Posted on Feb 22, 2006

Renowned pollster John Zogby, widely considered a “maverick predictor” for his ability to pinpoint election results with dead-on accuracy, will speak at the Nott Memorial on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. as part of Perspectives at the Nott. He will talk on “The Political Landscape in 2006: The U.S. and the World.”

Earler in the day, at noon, he will speak as part of the Pizza and Politics series in Social Sciences Room 103.

Zogby is the president and CEO of Zogby International, an opinion and marketing research organization based in Utica, with offices in Washington, D.C. The firm's pollsters work with psychologists, sociologists, computer experts, linguists, political scientists, economists and mathematicians to “explore every nuance in language and test new methods in public opinion research.”

Zogby conducts political and opinion polling for clients such as Reuters News Agency, NBC News, the New York Post, Fox News, Gannett News Service, the Albany Times Union and other newspapers in New York state and around the country. Since 1984, the firm has been tracking public opinion around the globe – working in 62 countries, at last count.

In November 1996, Zogby made headlines by being the only pollster to accurately call the U.S. presidential election.   

John Zogby has been praised as the “the most accurate pollster” (Seattle Post Intelligencer, Cleveland Plain Dealer, USA Today), and “the pace setter in the polling business” (New York Post).

He regularly appears on all three nightly network news programs plus NBC's “Today Show,” ABC's “Good Morning America” and is a frequent guest for Fox News and MSNBC special programs, along with CNBC's “Hardball with Chris Matthews.” He also is a regular political commentator for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Zogby holds degrees in history from Le Moyne College and Syracuse University. A frequent lecturer and panelist, he is listed with Leading Authorities, a top speakers' bureau in Washington, D.C., and the National Speakers' Bureau, in Chicago.  

He has polled, researched and consulted for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups including Microsoft, CISCO Systems, Philip Morris, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, MCI, Reuters America and the United States Census Bureau.

Posted on Feb 21, 2006

After William Denison Williams graduated Union College in 1932, he didn't forget his alma mater. The retired General Electric engineer gave a modest gift to the school every year and attended reunions. In 1987, he donated a copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe's “Men of our Times” to the library.

The school's fundraisers hardly considered Williams a big fish.

That is, until Williams, who died in October, left a quarter of his $20 million estate to Union — a gift that arrived out of the blue. “He was a regular donor to the annual fund, at a nice level but not a major gift level,” said Tom Gutenberger, Union's vice president of college relations. “It's a fantastic surprise to get.”

The $5 million gift will be used to endow a pair of professorships. Union officials have not determined in which fields the chairs will be. Part of the gift will also be used to renovate Butterfield Hall, Union's engineering building.

Gutenberger said Williams would make regular gifts in the $200 to $1,000 range, and while officials would occasionally try to visit Williams, he kept turning them down. “Each time he just said 'no,' he just didn't want anybody to come see him,” Gutenberger said.

In Schenectady, where untold thousands have worked and invested in GE over the years, that kind of hidden fortune is not unheard of.

We have a lot of alumni that work at GE, or worked at GE, and a lot of them have built up a substantial amount of wealth through their GE stock,” Gutenberger said.

It's a tale with which Don Lang, chief development officer at St. Clare's Hospital Foundation, is familiar.

“It's not uncommon to get seven-figure gifts from names in this community that aren't household names,” Lang said.

For families that sent a few people to work for GE, “You've got over 100 years of GE stock building up. And they didn't spend it. They were frugal,” Lang said. And, typically, they want to remain far under the radar. “The richest people in town have the used cars,” Lang said. “You never know who is who, and who has what, so you treat everybody well.”

Williams, who received an electrical engineering degree from Union in addition to study at Cornell and Duke, was manager of GE's Magnetics Section and worked in its engineering laboratory. He was married and had no children; he lived in Scotia for many years before moving to Pennsylvania.

His estate was partially divided among Union, his late wife's alma mater, Piedmont College in Georgia, and the James A. Michener Art Museum in Pennsylvania.

