From the ship for a Triathlete

Fan mail from Japan, Fukuoka -- to Evanston

Can't be sure of the date.
The stamp image looks like a yellow moth / butterfly thing with a smile. 

Groom and mother - Mark & Audrey

Going to the chapel. Going to get married! Chapel of love.

Wedding program.

Letter with Phil and Cartoonist

Note from USC Coach

Update

From a scan.

Mark Rauterkus

Sports Support Syndicate

1555 Sherman Ave. Suite 1650

Evanston, IL 60201

708-864-5089

August 3, 1990

Memo to Our Important Suppliers & Authors

Inside Strokes Newsletter

Dear Friends,

This summer has been a busy time, and it is getting worse before it can get

better. To begin, I'm moving the office to a new address on August 20. Here is

our new location:

Sports Support Syndicate

1739 East Carson Street

Suite 1650

Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Local Number is 412-481-2497

The 1-800 number will remain the same. I don't have many other details as to

the business location until we sign a commercial lease. I do have a good

location in mind and we've got a new apartment.

The reason I'm writing now is to put the finishing touches on our first big

event for the fall, the American Swim Coaches Association World Clinic to

be held in Washington D.C. In some ways, I’m not prepared with a ton of

products. Presently many things are still on the drawing boards. However, we

do have plenty to offer at this juncture. And, we must go forward, even with

pending projects as this is the only time of the year where we can all get

together and visit while concentrating on swimming sales.

Last year was a big year for our young company. Next year will be even bigger

as we put more follow-through behind our ideas and direction we have

already started. Last year at this time I was finishing our first book, and we

needed to send 4 cases to the show via Greyhound to arrive in time for our

autograph session. We were a one-product display last year. This year we will

easil9 fill the 2 and a third booths. We have plenty of irons in the fire, and we

like that challenge.

I'm exhibiting at the clinic with a double-sized booth, and we are next to

another company, Competitive Aquatic Supply, in a single booth. We are

joining forces for the show to make a combined presence.

We would like to have you join us at the ASCA clinic in our booth for sales

activities. We will have the room to have an island table for special guests in

the booth to show their products, sign-books, visit with customers, etc.

This is an open invitation to you for your participation. I'd love to have you

there. Your presence will be important. While there, we will have the time to

get familiar with the products, the sales mission, the customer demand and

issues. For the new people, I’m looking at this as a time to get together for a

long'-term relationship.

You are invited to join us in the booth without charge. I'm paying for the

booth. However, this is a sales opportunity as well as a show and education

opportunity. We can sell right on the floor, and I encourage you to do so.

Bring products. If we sell out of the stock that your are able to bring, we can

right orders and make deliveries after the show.

While selling at the show, all the sales will go through our cash box. We will

have the customers write their checks, purchase orders and take the credit

card info to be payable to us. Then at the end of each day, or after the show

closes, we will settle the cash box situation.

With you visiting our booth, bringing your own product, paying for your

own transportation, etc. I’d like to retain only 20% of the gross sales from the

sales of your products. This also includes follow-up sales that we deliver as a

direct result of the show. You'll keep 80% of the gross.

with our new splash at this clinic, I do not feel much pressure to offer huge

show discounts on products. Small extras are good, but I don't want to hold a

fire sale on any merchandise. We can talk about price specials at the show.

Before the show, we should discuss quantities.

At this time, this same invitation is headed to these people:

Keith Bell, book author

David Salo, book author

George Grippo, Polar USA

Don Gambril, book author

Jonty Skinner, book and software author and presenter at mini-school

Paul Pallisso, Video producer

Force Fins of Bob Evans Design - pending author (other booth)

Bob Gillette, inventor, pending author

Skip Bird, author (not expected as recovering from surgery)

Larry Newell, American Red Cross, pending author/supplier (not expected)

Dennis Fosdick, Water Polo, author (other booth)

David Berkoff, pending author, (not expected)

Hobie Billingsley, pending author (not expected)

Fred Crusiger, author (not expected)

Donald Chu, author (not expected)

