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THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
File
equipment
MEMORANDUM
Call I
TO:
ANDREA RUTLEDGE
FROM:
ANN STOCK AS.
DATE:
JUNE 14, 1995
The purpose of this memorandum is to request headsets for Kim Widdess and Tracy
LaBrecque of my staff.
They both spend an inordinate amount of time using their telephones and the need for these
sets is genuine.
I am aware of the cost factor involved and would not be requesting these if I did not feel the
need was justified.
Your help on this is appreciated.
CC: M. Williams
approved
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
MARCH 4, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
Olive
DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT
As requested by Patsy Thomasson, attached are (1) copies of
a number of my requests for equipment replacement and upgrades
and (2) a report from the Quorum software staff on visits to my
office from June to January to resolve equipment problems.
You will note that the equipment memos consistently ask for
additional and updated pc's and printers. They are the tools of
our trade and the absence of adequate equipment continues to
frustrate the efficiency of our operation.
I have requested from IS&T a report similar to that of
Quorum. However, they have not provided it and I did not want to
delay this memo any further.
Following are our unresolved equipment needs/problems:
PC'S - We need to replace the terminal in Room 18. It is a
terminal and not a pc which means that it can only be used to
data enter batches that must be printed in Room 60. No
individual letters can be printed from it to the printer in Room
18. We could definitely use another pc in Room 17. It would not
have to be a 486. Our output numbers have steadily increased
since we added the pc in Room 17. We feel that there is a direct
correlation between the additional pc and the numbers. I think
the numbers would continue to rise if we could add one more pc in
that room.
PRINTERS - We need new printers. The printer in Room 18, as
you can see from my earlier memos, runs non-stop (when it is
functioning properly) from 8:30 in the morning until we leave in
the early evening. In that room, we need a high-speed reliable
printer that can handle stationery of various sizes. The printer
in Room 20, has returned to its recalcitrant behavior. On many
occasions throughout the day, the only way to get it to print is
to raise the lid, slam it down and then bang your fist on the
top.
When you read the attached memos, you will sense our growing
frustration. The letters we send carry the signature of the
First Lady of the United States. Because of this equipment, we
are not serving her as well as we think we should be.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
SEPTEMBER 19, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR JENNY MCCARTHY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR
CORRESPONDENCE AND PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES
CC:
MARGARET A. WILLIAMS, CHIEF OF STAFF
FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR
5000 (25,000 Wenely scheduling
FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
1995 BUDGET
As requested at our meeting on Friday, September 16, I have
listed below my estimates for the supplies and equipment and
personnel needs for the Office of First Lady's Correspondence for
the fiscal year 1995. All requests are good faith estimates of
our needs based on past experience.
I. SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
3 - IBM 486 PCs One of the PCs will replace a terminal
which will be unusable when all computers go on-line.
The other two are an on-going request to relieve the
the "crunch" that exists in our data-entry process.
The long-term goal of this office has been to respond
to the First Lady's correspondence with letters rather
than cards. The absence of adequate computer
accessibility keeps us from fully reaching that goal.
2 - HP Laserjet printers The printer in Room 18 has had
continuous problems throughout FY 1994. This printer
is in use constantly throughout the working day. The
printer in Room 17 is very old. With the addition of
two PCs to that room, we can anticipate increasing
problems with the printer.
1 - Fax machine Our present fax machine is very old and
very slow. I anticipate that we will have a lot of
problems with the machine in the coming year.
1 - VCR The First Lady receives a great number of messages
on videotape. The majority of these are non-commercial
tapes prepared by private individuals. In order for us
to comply with established procedures to review those
no-commercial tapes, we need a VCR. During this
past year, we have had to book a room in the Conference
Center on Jackson Place, and then send our interns over
with boxes of the tapes for review. This solution is
unsatisfactory in that we have to remove mail from the
building and send our interns off-site with the
materials. For security purposes, we must review every
item received in the mail addressed to the First Lady.
1 - Desk lamp Wendy Towber was not working in First Lady's
Correspondence when we ordered desk lamps last year. As
a result she is working with a very inadequate desk lamp.
I have checked with the Admin Office to see if there are
any desk lamps available in excess furniture. It is my
understanding that a decent desk lamp is rarely returned
as excess furniture.
1 - Adding machine with tape print-out The need for accurate
and more detailed reporting of numbers in our office,
will be facilitated if we can provide the individuals who
are working with the numbers an adding machine of this
type.