Williams was also a skilled violinist who performed with orchestras in New York and Philadelphia. He also gave some money to individual musicians.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this generous gift,” said James Underwood, Union's interim president. “Union obviously played a big role in William's life.”

Williams' gift, while large, isn't the school's biggest ever. In 2002, former U.S. Rep. John Wold of Wyoming and his wife, Jane, contributed $20 million.

Posted on Feb 21, 2006

When William Denison Williams died, he left an unexpected legacy to his alma mater: A stack of memorabilia including his 1932 Union College commencement program and $5 million.

His gift ranks among the top 10 in the college's history, but until his death his intentions were wholly unknown to the college, said Tom Gutenberger, vice president for college relations.

“That was the beautiful part about it,” Gutenberger said . “Pretty much every year he would give a gift to our annual fund, he came to some alumni events in Philadelphia. He was involved, but he was kind of in the middle . . . but he never let us know we were in his will.”

Williams graduated from Union with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. After further study at Duke and Cornell universities, Williams returned to the area as a GE engineer.

He became manager of the magnetics section and worked in the engineering laboratory until his retirement. He lived in Scotia until 1991 when he moved to Doylestown, Pa. Williams was married – his wife died before he did – but the couple had no children. He was an accomplished violinist and performed with orchestras in New York and Philadelphia.

At the time of his death, Williams had amassed an estate exceeding $20 million, much of it acquired through investments, according to a statement from the college. The bulk of the estate was divided among Union College, Piedmont College in Georgia, his wife's alma mater, and the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown.

Other than that, the college knows very little about him.

“We don't have anyone who knows him or has information about him,” Gutenberger said. “The bottom line of the whole thing is it's very rare to have a gift of this size without the person being involved to a larger extent.”

Gutenberger said unexpected estate gifts – particularly large gifts – are very rare.

“Most people do let us know if we are in their will, and if they do, we can thank them while they're alive, invite them to special events on campus, give them some recognition,” Gutenberger said. “It's very surprising.”

Most of the tidbits the college has been able to learn about Williams come from records of his contributions and a stack of papers his attorney forwarded to the college upon his death.

Among the papers are an article about the restoration of the Nott Memorial, numerous thank you notes for donations, including a 1987 note for donating a copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe's “Men of our Times,” and a 1935 letter to Williams from a former professor.

“He's held on to all of these things, so obviously Union meant a great deal to him,” Gutenberger said. “But for some reason he didn't want maybe the attention while he was alive. Because clearly he could've made a gift when he was alive.”

Gutenberger said Williams made annual contributions to Union.

A 1941 note in Williams' collection thanks him for a $56.67 check to the Department of Physics, but in later years Williams' donated $1,000 annually.

The college contacted him about once every two years to inquire about an estate gift, but Gutenberger said Williams was not interested.

“He said no, he really didn't have an interest in seeing anybody, he was happy with his relationship, so we weren't able to talk to him personally about giving,” Gutenberger said.

Gutenberger said the college does try to track wealthier alumni and contact them to encourage giving.

“A lot of it is, you can tell by the level of the gifts they make to the college,” Gutenberger. “Another is through classmates that will talk about other successful classmates who should be giving to the college, and a third is through public record when you see someone has been named president of their company or started a company.”

The college also sends out alumni surveys and maintains an alumni directory. But while Williams made regular contributions, he never sought a leadership role as an alumnus and he rebuffed efforts to meet with college representatives to discuss a larger donation.

“One of the good lessons is you really have to look long term and pay attention to everyone and treat them well,” Gutenberger said.

Williams' $5 million gift was unrestricted and will be used to endow two chairs in his honor. The academic designation for the chairs has not been decided.

His contribution increases the college's $300 million endowment. The college is also in the midst of a $200 million capital campaign which has raised $106 million in its first 1 ½ years and will continue for the next 3 ½ years.

