Castleman's behavior in this matter cannot be classified as anything but reprehensible! Of course most companies doing this sort of thing expect favorable publicity from their acts, but that should be a secondary consideration! Certainly nothing would prevent using the scholarships as the basis of an independent ad campaign OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL. I suspect it will cost Castleman ten times the $8,400 to counteract the negative publicity generated by this act.

I am glad there is somewhere to comment on this article.

I am completely flabbergasted at Castleman's remarks. I was even more blown away about his remarks about him not holding the Christmas party for kids anymore "because they won't buy a car from me, and it doesn't pay." These kind of people should be kicked out of the neighborhood...he isn't a citizen of the community, he is a greedy jerk that only does things to benefit himself.

I've got no words to describe how I feel about people like him. Anything I say would be censored. I hope he loses all his business once people find out about this article.

I am also appalled by Castleman's behavior. I would like to send an email expressing this to the company and letting them know that there is at least one BCPSS parent who does buy new cars and lives in the area that won't be making any purchases from them. Does anyone have the right address or should I just look on their website?

Thanks so much for adding this to the blog, Sara. I am copying the email I sent out to friends and colleagues re: this situation. I would greatly appreciate if the caring individuals that read this blog would respond as well (would type a new request but I'll get in trouble at work!).

Hi Friends and Colleagues:

I wanted to pass along some information as well as request that you take 30 seconds of your time (assuming you agree) to express your dissatisfaction with a local business decision to pull 4 scholarships from Patterson Park HS students. As reported in today's Maryland section of the Sun, Castle Toyota decided to withdraw 4 promised college scholarships to 4 specific students because of bureaucratic frustrations, dealership officials claim (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.scholarship03jun03,0,3177164.story). The final line of the story is the most demeaning comment of the entire piece, and I feel very strongly that businesses like this in Baltimore should really reevaluate their priorities. While the frustrations may have been rather intense with adults and individuals in the BCPSS system, taking 4 scholarships from students (now the scholarships likely will be funded by teachers at the school through donations) is the wrong way to show anger at a lack of results for a poorly managed marketing strategy.

So, what I beg of you (again, only if you agree), could you please take 30 seconds to call Castle Toyota and let them know how disappointed you may be over this decision?

For the Teach for America'ers in the list - please take a second to call, this is a critical part of our mission - we need to invest the whole community in school reform to have a significant impact on student achievement in Baltimore. It's moments like these that we can really prove why our organization is truly dedicated to urban educational reform in this City.

What: Call Castle Toyota - 1-888-493-7722 or 410-633-2200 (I called this morning and asked for a manager. The receptionist refused, but I left my phone number and address for a response call).
When: As soon as possible, as much as you'd like
Why: Express dissatisfaction for the choice to give up on students in Baltimore

As final motivation, here's the last line:

"But no more. After what happened at Patterson, Castleman said, "I'll never, ever, ever give money again. This is it. I'll never have another Christmas party for these kids. It doesn't pay."

I very much appreciate your help! I'm sorry if I've offended in any way. Take care.

Well, there are negative examples for the kids on all sides. Castleman disgusts me! But there is blame to go around to the school administrators as well -- what could have been good publicity for the school as well as for Castleman was totally squashed. We need entrepreneurial principals who can create partnerships with business to help students. Getting these scholarships for these four kids could have been a very positive message about Patterson, to counteract the many negative messages out there about the City school and the students. The innocent victims in this are the kids -- it breaks my heart!

Why punish the children for a dispute between the business and the school?

This reminds me of the time I dropped a quarter into the Salvation Army bucket around Christmas time. I then held a press conference, wrote a book about it, optioned the movie rights and named an award after myself. What a jerk this guy is!

Is there an address where one could contribute to the scholarship for these students?

Are you really surprised? I am not. What did disappoint me was when he said he won't do anything for "these" children anymore.

I am an educator with business experience so I do believe that there was a "classy" way that things could have been done. However, I would imagine that the bad atttitude probably went both ways.