Printing costs We anticipate that our printing needs will be
approximately the same as FY 1994. The Admin office has
provided us with the following printing costs:
Recipe cards
No charge specified
Issue cards
"
"
"
Multi-issue cards-
"
"
"
First Lady bios
"
"
"
Insert card
"
"
"
Teacher letter - Teacher pack-
"
"
"
Student letter - Teacher pack-
"
"
"
Chelsea card
-
$715.50
All of our materials were printed in-house last year,
except for the Chelsea card which became our
responsibility in September 1994.
Shared costs:
HRC Baseball Photo/Bio card
10,000 cards - 1/5 of estimated cost $ *
HRC/BC Birthday Cards for young people
5,000 cards - 1/4 of estimated cost $ *
Appreciation events for volunteers $400.00. We will plan
two events during the course of the year which the First
Lady will attend. We estimate $200.00 per event. During
FY 94 the Admin Office paid for part of one of the events
attended by the First Lady. The Director and Deputy
Director of this office assumed the cost for the
remainder of the First Lady events and all other
reception-type events for volunteers and interns.
Publications As requested, I have included with this memo a
a separate listing of any publications that I anticipate
we will need to purchase in FY 1994.
*
Debra Wood has estimates for the total cost on these items
II. Personnel
One full-time slot We are currently interviewing to fill
the full-time slot which was vacated in July 1994. Once
this slot is filled, we will still be left with the
staff vacancy which occurred in April 1994. The nature
of this operation requires that we have managers to
oversee the substantive work that is being done by
interns and volunteers. Other than their personal
commitment to the First Lady, we have no guarantee that
a volunteer who is assigned a specific task will be in on
a given day. Even with the hiring of another full-time
staff person, we will be required to ask volunteers to
handle matters which we feel Counsel's office might find
in-appropriate for a non-staff person.
Therefore, I feel that it is essential that we be able
to fill both staff slots.
FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE - PUBLICATIONS NEEDED FY1995
4 sets ZIP Code books
4 U.S. Senate Telephone Directories
4 U.S. House of Representatives Telephone Directories
4 United States Government Manuals
JANUARY 17, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR OF
CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT
The purpose of the Office of First Lady's Correspondence is to
respond to the letters received by the First Lady. To the
recipient, the letters that we write are a tangible
representation of the First Lady. This representation is
manifest in both the content of the letter we send and the
physical appearance of that letter as perceived by the recipient.
The letter is important both in the accuracy of its message as a
reflection of the views of the First Lady and by its timeliness
as a reflection of her interest in seeing that the writer
receives a response.
Equipment has a great impact on both the timeliness and the
appearance of the letters we send. Attached to this memo are a
representative sampling of the on-going requests made from this
office for both new pc's and printers. Since the beginning of
the Administration, all requests for equipment have been
channeled through Presidential Correspondence. You will note
from the attached memos that I have consistently asked for pc's
and printers. I had understood that my requests were being
forwarded to the appropriate Administrative Office. Only
recently did I learn that Presidential Correspondence has
requested eight new printers, but that First Lady's
Correspondence is not on the list to get any printers.
Originally, I was told that all Correspondence pc's would be
replaced with the new IBM 486's. Therefore, I made no requests
for replacement computers. Now, I am told that the computers
will be replaced gradually and we must have a priority list
within the office to schedule replacement. Given my experience
with the printer replacement, I have little hope for receiving
any 486's anytime soon. In the meantime, we are plagued by
equipment breakdown as you will see from the attached memos.
The equipment problems are affecting both efficiency and morale.
I have one volunteer who says she will not come back until the
equipment is upgraded. She has better equipment at home and
finds it frustrating to work on what we have to offer. I would
appreciate anything that you could do to forward our equipment
requests and would be happy to discuss this with you at any time.
DECEMBER 12, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGE TARMEY
FROM:
ALICE PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
UPDATE ON EQUIPMENT REQUESTS
Attached are copies of some of my memos in regard to
equipment. As you can see, replacement and upgrade are recurring
themes in the memos. The counterpoint to this is, of course, the
reports of equipment failure. Most of the equipment failure is
reported by telephone, because of the immediate need for
correction. We are checking with the Quorum staff to see if they
keep a log of the number of visits they make to our offices.
Please consider page 2 of my November 29, 1994 memo to Maggie my
ultimate request memo.
