Reply #8: Here's Bob

[Starry Messenger]

And who is the films producer? Some scrappy little indy production house called 2MM. Or so they'd like for you to think. Let's meet this intrepid fellow.


Call me Bob

Welcome to my site. If you haven’t picked up on it yet my name is Robert Compton but my friends call me Bob. I have been around since the fifties and am glad to have lived during such interesting times. I have a wide range of interests and I hope that you and I can learn something from each other.

I graduated from Principia College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduation I began my career in systems operations with Telenet Communications, the first X.25 communications network. I joined IBM Corporation initially as a systems engineer, and later became a sales representative selling mainframe computer systems. I left IBM to continue my education at Harvard University Graduate School of Business where I received my Masters in Business Administration.

A year after Harvard, I landed a position at First Chicago Venture Capital. From there, I moved to Indiana where I served as a general partner at CID Equity Partners from 1987 to 1997. My signature deal was help-desk software developer Software Artistry, which went public in 1995 and was acquired two years later by IBM for about $200 Million. I was President and Chief Operating Officer of Sofamor Danek Group, Inc., which at the time was the world’s largest supplier of implants, computer-assisted surgery products, and biologics for spinal surgery. Medtronic acquired Sofamor Danek Group, Inc. in January 1999 for $3.7 billion. I have served on numerous corporate Boards of Directors in an array of industries and have been the lead investor in over 20 businesses, five of which have had successful public offerings. I am currently the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vontoo Corporation, the Founder and CEO of True South Studios, as well as the Founder and Chairman of Indian Math Online.

I am an active philanthropist, who has endowed scholarships at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, given a grant to support Teach for America and the University of Memphis School of Business. I have given research grants to InMotion Musculoskeletal Research Institute, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I have also given money to support St. George’s High School, Exchange City, Memphis, and the Indie Memphis Film Festival.

He has an initiative on his website
http://www.2mminutes.com/petition/

Children 4 Change

Since we have a four paragraph limit here, I will only list four:

3. Pay For Performance - use rewards and incentives to keep talented teachers in the schools that need them the most and demonstrate we value their skills.

4. Recruit Best and Brightest to Teaching - support efforts to fast-track private sector professionals with advanced degrees into teaching and push for expansion of Teach For America.

5. Remove Poor Performing Teachers - challenge State and school districts to quickly remove ineffective teachers from the classroom. A child has only one chance at an education - they deserve the best teachers.

6. No Restrictions on Charter Schools - This means that school boards should not limit the number of charter schools; should allow charter schools to create their own rules regarding hiring, curriculum, tenure and unionization; and per student funding should be equal to that of other public schools within the same district. High-quality charter schools give children and parents the option to find the school that best fits their needs.

His blog:
http://2mm.typepad.com/usa/2010/03/teachers-unions-block-states-from-applying-for-race-to-the-top-funds.html

March 29, 2010
Teacher's Unions Block States From Applying For Race To The Top Funds

Jim Lehrer produced a remarkable 6 minute video where Union leaders at the State level show no shame in blocking Federal funding to improve education for our children.

"It would mean changing our contracts and my members are vehemently opposed to that," stated one State Union leader.

In other words, screw the young people of America - Teacher's come first. Unbelievable what these Union presidents say and believe. Well worth watching.