Jerry Colletto, author (not expected)

Dr. Jane Katz, (pending author)

Leader Sports Products (supplier)

Rob Sleamaker, (author & other exhibitor possible)

Any author from Human Kinetics Publishers

Dr. Ernie Maglischo, (author for autograph visit)

Brent Rutemiller (author)

Dennis Pursley (author)

Pete Leighton, Athletes' Outlet (sales source)

Dr. Jan Pans, (author)

Lou Sharp, (Software author) Swim Logic

Dr. Leon Revien, Visual Skills Inc. (video producer/author)

Mary T. Meagher, author

Zoomers, pending author

Randall Eli Radic, author

Delphis Foundation, (other booth) video producers

High Peaks from Lake Placid (sales agent & catalog distribution site)

Melissa Rinker, Circle City Swimwear (sales agent in other booth)

The above list is long and includes plenty of people who are working on

plenty of different "intelligent products." However, I'm not expecting a

majority of the people to attend the clinic. You might find yourself on that list

and know that there is no way that you are going to possibly be there. That is

ok with me, but I wanted to let everyone know that you are most welcome.

Those with pending project, this will be a time where we can do some

investigation, research, testing of our ideas. You might want to come for a

discovery session. However, you might want to come only after the product is

completed. Also, those with their own agenda, I invite you to stop by the

booth, and we can establish a schedule, for a short visit. We would like you to

autograph copies of your books for our customers. That would be a great

reason to make a quite appearance.

Another major campaign is about to be finalized in the next few months

concerning our literacy project. We are about to publish a literacy/comic book

that will be a givea-way item. We are working with Cartoonist Across

America and a few advertisers that have expressed an interest. We have also

made connections with Barbara Bush, but at this time, the details are still

pending. We might have more exact news at the clinic.

With the literacy project, we will publish 50,000 books that explain swimming

at a baselevel interest with a character called Patrick Rabbit, the Greatest

Athlete in the Universe. Our slogan is "Read! Exercise Your Mind." We hope

to deliver 50 free copies of the book to each coach at the ASCA Clinic for

distribution to people in the coach's home community. Coaches should be

able to sign-up for delivery at our booth.

There is a series of definite campaigns that will be available by the ASCA

clinic, and this is our co-op catalog publishing project with swim specific

merchants. (."ompetitive Aquatic Supply of Huntington Beach and Ohio and

High Peaks of Lake Placid, New York will be distributing 15,000 copies of a 16

page book catalog to their customers this fall. Having merchants take such a

special interest in a dedicated book catalog is a first in our industry. I am very

excited about the sales potential of this type of marketing tool We are going

to be selling books like never before.

This co-publishing of a 16-page book catalog is the largest of our progressive

marketing activities, but other smaller advances have been realized

throughout the year. This includes: products available for evaluation and

display for company catalogs and trade shows from T.J.'s, World Wide

Aquatics, Kast-a-way, ISHOF, Swimmers Edge, ASC A, Swimming World,

At}aetes' Outlet, The Victor, Triathlon Today Magazine, and many other

sports shops from London to Japan and Australia. It has been a busy year, and

the energy level is still growing.

I'm open to all of your ideas, new product plans, and involvement. I'll try to

work with everyone by assisting them get access to the ASC A trade exhibit

hall with the Swimming Support Syndicate if you call in advance and let me

know you'll be attending.

The show details:

Sincerely yours,

Mark Rauterkus

I Dig Volleyball

Inside Strokes

Rejection from The White House (and it would be overturned)

Adventures Unlimited

Back in the day, a partnership with Adventures Unlimited and SSS had us doing sales and programs that were far ahead of what Amazon was doing.

Adventures Unlimited was a sports and travel bookstore in Long Beach. We placed a Macintosh computer on the sales counter there and had sales calls, mail-order letters, inventory, and other functions go straight there.