Stated very simply, our function is to write letters. It is
becoming increasingly more frustrating to work efficiently or
even adequately with our present equipment.
SEPTEMBER 19, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR JENNY MCCARTHY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR
CORRESPONDENCE AND PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES
CC:
MARGARET A. WILLIAMS, CHIEF OF STAFF
FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR
FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
1995 BUDGET
As requested at our meeting on Friday, September 16, I have
listed below my estimates for the supplies and equipment and
personnel needs for the Office of First Lady's Correspondence for
the fiscal year 1995. All requests are good faith estimates of
our needs based on past experience.
I. SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
3 - IBM 486 PCs One of the PCs will replace a terminal
which will be unusable when all computers go on-line.
The other two are an on-going request to relieve the
the "crunch" that exists in our data-entry process.
The long-term goal of this office has been to respond
to the First Lady's correspondence with letters rather
than cards. The absence of adequate computer
accessibility keeps us from fully reaching that goal.
2 - HP Laserjet printers The printer in Room 18 has had
continuous problems throughout FY 1994. This printer
is in use constantly throughout the working day. The
printer in Room 17 is very old. With the addition of
two PCs to that room, we can anticipate increasing
problems with the printer.
1 - Fax machine Our present fax machine is very old and
very slow. I anticipate that we will have a lot of
problems with the machine in the coming year.
1 - VCR The First Lady receives a great number of messages
on videotape. The majority of these are non-commercial
tapes prepared by private individuals. In order for us
to comply with established procedures to review those
no-commercial tapes, we need a VCR. During this
past year, we have had to book a room in the Conference
Center on Jackson Place, and then send our interns over
with boxes of the tapes for review. This solution is
unsatisfactory in that we have to remove mail from the
building and send our interns off-site with the
materials. For security purposes, we must review every
item received in the mail addressed to the First Lady.
1 - Desk lamp Wendy Towber was not working in First Lady's
Correspondence when we ordered desk lamps last year. As
a result she is working with a very inadequate desk lamp.
I have checked with the Admin Office to see if there are
any desk lamps available in excess furniture. It is my
understanding that a decent desk lamp is rarely returned
as excess furniture.
1 - Adding machine with tape print-out The need for accurate
and more detailed reporting of numbers in our office,
will be facilitated if we can provide the individuals who
are working with the numbers an adding machine of this
type.
Printing costs We anticipate that our printing needs will be
approximately the same as FY 1994. The Admin office has
provided us with the following printing costs:
Recipe cards
-No charge specified
Issue cards
"
"
"
Multi-issue cards-
"
"
"
First Lady bios
"
"
"
Insert card
"
"
"
Teacher letter - Teacher pack-
"
"
"
Student letter - Teacher pack-
"
"
"
Chelsea card
-
$715.50
All of our materials were printed in-house last year,
except for the Chelsea card which became our
responsibility in September 1994.
Shared costs:
HRC Baseball Photo/Bio card
10,000 cards - 1/5 of estimated cost $ *
HRC/BC Birthday Cards for young people
5,000 cards - 1/4 of estimated cost $ *
Appreciation events for volunteers $400.00. We will plan
two events during the course of the year which the First
Lady will attend. We estimate $200.00 per event. During
FY 94 the Admin Office paid for part of one of the events
attended by the First Lady. The Director and Deputy
Director of this office assumed the cost for the
remainder of the First Lady events and all other
reception-type events for volunteers and interns.
Publications As requested, I have included with this memo a
a separate listing of any publications that I anticipate
we will need to purchase in FY 1994.
* Debra Wood has estimates for the total cost on these items
II. Personnel
One full-time slot We are currently interviewing to fill
the full-time slot which was vacated in July 1994. Once
this slot is filled, we will still be left with the
staff vacancy which occurred in April 1994. The nature
of this operation requires that we have managers to
oversee the substantive work that is being done by
interns and volunteers. Other than their personal
commitment to the First Lady, we have no guarantee that
a volunteer who is assigned a specific task will be in on
a given day. Even with the hiring of another full-time
staff person, we will be required to ask volunteers to
handle matters which we feel Counsel's office might find
in-appropriate for a non-staff person.
Therefore, I feel that it is essential that we be able
to fill both staff slots.
