A 'big-hearted' bank sends Directory disk to Chamber

By Kara Chalmers

Christmas came early for Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Abby Krimotat this year.

A CD-ROM containing a basic proof, or rough draft, of the Chamber of Commerce's 2000 Saratoga Directory arrived at the Chamber's doorstep on Dec. 24. Since October, when the expected 12,000 copies of the printed directory were not delivered to the Chamber, Krimotat has been in limbo.

"We were elated," Krimotat said of herself and her staff at the chamber.

The bad news is, the disk does not contain a map, an updated Chamber membership list or all of the advertisements sold. So, the Chamber still has a lot of work to do.

"But you can always look at your glass as half full, not half empty," Krimotat said, noting that the arrival of the disk has meant a lot less stress on the Chamber in terms of getting the directories out by early February.

A production coordinator at Mosher-Adams, the Oklahoma-based publishing firm originally hired to handle the job, in early October told Krimotat that production on the directory was proceeding smoothly and that the copies would be delivered by the end of the month. But Krimotat tried to call the firm and access its website on Oct. 30 and could not get through. It turned out that Mosher-Adams, which had produced the directories for the Chamber for the past seven years, had declared bankruptcy. The directories--which list Saratoga schools, churches, restaurants and hotels for residents, businesses and visitors--were never finished.

Krimotat soon found out that the Bank of Oklahoma had the CD-ROM that contained all the work Mosher-Adams had done on the directories. The bank was holding it, along with all of the company's property, as collateral.

Michael Rubenstein, attorney for the bank, at first tried to sell the disk to Krimotat, saying that the bank was attempting to liquidate all collateral to recover on its client's debt.

"I had knots in my stomach for a full day," Krimotat said, "knowing they had the disk and weren't sending it to me."

Krimotat responded by asking how the bank could demand an offer for something that was of no use to them and that wasn't rightfully theirs to sell. She said she explained that because of Mosher-Adams, the Chamber was out thousands of dollars. She offered him $100 for the disk.

The email response from Michael Rubenstein said that the CD-ROM was on its way and that the bank has a big heart.

Krimotat said she'll be sending Rubenstein a big thank-you note.

"We are grateful to the bank, and this little disk will be within a three-mile radius from here on out, forever and ever," she said.

Although the bank with the big heart may have sent some of the old lists, Krimotat still must go back to five or six advertisers to obtain their artwork. Luckily, Los Gatos Village Printers happened to have some of the advertisements on hand and said it will create a brand-new map for the directory.

The total cost to the Chamber will run to $25,000 after distribution, which is the amount the Chamber authorized Krimotat to spend when the crisis first arose in October. Some of the 88 advertisers only paid half of their bill up front, so Krimotat hopes to receive those balances, although technically, all contracts were between the individual advertisers and Mosher-Adams.

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