Omar - Swimming World

PR seeks titles

Letter to The White House and First Lady, Barbara Bush

Mark Rauterkus

Sports Support Syndicate

1555 Sherman Ave. Suite 1650

Evanston, IL 60201

708-864-5089

April 2, 1990

The Office of the First Lady

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC

Dear Mrs. Bush,

We are planning on publishing a (not-for-profit) comic book that deals

directly with Family Literacy and Swimming, two of your interests. We

would like your help.

My company is working with the nonprofit, literacy group, Cartoonists

Across America, (Phil Yeh and Mary Beth Roberts). Phil is illustrating the

book using their slogan, “Read! Exercise Your Mind!" and the character,

Patrick Rabbit, the Greatest Athlete in the Universe.

Could you write a short introduction for the book? 

We want to put your words and photo on the book’s inside front cover. Enclosed is a copy of

the story line for your review, and I’m enclosing a recent edition of one of

Phil Yeh’s other books with Patrick Rabbit.

The book’s introduction will be at the Swim Coaches World Clinic in

Washington D.C. from September 5 to 8, 1990. Could you plan to attend the

clinic for an hour so we can hold a brief autograph session? We would like

some of the coaches to get autographed copies of the book.

One thousand swim coaches from around the USA and a hundred or

so from other countries attend the ASCA World Clinic each year. We will

give every coach at the clinic 50 free copies of this book. The coaches will

distribute the books in their communities to promote literacy and swimming.

The book is intended for children (age 6-12) and their parents. The

comic book format is ideal for new readers. The book’s story will entertain

and teach how to join a swim team, swimming jargon, and conquering the

personal fear of getting started in a strange activity.

Sincerely yours,

Mark Rauterkus 

Project pitched to Alan

Dear Alan,

I have a project that I'd love to get you involved with. We are going to do some PSA's for TV on literacy. At present we are just starting, but we would like to have a pilot or two in the next couple of months.

Here is the plan.

First, we pick a major sporting event. Of course what am I to pick, the NCAA Division I Men's Swimming & Diving Championships in Indy in two weeks.

Then we pick two star performers. One is Olympic Coach Don Gambril who is the author of one of my books. The other is World Record Holder from U. of Michigan who has been on the cover of Swimming World Magazine.

The script is simple. We stage it like the Bud Light commercials. Instead of "Taste Great" vs. "Less Filling" -- we use "Read Books" vs. "Read Magazines". The book author introduces himself and says "read books"; the magazine cover athlete does the same then says, "read magazines."

Then I get the assistance of the local TV news department who is already going to be covering the meet. I ask them to shoot the PSA with the sport stars while they are at the event. Then then give me the tape, and they are done.

Here is where you come into the picture. I'd like to send you the tape from the scene, and have you edit it. We nee your talents as producer so we can turn the raw footage into a real PSA. Can you ad your magic to this? A special effect, a name or two and a "provided by..." statement needs to be done to bring the tape to a finished and professional state.

One major benefit, PSA's are short. We are talking about 5, 10 and 15 second spots. It is not like some drama production.

After you get the master finished, then we want to get the thing duplicated. I realize that the duplication is another job, but I'm wondering if you could handle that as well? If not, let me know and we'll try to get some other duplication process started.

We want to get the finished PSA's into a couple of test markets for experimentation purposes. I want to see if the stations would play such a tape. What stations are more supportive than others and why.

I'd also like a few copies of the master on the traditional VHS video tapes so I can show people without using Professional TV Production equipment. This tape would help us in our presentations to investor's sponsors, etc.

If you could get me ten of the duplicated PSA copies and 10 of the video VHS duplicates, then your mission would be accomplished -- for now. This project might be able to branch out into other endeavors, as you might guess as time goes by and support is generated. However, we have to get this first piece out of the idea stage and into a finished package.

Can you do this? Do you have cheap access to the equipment and studio facilities? Can you get some duplication done? Do you know others who might be interested in assisting if you can't do it alone? Are you still in Los Angeles? Are you still in North America?

Give me a call ASAP! Thanks!

Sincerely yours,

Mark Rauterkus

Seeking other publishers

Triathlete and Bycling Magainze

Didn't work out.