September 27, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
BUDGET FY 1995
Following is the information that you requested:
January 1992 - January 1993 Mail received by previous First Lady:
63,302 pieces
February 1993 - August 31, 1994 Mail received by Mrs. Clinton:
387,972
Jenny McCarthy, Presidential Correspondence, informed me that she
had included all of my equipment requests in the memo that she
sent to John Podesta. It is my understanding that John Podesta
will forward these requests to June King at some point during the
week.
MEMORANDUM
July 7, 1993
TO:
John Dwyer
FROM:
Kelly Carnes
Alice Pushkar
SUBJECT: Quorum Recommendations - First Lady's Correspondence
For efficiency of operation, we would recommend that the
following offices be given Quorum access:
1. First Lady's Personal Correspondence - East Wing
2. First Lady's Social Secretary - East Wing
3. First Lady's Chief of Staff - OEOB Room 100
We could use two additional terminals in Room 19.
September 8, 1993
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
CC: JIM DORSKIND
FROM: ALICE PUSHKAR
SUBJECT: EQUIPMENT REQUESTS
The following items are needed in First Lady's Correspondence:
-fax machine - I discussed this with you 9/7
-copier - replacement of the present mal/non-functioning model
-built-in cabinet/shelves for coding area in Room 17. This was
requested 8/6
-network set-up for the computers in Room 17-19. We discussed
this when you came with the Quorum people.
-additional computers-We have discussed this earlier.
-printer in Room 17-19 added to Quorum network
-TV set-with cable hook-up for Room 17-19
-typewriter and table - preferably IBM Wheelwriter
-electrical outlets - re-up in Room 17 to accommodate computers
-remove mirror from wall, repair hole in wall and re-paint
Room 18. New carpet, if possible
-refrigerator for Room 17-19
-tape player - People often send us audio-tapes. Listening to
them on the car radio just isn't working
JANUARY 20, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR JAMES A. DORSKIND, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO
THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE
AND PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE
FOR THE FIRST LADY
CC:
MARGARET A. WILLIAMS, CHIEF OF STAFF
FOR THE FIRST LADY
SUBJECT:
FAX MACHINE
As I noted in my equipment request in September of 1994, the fax
machine in Room 18 is giving signs of imminent demise. We have
had two repair assessments. One repairman declared that the
machine needed so many repairs that it would be fiscally unwise
to proceed. The second repairman decided to try to fix it. He
went ahead with the repairs.
Now, we are informed that the faxes that we send arrive at the
receiving machine with a long black smudge through the center.
When sending copies of the First Lady's greetings to groups and
organizations, Wendy Towber has, on more than one occasion, been
asked by the receiving office to please find another machine from
which to send the First Lady's greetings. As a result, Wendy has
to leave our office to seek a newer model fax.
Therefore, I think (1) our fax machine will die within the year
and (2) it just doesn't look good for faxes from the First Lady
to arrive with a long dark smudge down the center.
SEPTEMBER 6, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
FROM:
ALICE PUSHKAR
FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT REQUEST
First Lady's Correspondence has two equipment needs. I have
discussed these with you previously. They are a new printer for
Room 18 and an additional PC for Room 17. The recalcitrant
printing on the present printer is really impeding efficiency and
the PC for Room 17 has been an ongoing request. As the volume
picks up this fall and the interns return, the need for both will
intensify.
SEPTEMBER 7, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
REVISED EQUIPMENT REQUEST
I would like to include in my equipment request (dated
9/6/94) a replacement for the terminal in Room 18. As we have
discussed, once the entire system goes "on-line" it is my
understanding that we will not be able to use that terminal.
Therefore, my final request should include an additional PC
for Room 17, a replacement PC for Room 18 and a new printer for
Room 18. Because we are replacing the PC's, I would like to
request that we get the new 486's as replacement equipment.
I would again like to endorse the purchase of a color
printer for use department-wide.
First Lady's Correspondence needs:
1. To have all of the computers on the network.
2. To have all of the present pc's replaced with
IBM 486s for a total of 7 replacements.
3. To have a pc added to our system in room 17
for the use of our new staff member. I have been
asking for this pc since August of 1993 - in
anticipation of an additional staff member in
that room. That brings the total number of
pc's to 8.
4. To have the printers in Room 18 and 20
replaced with new Hewlett Packard Laser models.
5. To have network log-ons for all interns and
volunteers who work primarily with data entry.