Posted on Feb 21, 2006

Union College in Schenectady has received one of the largest gifts in its history, a $5 million bequest from a 1932 Union graduate who became a manager at General Electric Co.

The college said Monday William Denison Williams, who died Oct. 15, 2005, in Doylestown, Pa., left Union $5 million. The gift was unrestricted. Union said it will use the money to endow two chairs in Williams' name, though the academic designation has not yet been determined.

Williams received a bachelor's of science in electrical engineering from Union and later studied at Duke and Cornell. At GE, he was manager of the Magnetics Section and he worked in the engineering lab.

He retired in 1954. He was 95 when he died.

Williams left an estate of more than $20 million. He divided the bulk of the money between Union College, Piedmont College in Georgia, and the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa.

The largest gift in the college's history was the $20 million given in November 2002 by John Wold, a geologist and former U.S. Congressman from Casper, Wyo., and his wife Jane.

Posted on Feb 20, 2006

The old expression ‘one man's junk is another man's treasure' can be used to describe the services provided by eWired Auctions, LLC — but with a philanthropic twist.  This young online auction consultancy, which who advises non-profit organizations and charities on fundraising efforts, has positive revenue and is ready to expand its workforce as its next task toward economic growth.

The entrepreneurs who founded the company, Robert Kristel and Brian Selchick, met through a mutual friend three years ago.  They joined forces and became a united front when the dot com companies www.I-soldit.com and www.snappyauction.com sprung up out of the steel trap doors of the world wide web in direct competition with eBay.

Selchick occupied his time while attending Union College as an undergraduate enrolled in the MBA program by selling products on eBay.  When he began selling products for other people, Selchick realized that what he was providing could become a franchising service.

“We're a total auction management company for charities on and off eBay. There are 170 million users, over 8,000 charities registered with eBay,” Selchick said, with prior experience fundraising for charities.  “We provide unique fundraising and marketing for our clients but also for their sponsors.”
Kristel studied video production at New York University.  Before venturing into the online auction management service, he worked in the film industry for 10 years.

They completed an auction campaign for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.  The initiative raised money and helped students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

“We enable our clients to get creative sponsorship not brick and mortar,” Kristel said.  “We help charities that might not have the money to donate, but instead might have time shares, or an old TV, or a car to sell.”

eWired Auctions does not earn profits based from a commission like many major auction homes are historically known to do.  Instead, they have seamless zero commission, as Selchick is proud to catch phrase it.  They charge a flat management fee to all clients.  They also develop customized proprietary online auction systems for companies.  The clients can track and build on their own fundraising initiatives, raising money for a known socially, ethically, and hopefully politically correct cause.

Writing press releases, searching engine submissions, marketing direct mail campaigns, hosting live events such as bidding parties are services eWire Auctions also offer.

“I feel good about coming to work every day,” Kristel said, wearing a white Oxford shirt.  “It's kind of like Robin Hood without stealing.”

With warehousing space located in Albany, Scotia, and East Greenbush, they are expanding at an impressive rate.  “Globalization is destroying borders,” Selchick said.  “There is great marketing potential.  In New York alone there are over 100,000 charities.”

eWired Auctions offer tangible and intangible items for bid such as life size Star Wars Yoda Master Jedi Knight, lunch with Warren Buffet for $250,000, an electric wheelchair, and a weightless flight with a NASA astronaut.
“This is a better way for people to give,” Kristel said.  “It's not as constrictive.”

They are the only company on the east coast to provide an auction management service at the community level where a percentage of the proceeds goes to charity, according to both principals.  They adopted the concept from community selling, a marketing tool found on eBay.
eWired Auctions' competitive edge is that they explain how the donors will interact with auctions. They consult with the types of items to auction and they can fulfill those items.  Partnered with Auction Anything, they are certified to consult on multiple platforms.  “We want to build our own online auction systems because we know what we like and don't like,” Kristel said.

The next steps needed for eWired Auctions to raise itself to a competitive industry position: launch a team of account executives, convene a board of advisors and to execute a focused business plan.