He seems like only really cared about the publicity and worse holds preconceived notions about all poor (maybe black) city residents. I am comfortable saying that primarily because he has written off all charitible giving to one community (poor, mostly black) as a result of one incident with one school. If that was all it took to turn him off, his heart was never really in the right place.

When I make charitable donations I get a tax benefit -- usually. But I don't get my name in front of a camera, and don't want it. If Castleman wants a marketing plan, do that. If he wants to be philanthropic, do that. But if he wants to combine both, he'd best be able to roll with the punches. Now he's not going to make any more donations because he couldn't get his way with publicity in the wake of a man's death. Nice.

don't waste your time using the 'castle@trycrystal.com' email address. They already disabled that account.

Here's a page with email addresses for the staff - I figure management is a place to start:
http://www.castletoyota.com/ou/baltimore-scion-toyota/console.do?page=a_staff

The schools address is:

Patterson High School
100 Kane St
Baltimore, MD 21224

You can make the check out to the school. Put "scholarship fund" in the notation line.

Well, it looks like Castleman is getting a lot of free PR now. Probably not quite the spin they were looking for, though. I guess now we should only do good deeds and help out one another if there is something in it for us. What a jerk!

I'm appalled by Howard Castleman's vindictiveness. First he punishes the students who were expecting scholarships, then decides he'll no longer help put on a Christmas party for poor children because "it doesn't pay." What a pig. Charity and compassion aren't meant to be profitable. I think the principal made the right decision to not allow corporate advertising at the senior farewell ceremony, especially given the somber circumstances. Personally, I'd be offended at corporate advertising at any school event. I don't expect my name in lights whenever I practice charity and neither should a business.

Wow...an offer being made by a car dealer and then pulled back. How shocking! These guys perfect this practice on their customers. Why not put it to work on some poor high schoolers?

Hey, wait a second capitalist Americans! Castleman is just like any other business owner - he's not in business to lose money and if he's giving away $8400 he has every right to make a few requests. A media circus? Come on... Since when is a 3'x5' banner and a photographer a media circus?

Doesn't anyone have a problem with the idiot principal who made a kneejerk reaction and didn't even think about the consequences it would have on her students? What kind of leadership is that? Do we really want someone as volatile as she is running a Baltimore city high school? Ms. D'Anna also broke the news to Patterson teachers last week in an "emergency faculty meeting" and then hit up teachers for money to supplement the scholarship she had just blown. Why hit up the teachers? I'm sure her paycheck covers it. If I were those students' parents, I would be pointing my questions at her for speaking on behalf of their children. Who cares where the money comes from...it's a scholarship for pete's sake.

Way to put the blame on the school! Annabelle is no doubt an employee at Castle Toyota. Should the school also take the blame for the car guy to refuse to ever make any additional charitable contributions, stating that it does not pay to give!

I work in the marketing field, and I have to tell you, most companies do not pull donations from a marketing budget. Although they do hope for a secondary benefit in the form of goodwill and maybe some PR, there are always separate budgets for charitable donations. Unless there was a written contract stating that Castle would not provide the scholarships without the presence of media, he really did himself a disservice. He clearly saw this as a sponsorship effort and not a true charitable effort. These dollars were earmarked for return on investment.

Someone pointed out in an earlier post that he is punishing the very children he supposedly wanted to help just to get back at the school. Shame on him! His intentions, now, are clear, and his quote in the story is quite telling. Marketing 101 advice, Mr. Castleman: It will 'pay' to advertise in media or sponsor an event; charitable donations should reflect a company's core values and provide positive benefits in the form of a tax break and goodwill--anything above and beyond that is happenstance. These kids no doubt could have bought cars from you when they graduated college. Your only concern was making sure everyone knew just how 'generous' you were, and that is the exact opposite of truly being generous. They say there is no such thing as bad publicity, but now I'm not so sure. Idiot.