NOVEMBER 29, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
COMPUTER PROBLEMS - OR - DRIVING AN EDSEL ON THE
INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY
I have mentioned in my budget requests submitted earlier
this year that First Lady's Correspondence needs to have the
computer system upgraded to the new IBM 486s. I had been given
to understand by the administrative officers in Presidential
Correspondence that all Correspondence computers would be
upgraded to the 486s in the very near future. Now, I have been
told that we must prioritize need; the 486s will be distributed
gradually and that there will be no 486s for use by volunteers
and interns.
In August of 1993, the workmen installing carpet in Room 17-
19 cut the cable wires for the computer hook-up in that room. I
was told that if we would permit the installation of a temporary
hook-up through the phone system that we would be a priority
office to get the new network installation. The estimated time
would be three weeks. That was August of 1993. We're still
waiting.
I also requested two new printers for fiscal year 1995.
During the month of November the printer in Room 18 which
operates from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. without stop would not work
for five full days. No letter could be printed on our main
printer for an entire week. I will not bore you with the variety
of reasons I was given for the failure to function.
Our present pc's (IBM 386s) are so overloaded by the software
that there is an erratic pause between the time a key is struck
on the keyboard and the letter appears on the screen. It's an
unnerving experience for those of us who spend most of the day at
the computer.
The "staff" who do all of the data entry and a great deal of
the drafting of individual letter responses are interns and
volunteers. Denying them the 486s is denying them the tools they
need to get the letters out in a timely and efficient manner.
NOVEMBER 21, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM DORSKIND
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
COMPUTER PROBLEMS
As you requested, I have listed below some of the on-going
problems that First Lady's Correspondence is experiencing with
our computer system:
1. Response time - When working in Quorum Word-Perfect,
there is an extended delay between keyboard entry and the
appearance of the text on the screen.
2. Printer - The printers are down more than they are up.
There seems to be no consistent reason for it.
3. Output Control - The system from time to time will
re-direct output from one of our PCs to a printer in
PLM.
I don't think I need to elaborate on the amount of
staff/volunteer/intern time this is costing our office.
MEMORANDUM FROM ALICE PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
1. We are the Office of First Lady's Correspondence. We work
for the First Lady. This office answers all mail received by the
First Lady from the general public. This includes mail from
children. We also do all of the First Lady's scheduling
correspondence and we write the greetings sent by the First Lady
to groups and events throughout the country. This office also
answers the mail sent to Chelsea Clinton. We answer mail as well
for the First Lady's Press Office. We are occasionally asked to
prepare large mailings for the Social Office. We have just
completed printing over 2000 thank you letters for the White
House Christmas ornaments.
2. The constant failure of my computer equipment. For example,
the printer that we use in Room 18 is in use steadily from 8:30
in the morning until we leave at night. There was one week this
fall when that printer was down for three full days. Everyone
who was sent to service the printer had a reason why the printer
was down, but it took three days to get it going again.
3. Essentially, we need 8 replacement pc's (IBM 486's) and two
new printers that are fast and reliable. I do not see this as
ideal, but rather as absolutely essential. My office is totally
dependent on volunteers and interns for data entry. I need to
have full access to the data system for these individuals. My
really good volunteers who are, in fact if not in name, the staff
for this office are refusing to come in because of the on-going
equipment failure. They state that the equipment they have at
home is better than the equipment in this office.
4. I would be most helped by consistently reliable equipment.
Debby Congelow you thanks
THE WHITE HOUSE
SHINGTON
August 28, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR ANN STOCK
SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
AND DIRECTOR OF THE SOCIAL OFFICE
FROM:
ANDREA S. RUTLEDGE
ABR
DIRECTOR, ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
SUBJECT:
Equipment Request
Jodie Torkelson has forwarded your request for new printers to me
for a response. We have initiated a comprehensive plan to
replace the HP II and HP IID printers currently in use as network
printers in the White House Office. The plan calls for printers
to be replaced over a five month period beginning in late
November or early December. We will include the Social Office in
the first phase of the plan.
In the meantime, I have asked the Information Services and
Technology Division to conduct a survey of the printers in your
office and to recommend alternatives to the mapping paths for the
printers you use currently. This may more evenly distribute the
work being sent to the printers and reduce the down time.
In the meantime, please feel free to call on me if you have
additional questions.
CC: Jodie Torkelson
Maggie Williams
alre
THE WHITE HOUSE
My)
WASHINGTON
Jin
MAY 20, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
Ralies
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT
Summer is here and the interns have arrived and several
projects that we were unable to staff earlier in the year are now
needing immediate attention.
