My mortgage company, my Ally, in more ways than one

Let me get this straight: As an American taxpayer, I own a stake in Ally Financial, formerly GMAC, which also happens to be the company to which I make monthly mortgage payments.

If I miss my mortgage payment (and I never have), I get harassed on the phone and my credit rating goes in the toilet.

If Ally Financial's mortgage unit, ResCap, misses a $20 million payment like it did in mid-April, it is in "asset protection mode" and "depositors and creditors seem relatively unfazed," according to today's New York Times.

The story concludes, "Given the ties between ResCap and its parent company, Ally will almost certainly have to write a check to escape this mess. The only question is how big that check will have to be."

Begging the Times reporter's pardon, but I have another question: As an Ally customer (through no choice of my own; my mortgage was bundled and sold to Ally) and a putative shareholder in the company, how am I going to get the shaft? Because if there's one thing I know it's that foul smelly stuff (and you know what I'm talking about) always flows downhill.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/business/troubled-mortgage-unit-threatens-ally-financial.html?hp

Idaho Falls names new public information officer

Brad Huerta

Brad Huerta of Pocatello has been selected as the new public information officer for the city of Idaho Falls. He begins May 21.
Huerta served as director of public affairs for Portneuf Medical Center until 2010, when he started his own company, Insight Communication Strategies. A state-licensed public information officer, Huerta has done media work as well as strategic development and planning.

He holds a bachelors degree in political science from Idaho State University and a masters in public administration from the University of Colorado. He has served on the ISU Adjunct Faculty.

Eastern Idaho Regional names new community relations and marketing specialist

Michele Badrov

Michele Badrov has joined Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center as its new community relations and marketing specialist.

Originally from Seattle, she moved to Idaho Falls four years ago with her family. Her business experience includes a Prudential-affiliated real estate appraisal and development firm in South Carolina. When she had children, she transferred her skills and abilities to the volunteer sector, serving on executive boards for the education foundation, school site councils, PTA and youth sports. She is president of the Southpoint Homeowners Association.

She holds a master's in health care administration from Idaho State University. Now that her children are older, she said it was time to refocus on her career.

"I hired Michele because she brings community-based involvement and a business background," said Cindy Smith-Putnam, the hospital's executive director of business development, marketing and community relations.

Don't waste your marketing dollars on social media

There's nothing like a good headline to get someone's attention, and when I saw "Don't waste your marketing dollars on social media," I knew I had to read the story.

The post, by Joshua Moser on the My Super Marketer Web site, is not suggesting that social media is a waste, only that a lot of people have a wrong or inflated idea of what it can do for them.

I'll give you his bullet points, but if you're interested in this I suggest you read both the blog entry and the comments that follow,

• Define your audience.
• Make a compelling offer to capture their attention.
• Collect the right amount data and usable customer feedback.
• Take it beyond Facebook into a cost effective nurture marketing process.
• Test. Analyze. Refine. Repeat.

On the whole, the site looks like it has a lot of good information and writing on it. Here's the link: http://mysupermarketer.com/index.php/blog/entry/dont-waste-your-marketing-dollars-on-social-media-1

First-class cabin service returns to Idaho Falls

SkyWest began flying 76-seat Canadair RJ 700s in and out of Idaho Falls this week. This marks the first time a regular commercial service has offered a plane with a first-class cabin since 1997, when Delta quit landing 737s in Idaho Falls.

Since Delta stopped flying 737s into Idaho Falls Regional Airport in 1997, one of the major complaints from an economic development standpoint has been the lack of first-class cabins in the regional jets that took their place.

That ended Wednesday, when SkyWest began its early morning flight to Salt Lake City with a larger Canadair Regional Jet 700. The 76-seat aircraft has a first-class cabin, which means corporate types who would never fly coach under any circumstance may be likely to feel more at ease about visiting Idaho Falls to check it out.

It's also good news for people who fly all the time, said Airport Manager Len Nelson. "When you have people who are premium fliers, those upgrades are signficant," he said.

SkyWest, which operates the Delta Connection to Salt Lake City and the United flights between Idaho Falls, Denver and San Francisco, has brought RJ 900s into service, freeing up the RJ 700s for other routes. Right now it's only the plane that comes in late and leaves early in the morning, but if the flights are full a second RJ 700 could be added.

Idaho Falls was ranked second among 228 SkyWest locations for operations efficiency and on-time performance in April. "This is a good indication of the competency and steady performance of the SkyWest managment and staff here at Idaho Falls," Nelson said. "Given the volatile weather conditions we have from day to day, it is no easy task to keep flights running smoothly and on time."