Hey I did this blog for one of my PR classes. Now that the class is over, I won’t be continuing this blog.

Thanks everyone for checking it out

Two of Columbia’s top executives bought thousands of the company’s shares last month, one of them being the CEO himself, Tim Boyle. Back in February, Boyle bought 10,700 shares at between $41.59 and $42.50 a share. Boyle now owns 14.7 million shares of the approximate 36 million shares Columbia has to offer.

The other stock happy executive is Columbia’s vice president of sales, Mick McCormick. In early February, McCormick purchased 2,500 shares for $40.73 per share.

Both of these stocks were purchased just after a 52-week low for Columbia. In late January, Columbia’s shares were selling for $34.65 per share. Less than a year ago, Columbia’s stocks hit the $70 per share mark.

Patrick D. Anderson, who has been the chief operations officer for six years, resigned from the company according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Anderson began his tenure at Columbia in June of 1992 as manager of financial reporting, became a Corporate Controller in August of 1993, Chief Financial Officer of the Company in December 1996 and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2002. According to the filing, his last day as an employee will be after a yet to be determined transition period, but will be no later than April 30, 2008.

Check it out in the Oregon Business Journal here

Effective May 1, 2008 all major functions of Montrail Inc. will be realigned under the management of Mountain Hardwear Inc., a subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear. Mountain Hardwear is well established in the outdoor industry as one of the leaders of high-end mountaineering and outdoor apparel, accessories and equipment. Montrail products will function under Columbia Sportswear corporate management in Portland, Oregon. The U.S. product distribution and shipping will continue to be processed through the company’s Kentucky facility.

The president of Mountain Hardwear, Mike Wallenfels will oversee operations of the Montrail brand. According to a Yahoo business article, he said the move is designed to better align the two brands and streamline operations by maximizing marketing resources for long-term success.

Columbia’s CEO Tim Boyle explained his confidence in the move by saying “We see this as an ideal marriage of two specialty brands. The Mountain Hardwear customer and the Montrail customer are often the same and the management team at Mountain Hardwear knows that demographic very well. By moving Montrail under Mountain Hardwear’s leadership we can best serve our retailers while keeping a focus on creating innovative products.”

Reports surfaced last Friday that Columbia’s CEO Tim Boyle is concerned with the sluggish size of his annual sales coming out his European market. This region that is not only much more popular than America, but according to Boyle they also have much more of an outdoor ethic than we do in America. This populated region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa accounts for 21 percent of Columbia’s annual sales. A number that Boyle feels should be much higher.

As a result, Boyle has recently:

• Tweaked Columbia’s overseas marketing efforts.
• Sent senior executives to key markets.
• Began seeking more continuity between the way it does business here and abroad.
• Started looking for ways to collect better data from European retailers.

As uplifting as these actions may seem, Columbia still needs to address some various marketing challenges. Boyle must keep in mind that there are no European-wide television stations, making TV advertising more expensive and there are also few publications that distribute throughout Europe.

Even though I haven’t read through a dictionary in longer than I can remember, I feel pretty safe in saying most things in this world have a set definition that can be agreed upon. After a discussion in class and a few quick moments of research, I’ve come to realize that even amongst prestigious PR organizations, dictionaries and answer.com, no one can seem to clearly agree on a set definition. Take for example Geoff Livingston post about “PR’s ridiculous identity crisis.” He pulls PR definitions from PRSA, the Institute for Public Relations, First World Form for Public Relations, Dictionary.com and Answers.com. Each definition genuinely differs from one another.

As a student who suddenly realized he’s a near three months and five credits away from graduation, I’ve slowly started realizing the uncertainties of my life as graduate in a field neither I nor anyone can clearly define. I’m hoping this is just my uncertainties or a lack of confidence getting the best of me, otherwise I fear I’m in for some rough times over the next six months.

So how do you define PR?

Columbia Sportswear is releasing a new sun-protective clothing line next month that will be the first ever to be recommended by The Skin Cancer Foundation.

Columbia’s omni-shade line has already been awarded a ‘Seal of Recommendation’ because the entire line comes with a minimal ultraviolet protection factor of 30. The line includes over 100 different products suitable for men, women and children. The line has been tested to protect against UVA’s, UVB’s as well as other ultraviolet rays.

According to The Skin Cancer Foundation’s president Perry Robins, studies now show that clothing is the most effective way of protecting our selves against sun exposure. For other information click here to check out The Skin Care Foundation’s website.

Check out the full article at just-style.com

Blogging is a means of communication that is supposed to be conversational. Unfortunately, many bloggers have a tendency of treating blogs like traditional media with a focus on tactical pitches or initiatives. By treating blogs like traditional media, bloggers become more concerned with hits than they do with building relationships. Although the popularity of one’s blog is important, building relationships is more beneficial in the long run.

At the end of last month, Geoff Livingston wrote a blog titled “six steps to better blogger relations.” This article provides six simple tips that any blogger can benefit from. I’d encourage any PR Pro to consider his tips.

I think if Columbia ever comes out with their own official blog, I’d suggest they take Livingston’s tips to heart, especially when first starting out.

During a Portland Business Journal’s Most Admired Companies luncheon, Columbia’s CEO Tim Boyle told 700 Portland businesses leaders that he will lead a charge to Oregon’s reform of higher-education funding.

After attacking the state government he said, “higher education in Oregon is shining example of old adage: The best thing to come out of Salem is Interstate 5.”

Boyle continued to explain that Oregon is ranked 45^th in the nation in terms of state support of higher-education students. The state provides about 40 percent less of operation funds than it did in 2002.

In response to Kelli’s post “How to Make Internal & External Clients Love You” I thought it would be a good idea to cover this subject a little more in depth. When it comes to dealing with our peers let’s face it, some of us are just born with the ability to impress, relate and influence others. On the other hand, some of us missed out on that chromosome in the gene pool. But hey, don’t sweat it, there’s still hope for the hard-working job seekers that desperately try to master these priceless skills

Don’t get ahead of yourself, I’m not saying there’s a miracle antidote that can turn anyone into a born-again leader, but there are methods that can help. Since Kelli has already provided a list of ways to impress clients, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a list ways NOT to impress clients.

Here’s a list of five things people should be concerned about after landing that first real job in their career.

Come in Late

• Come in late every day, and by that I mean after the flexitime window.
• Keep doing it even after gentle hints are being dropped about it.

Refuse to Get the Coffees

• Take every cup of coffee going, but seldom go and get them for everyone yourself.
• If you need a cup of coffee just get your own.

Knock People Down

• Belittle people when they make a mistake.
• Make sure everyone knows what an idiot they are.
• This should get you a few laughs each time, but once you’ve done it to everybody there will be less people laughing each time

Never Help Anyone

• If anyone asks for help, never help them.
• Just say “look it up” and hand them a manual, or better still, tell them which cupboard the manual is in.

Long Lunch Breaks

• Look upon the hour that you get for lunch as a minimum.
• Make sure that it is usually about an hour and a half to two hours.