E-MAIL PROJECT The support group in the NEOB have all of
designate esimal
the technical pieces in place for us to go on the Internet
with an e-mail address for the First Lady. In order to do
this, I will need an additional pc in my office that can be
designated for use by one of the interns to handle the e-
mail. Estimates by those familiar with e-mail indicate
that there will be an initial flood of e-mail messages. I
4
cannot tie up one of my present pc's for the e-mail.
We are still using a designated terminal in Room 18.
Since our printers were switched to the network, we cannot
print from this terminal to our printers. We need to
replace this terminal with a pc immediately. With the
addition of one pc in room 17 last year after Sarah's
arrival, there was a marked increase in our production.
Just think what we could do with two more.
PRINTERS Despite my best efforts to wish the problem away,
we continue to endure endless frustration with our printers.
They jam, smudge, streak, fail. I am asked to do more and
more of the thank yous and trip followup, but I am not given
386
the equipment I need to send out the letters in an efficient
and acceptable way. HELP! I need two new printers that can
LONGA
handle several sizes of stationery and I cannot wait until
another fiscal year.
- ance said Ahe has
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62500
not gotten Either
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will
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THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
MARCH 4, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
aria
DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT
As requested by Patsy Thomasson, attached are (1) copies of
a number of my requests for equipment replacement and upgrades
and (2) a report from the Quorum software staff on visits to my
office from June to January to resolve equipment problems.
You will note that the equipment memos consistently ask for
additional and updated pc's and printers. They are the tools of
our trade and the absence of adequate equipment continues to
frustrate the efficiency of our operation.
I have requested from IS&T a report similar to that of
Quorum. However, they have not provided it and I did not want to
delay this memo any further.
Following are our unresolved equipment needs/problems:
PC'S - We need to replace the terminal in Room 18. It is a
terminal and not a pc which means that it can only be used to
data enter batches that must be printed in Room 60. No
individual letters can be printed from it to the printer in Room
18. We could definitely use another pc in Room 17. It would not
have to be a 486. Our output numbers have steadily increased
since we added the pc in Room 17. We feel that there is a direct
correlation between the additional pc and the numbers. I think
the numbers would continue to rise if we could add one more pc in
that room.
PRINTERS - We need new printers. The printer in Room 18, as
you can see from my earlier memos, runs non-stop (when it is
functioning properly) from 8:30 in the morning until we leave in
the early evening. In that room, we need a high-speed reliable
printer that can handle stationery of various sizes. The printer
in Room 20, has returned to its recalcitrant behavior. On many
occasions throughout the day, the only way to get it to print is
to raise the lid, slam it down and then bang your fist on the
top.
When you read the attached memos, you will sense our growing
frustration. The letters we send carry the signature of the
First Lady of the United States. Because of this equipment, we
are not serving her as well as we think we should be.
JANUARY 17, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR OF
CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT
The purpose of the Office of First Lady's Correspondence is to
respond to the letters received by the First Lady. To the
recipient, the letters that we write are a tangible
representation of the First Lady. This representation is
manifest in both the content of the letter we send and the
physical appearance of that letter as perceived by the recipient.
The letter is important both in the accuracy of its message as a
reflection of the views of the First Lady and by its timeliness
as a reflection of her interest in seeing that the writer
receives a response.
Equipment has a great impact on both the timeliness and the
appearance of the letters we send. Attached to this memo are a
representative sampling of the on-going requests made from this
office for both new pc's and printers. Since the beginning of
the Administration, all requests for equipment have been
channeled through Presidential Correspondence. You will note
from the attached memos that I have consistently asked for pc's
and printers. I had understood that my requests were being
forwarded to the appropriate Administrative Office. Only
recently did I learn that Presidential Correspondence has
requested eight new printers, but that First Lady's
Correspondence is not on the list to get any printers.
Originally, I was told that all Correspondence pc's would be
replaced with the new IBM 486's. Therefore, I made no requests
for replacement computers. Now, I am told that the computers
will be replaced gradually and we must have a priority list
within the office to schedule replacement. Given my experience
with the printer replacement, I have little hope for receiving
any 486's anytime soon. In the meantime, we are plagued by
equipment breakdown as you will see from the attached memos.
The equipment problems are affecting both efficiency and morale.
