morsberger. "And EPA exceeded our expectations on every front. It was clear to all of us that they put real energy, imagination and a great deal of effort into their response."
EPA is a full-service public relations agency providing regional, national and international clients with a broad range of comprehensive communications strategies and services. The fifteen-year old award-winning firm, known for "centers of excellence" including technology, consumer product, association, healthcare and travel / tourism marketing, currently represents American Management Systems, Sprint PCS and The Century Council, among other leading accounts. A member of the PR Agency Network(TM), EPA has affiliate agency offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York and Los Angeles.
Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. is the leading provider of educational services to families, schools and industry. The company provides lifelong educational services through two divisions: Sylvan Learning Center division and Sylvan Education Solutions division. Sylvan Learning Center is the leading provider of supplemental education, providing personalized instructional services to students of all ages and skill levels. With approximately 800 centers located throughout North America, it is the largest organization of its kind in the industry. Sylvan's education professionals provide enrichment and remediation in reading, writing, mathematics, study and test-taking techniques, and SAT(R) prep. The corporation is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its Web site address is: www.educate.com.
SOURCE Eisner Petrou and Associates, Inc.
CONTACT: Jeffrey Bukowski of Eisner, Petrou & Associates, 410-843-3094 /Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 133897
URL: educate.com prnewswire.com
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localbusiness.com
SchoolDude.com Teams With KawamaCommerce to Unite School Purchasing Community Online Administrators To Buy Supplies Through Same Service as MRO Prof
Oct 02, 2000 10:22 AM ET
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Business Wire
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CARY, N.C., Oct 2, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SchoolDude.com, the premier online home for school maintenance and facility professionals, announced plans today at the American School Business Officials International conference to form a strategic alliance with KawamaCommerce.
KawamaCommerce, based in Santa Ana, California, is the leading service for school districts, service agencies and purchasing cooperatives to transact business online. The alliance creates a single resource for the whole of the education purchasing community to electronically procure an extensive and diverse collection of goods.
The Department of Education estimates $115 billion is spent annually on supplies with $58 billion allotted for maintenance, repair and operations. Allotment for the maintenance and facilities department is often the largest component of a school district budget; around 10% of a school district's annual budget. SchoolDude.com is a members-only community that presently has over 500 school district members working together to improve the nation's school facilities. Both services aim to improve education by maximizing tight school budget expenditures.
The alliance between SchoolDude.com and KawamaCommerce creates a resource of:
-- Over 200,000 MRO Products
-- More than 2,500 MRO Suppliers
-- And 1,000+ Active Districts and Purchasing Cooperatives Using the Site
"This alliance brings together three forces that will improve the operations of schools. SchoolDude.com brings an active community of school facility professionals who share best practices and collaborate to address common challenges, and maintenance and operations specific online applications that save time and money," said Lee Prevost, SchoolDude.com's President and Founder. "Now, KawamaCommerce brings the power to efficiently procure goods and services and further enhance the business operation of the school district."
"SchoolDude.com helps me to collaborate with my peers on common challenges and share experiences with other districts," said Steven Plaxco, Director of Maintenance of the Yuba City Unified School District in California. "This has helped me make better decisions for my schools. I look forward to taking the next step towards the increased efficiency of soliciting procurements online."
Once fully integrated, a SchoolDude.com member who needs to procure a new air conditioning system can locate several suppliers, find out what other district's experiences have been with those suppliers, download an air conditioning request for proposal document contributed by another school district, request and get bids, and buy it online.
"KawamaCommerce has enjoyed tremendous success focusing on administrators and purchasers," said Jeffrey Goh, CEO of KawamaCommerce. "But now we can solidify our move into the MRO side of purchasing. We can see that SchoolDude.com has a sure-footed understanding of the needs and wants of this segment and look forward to tapping their resources. We, in turn, will help build up SchoolDude.com's technology to be the best in the industry."
Traditionally, administrators and cooperative officials representing districts purchased goods and supplies while school facility and operations professionals independently purchased maintenance materials. Suppliers generally were from a local network of contacts with limited price comparison. The SchoolDude.com/KawamaCommerce alliance unites the two purchasing communities. The move will combine each company's strength, purchaser base and supplier options. SchoolDude.com will utilize KawamaCommerce's electronic procurement technology, while the later company will gain new product offerings and further market penetration.
Formal terms of the agreement are soon to be announced.
SchoolDude.com is the premier online home for school facility and operations professionals. SchoolDude.com's member only Web site provides facilities professionals with a secure place to share information, compare products and services, develop professionally and purchase more efficiently. SchoolDude.com's online tools and resources become an extension of the maintenance department and provide the maintenance professional with professional fulfillment, time savings creating more hours in the day, and a powerful weapon to generate savings by streamlining the maintenance department. For more information, visit www.schooldude.com or call 877-868-3833.
KawamaCommerce, launched in March 2000, unites the entire education purchasing community with a one-stop destination for buyers to research, compare and purchase products and services online with no cost involved. KawamaCommerce saves time and money for purchasing professionals by reducing research, bidding and buying costs. KawamaCommerce is the procurement solution endorsed by AASA, AESA and ACSA. For suppliers, KawamaCommerce provides an effective and efficient way to reach a large purchaser base for little cost. KawamaCommerce can save schools billions of dollars, which can then be used to enhance student achievement. Sylvan Ventures (NASDAQ: SLVN) and Ridgewood Capital are investors in KawamaCommerce. For more information, visit www.KawamaCommerce.com or call 1-714-619-3900.
CONTACT: SchoolDude.com, Cary Lee Prevost, 919-816-8237 |