Annabelle,

I know you're trying to impress your boss, Mr. Castleman, but nobody's buying it. Thanks for playing.

Once again, the ones that were punished (the students) had nothing to do with the decisions that were made by either party. A gift with strings attached is not a gift.
I can understand a publicity stunt but be honest about it. Just say I want to generate some positive publicity for my dealership so this is what I will do for you. If it is something that is being done from the kindness of your heart and under these circumstances (sudden loss of a teacher) still give the scholarship. Word of mouth is the best advertisement and Castleman’s reputation and credibility just dropped to zero. Then to whine about what you have done in the past and to say that you will “never, ever, ever give money again. This is it. I'll never have another Christmas party for these kids. It doesn't pay." I have to wonder what kinds of kids are being referred to.

I've had my car serviced at Castle several times, but they have lost my business with this bonehead move. He clearly does not understand the definition of charity or realize how much negative publicity he has just earned. I believe in buying local, but our next new car(s) will not be purchased from Castle!

I'm glad to hear that some more enlightened businesses have stepped up to help these deserving students.

I too am DISGUSTED by Castle Toyota. I am a loyal Toyota customer and would NEVER give that man my business. His is a publicity hound who is getting exactly what he asked for...JERK!

I also do not find it fair to attack the administration in this situation, simply because there were extenuating circumstances (i.e the death of a beloved staff member days before the farewell assembly, putting quite a damper on the entire school). Who would want fanfare in light of that situation?

It is great that other local businesses have offered their support - that is a great positive in a really negative situation...

On behalf of Annabelle (who I suspect may be a Patterson employee as well): A letter written to Ms. Neufeld:

I am a teacher at Patterson High and I am fearful of recriminations, but I think there is a tremendous wrong being done to Howard Castleman and Castle Toyota right now. I wanted to send in an anonymous letter to the editor, but anonymous letters are (rightly) not printed in your paper. I think you have done a fair job reporting on this story, but there is a side to it that isn't being told. This is the letter I wanted to have printed in the paper:

"As a Patterson High School employee, I was outraged not by Castle Toyota's decision to rescind the scholarships, but by Laura D'Anna's complete mishandling of the situation. According to Sara Neufeld's article, "Since students and staff were grieving, she [D'Anna] decided that no media would be allowed." What does one have to do with the other? There is no doubt that the students involved absolutely deserve the scholarships, but Castle Toyota was put in an unfairly difficult position. Major Thomas's death is a tragedy, but should not have been the central theme of Patterson's Senior Farewell. Principal Laura D'Anna tends to be belligerent, loud, overbearing and tyrannical. When Howard Castleman cites "attitude" as the reason for rescinding the scholarships, he is likely talking about D'Anna. The decision to exclude the press appears to be D'Anna's alone - the general Patterson staff was not consulted, but they were immediately solicited for money after being told D'Anna's version of the Castle Toyota renege. I may have a harsh opinion of Principal D'Anna, but I also want readers to think twice before skewering Howard Castleman and Castle Toyota."

My personal opinion is that Ms. D'Anna is a bully and a manipulator, and it's because of those qualities that I (and any other Patterson staff members who were immune to her sermonizing and general propaganda) don't want to stand against her. I just want to beg you to dig a little deeper into this story. I know that it seems like it's a happy ending, and the evil Big Company is put into its place - but that just isn't the whole truth. I know I seem like a huge coward trying to do all this on the sneak, but if you've ever seen what happens to Andy Dufresne when he stands up to the warden in The Shawshank Redemption, then you know why I'd rather not.

First of all, I want to say thank you to the teachers of Patterson and everywhere else - I know a few of you and you're wonderful people and I have much respect for your profession, being the child of an elementary school teacher of 35 years. This wise mother of mine also informed me that she would not pay for my college education if I decided to go into teaching - the logic being that in the Realm of Education, teachers and students are expendable and the administrators are idiots.

Alas, I am not an employee of Castle Toyota OR Patterson.