I have one volunteer who says she will not come back until the
equipment is upgraded. She has better equipment at home and
finds it frustrating to work on what we have to offer. I would
appreciate anything that you could do to forward our equipment
requests and would be happy to discuss this with you at any time.
DECEMBER 12, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGE TARMEY
FROM:
ALICE PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
UPDATE ON EQUIPMENT REQUESTS
Attached are copies of some of my memos in regard to
equipment. As you can see, replacement and upgrade are recurring
themes in the memos. The counterpoint to this is, of course, the
reports of equipment failure. Most of the equipment failure is
reported by telephone, because of the immediate need for
correction. We are checking with the Quorum staff to see if they
keep a log of the number of visits they make to our offices.
Please consider page 2 of my November 29, 1994 memo to Maggie my
ultimate request memo.
Stated very simply, our function is to write letters. It is
becoming increasingly more frustrating to work efficiently or
even adequately with our present equipment.
SEPTEMBER 19, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR JENNY MCCARTHY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR
CORRESPONDENCE AND PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES
CC:
MARGARET A. WILLIAMS, CHIEF OF STAFF
FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR
FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
1995 BUDGET
As requested at our meeting on Friday, September 16, I have
listed below my estimates for the supplies and equipment and
personnel needs for the Office of First Lady's Correspondence for
the fiscal year 1995. All requests are good faith estimates of
our needs based on past experience.
I. SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
3 - IBM 486 PCs One of the PCs will replace a terminal
which will be unusable when all computers go on-line.
The other two are an on-going request to relieve the
the "crunch" that exists in our data-entry process.
The long-term goal of this office has been to respond
to the First Lady's correspondence with letters rather
than cards. The absence of adequate computer
accessibility keeps us from fully reaching that goal.
2 - HP Laserjet printers The printer in Room 18 has had
continuous problems throughout FY 1994. This printer
is in use constantly throughout the working day. The
printer in Room 17 is very old. With the addition of
two PCs to that room, we can anticipate increasing
problems with the printer.
1 - Fax machine Our present fax machine is very old and
very slow. I anticipate that we will have a lot of
problems with the machine in the coming year.
1 - VCR The First Lady receives a great number of messages
on videotape. The majority of these are non-commercial
tapes prepared by private individuals. In order for us
to comply with established procedures to review those
no-commercial tapes, we need a VCR. During this
past year, we have had to book a room in the Conference
Center on Jackson Place, and then send our interns over
with boxes of the tapes for review. This solution is
unsatisfactory in that we have to remove mail from the
building and send our interns off-site with the
materials. For security purposes, we must review every
item received in the mail addressed to the First Lady.
1 - Desk lamp Wendy Towber was not working in First Lady's
Correspondence when we ordered desk lamps last year. As
a result she is working with a very inadequate desk lamp.
I have checked with the Admin Office to see if there are
any desk lamps available in excess furniture. It is my
understanding that a decent desk lamp is rarely returned
as excess furniture.
1 - Adding machine with tape print-out The need for accurate
and more detailed reporting of numbers in our office,
will be facilitated if we can provide the individuals who
are working with the numbers an adding machine of this
type.
Printing costs We anticipate that our printing needs will be
approximately the same as FY 1994. The Admin office has
provided us with the following printing costs:
Recipe cards
No charge specified
Issue cards
"
"
"
Multi-issue cards-
"
"
"
First Lady bios
"
"
"
Insert card
"
"
"
Teacher letter - Teacher pack-
"
"
"
Student letter - Teacher pack-
"
"
"
Chelsea card
-
$715.50
All of our materials were printed in-house last year,
except for the Chelsea card which became our
responsibility in September 1994.
Shared costs:
HRC Baseball Photo/Bio card
10,000 cards - 1/5 of estimated cost $ *
HRC/BC Birthday Cards for young people
5,000 cards - 1/4 of estimated cost $ *
Appreciation events for volunteers $400.00. We will plan
two events during the course of the year which the First
Lady will attend. We estimate $200.00 per event. During
FY 94 the Admin Office paid for part of one of the events
attended by the First Lady. The Director and Deputy
Director of this office assumed the cost for the
remainder of the First Lady events and all other
reception-type events for volunteers and interns.
Publications As requested, I have included with this memo a
a separate listing of any publications that I anticipate
we will need to purchase in FY 1994.
