One isn't coming ISI head demands DAR apology

To the Editor:

I am writing this letter to address allegations of impropriety related to my organization. Bidding and quoting IT is a complex process that has many moving parts that require a certain degree of intelligence to interpret. It is always dangerous to inspect a single piece out of thousands and make a gross general assumption. It is reckless to question one's character or an organization's standing without speaking to them first, which of course did not happen prior to the publishing of your newspaper. It is nothing short of a professional travesty that you did not call me or my organization to check your facts, interview me, and make any sort of attempt to understand the value my organization provided to the City of Poplar Bluff. I am writing to address your accusation with you, your readership, and the City of Poplar Bluff at large.

To begin with, the quote that you specified does not correlate with the items mentioned in your article. You specified the wrong quote number. Quote CDNQ6944 does not contain the Havis mounts mentioned, CDNQ7051 does. The first version of quote CDNQ7051 was CDNQ7051-01. It included a Cisco 4507 datacenter switch, closet UPS equipment, Microsoft licensing, and Havis mounts for the City's police cars. Pricing extended was of various discounts off of MSRP for each product type as each vendor provides different discounting. Over the course of the next 5 versions, the Cisco 4507 core switch was removed, a datacenter UPS was added, and the percentage discount off of MSRP was made uniform across the entire quote. Some of the prices went up, and some went down.

The components that remained the same between both quotes included software licensing and Havis mounts for the City's police cars. On the first version of the quote (CDNQ7051-01) the total of these components equaled $211,037.31. On the last version of the quote (CDNQ7051-05), which is what the City Council purchased from us, the total of those same components equaled $167,253.90, which is a total savings over $40,000. Similar savings took place over other versions of other quotes as well.

On quote CDNQ7192 the price increased only a few thousand dollars but included $48,000 of installation services for free.

In quote CDNQ6944, over $200,000 was saved while still providing for $123,000 of police car laptops.

The process of refining and adjusting quotes as versions are discussed and reviewed is a professional work. We understand what it takes to be superior in our industry. It is a combination of intelligence, process, and common sense. When these things are combined, superior results take place. I would encourage you and your paper to pursue a similar methodology, as your article showed a high degree of ignorance by not understanding the facts, a complete abdication of the journalistic process by not calling me to understand those facts, and absolutely no common sense as both quotes mentioned went down in total price overall.

Google's definition of a tabloid is "a newspaper having pages smaller than the size of those of a standard newspaper, typically popular in style and dominated by headlines, photographs, and sensational stories". From what I understand and have now experienced, the Daily American Republic fits this definition well.

Ryan Leestma

Founder and Owner

ISI (Information Systems Intelligence)

Wyoming, Mich.

P.S. I will accept an apology at any point, at which time I will absolve the Daily American Republic of its mediocrity.

EDITOR'S Note: I'm impressed, I didn't know our readership extended as far north as Michigan. However, I understand you and Mr. Kaplan had a cozy relationship in Michigan and now in Poplar Bluff.

Mr. Kaplan was left a message to respond to questions and did not return the call by press time.

Mr. Kaplan is the city manager and our point of contact, not some vendor in another state. I stand by the story and if I were you I wouldn't hold my breath expecting an apology.

Don Schrieber

Publisher