However, a close personal friend of mine was late meeting me for dinner last week due to an "emergency faculty meeting". In this meeting, Ms. D'Anna announced her short-sighted intention of not allowing the Toyota dealership what was initially agreed upon and then ask my friends for their hard-earned money instead.

As the Patterson employee who posted before alluded to, there are other sides to this story. I don't agree with the harshness of Castleman's words but I also wasn't there to hear them firsthand (they were reported by a Baltimore Sun reporter, after all). I'm sure Castleman was frustrated with the whole situation - he was just trying to create a win-win for himself and some students in Baltimore. The best analogy I have to set up this perspective is this: Have you ever tried to adopt a cat from an animal shelter? Some shelters make you jump through hoops to do something that you feel is good and right but during the process, you almost want to give up - you start wondering if it's worth the effort to produce tax records to prove your residence or if your estimation of the annual cost to owning a pet is correct. Stop beating up on the guy trying to make a couple bucks and start questioning authority...who gave Ms. D'Anna the right to decide that her students shouldn't have the scholarship money?

It is my experience from the personal relationships that I've had with the many teachers in my life, the administrators lack any real experience with handling both business and educational decisions and lose sight of what is best for the students (and by association, teachers). Ms. D'Anna drives that point home. How would you feel if that was your kid's scholarship?

Based on results, intentions have been revealed: 1) It was the intention of Castle Toyota/Scion to get publicity for themselves, and they did that, 2) It was the intention of Laura D'Anna to make sure that our students had the scholarships that were promised to them, and she did that. When you clear away all of the "he said / she said" and all the talk about who intended to do what for whom and why, in the end a few clear facts remain: Laura D'Anna took the high road, and Castle Toyota took the low road, and Laura D'Anna got the scholarships (and then some) for the students.
Personalities and managerial style are irrelevant here. It was stated by someone that Howard Castleman is a wonderful man, but he took scholarships away from students and broke his word, without regard for how this decision would affect their future and chance at success, or his own reputation. Some very unkind things were said about Laura D'Anna, but she rallied her resources and got not only the scholarship money that had been promised to them, but an extra year of tuition for each of the recipients, and enough money to create a new scholarship fund in memory of Major Thomas.
Laura D'Anna created a positive result from a negative situation for our students and our school and future students. Howard Castleman created a negative result and got way more publicity than he bargained for. If you only look at the results, the clear winner is not Howard Castleman or Laura D'Anna, but the students of Patterson High School. It is the responsibility of a school principal to make sure her students have every chance at success, and Laura D'Anna created that positive result, not Howard Castleman. Laura D'Anna is invested in creating opportunities for success for Baltimore students, as evidenced by this and her long track record as an educator and administrator. Based on results alone, it is obvious who the "bad guy" is, here, and it's not Laura D'Anna.

I forgot to mention in my last post....In response to Annabelle stating that "a close personal friend of mine was late meeting me for dinner last week due to an 'emergency faculty meeting'," it is clear that Annabelle is neither a Patterson employee, nor a "close personal friend" of one--the "emergency faculty meeting" was shortly after 12:00 noon on an early release day, not after school, and only lasted about ten minutes, so wouldn't have kept anyone late enough to be late for a dinner appointment in any event.
It's pretty pathetic that whoever Annabelle is, s/he is just making things up at this point.

"Laura D'Anna took the high road" is a fact? How is that a fact? You deem the criticism against D'Anna unfair, but you attack a commenter because she missed a minor detail about the timing of the faculty meeting. Will you please use your infallible logic to let us know why D'Anna refused to accept Castleman's money after the fact? More high road?

I am glad this thread died an early death. It is very obvious that there are two sides to this story and those inflamatory, kneejerk reactions from Castleman bashers ought to be more circumspect before they show their more intolerant side. No one bothered to ask if this PR requirement is governed by Toyota's contract with the dealership and I suspect it is because the manufacturer must control the activities of its dealers.