*
Debra Wood has estimates for the total cost on these items
II. Personnel
One full-time slot We are currently interviewing to fill
the full-time slot which was vacated in July 1994. Once
this slot is filled, we will still be left with the
staff vacancy which occurred in April 1994. The nature
of this operation requires that we have managers to
oversee the substantive work that is being done by
interns and volunteers. Other than their personal
commitment to the First Lady, we have no guarantee that
a volunteer who is assigned a specific task will be in on
a given day. Even with the hiring of another full-time
staff person, we will be required to ask volunteers to
handle matters which we feel Counsel's office might find
in-appropriate for a non-staff person.
Therefore, I feel that it is essential that we be able
to fill both staff slots.
September 27, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
BUDGET FY 1995
Following is the information that you requested:
January 1992 - January 1993 Mail received by previous First Lady:
63,302 pieces
February 1993 - August 31, 1994 Mail received by Mrs. Clinton:
387,972
Jenny McCarthy, Presidential Correspondence, informed me that she
had included all of my equipment requests in the memo that she
sent to John Podesta. It is my understanding that John Podesta
will forward these requests to June King at some point during the
week.
MEMORANDUM
July 7, 1993
TO:
John Dwyer
FROM:
Kelly Carnes
Alice Pushkar
SUBJECT: Quorum Recommendations - First Lady's Correspondence
For efficiency of operation, we would recommend that the
following offices be given Quorum access:
1. First Lady's Personal Correspondence - East Wing
2. First Lady's Social Secretary - East Wing
3. First Lady's Chief of Staff - OEOB Room 100
We could use two additional terminals in Room 19.
September 8, 1993
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
CC: JIM DORSKIND
FROM:
ALICE PUSHKAR
SUBJECT: EQUIPMENT REQUESTS
The following items are needed in First Lady's Correspondence:
-fax machine - I discussed this with you 9/7
-copier - replacement of the present mal/non-functioning model
-built-in cabinet/shelves for coding area in Room 17. This was
requested 8/6
-network set-up for the computers in Room 17-19. We discussed
this when you came with the Quorum people.
-additional computers-We have discussed this earlier.
-printer in Room 17-19 added to Quorum network
-TV set-with cable hook-up for Room 17-19
-typewriter and table - preferably IBM Wheelwriter
-electrical outlets - re-up in Room 17 to accommodate computers
-remove mirror from wall, repair hole in wall and re-paint
Room 18. New carpet, if possible
-refrigerator for Room 17-19
-tape player - People often send us audio-tapes. Listening to
them on the car radio just isn't working
JANUARY 20, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR JAMES A. DORSKIND, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO
THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE
AND PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE
FOR THE FIRST LADY
CC:
MARGARET A. WILLIAMS, CHIEF OF STAFF
FOR THE FIRST LADY
SUBJECT:
FAX MACHINE
As I noted in my equipment request in September of 1994, the fax
machine in Room 18 is giving signs of imminent demise. We have
had two repair assessments. One repairman declared that the
machine needed so many repairs that it would be fiscally unwise
to proceed. The second repairman decided to try to fix it. He
went ahead with the repairs.
Now, we are informed that the faxes that we send arrive at the
receiving machine with a long black smudge through the center.
When sending copies of the First Lady's greetings to groups and
organizations, Wendy Towber has, on more than one occasion, been
asked by the receiving office to please find another machine from
which to send the First Lady's greetings. As a result, Wendy has
to leave our office to seek a newer model fax.
Therefore, I think (1) our fax machine will die within the year
and (2) it just doesn't look good for faxes from the First Lady
to arrive with a long dark smudge down the center.
SEPTEMBER 6, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
FROM:
ALICE PUSHKAR
FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT REQUEST
First Lady's Correspondence has two equipment needs. I have
discussed these with you previously. They are a new printer for
Room 18 and an additional PC for Room 17. The recalcitrant
printing on the present printer is really impeding efficiency and
the PC for Room 17 has been an ongoing request. As the volume
picks up this fall and the interns return, the need for both will
intensify.
SEPTEMBER 7, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
REVISED EQUIPMENT REQUEST
I would like to include in my equipment request (dated
9/6/94) a replacement for the terminal in Room 18. As we have
discussed, once the entire system goes "on-line" it is my
understanding that we will not be able to use that terminal.
Therefore, my final request should include an additional PC
for Room 17, a replacement PC for Room 18 and a new printer for
Room 18. Because we are replacing the PC's, I would like to
request that we get the new 486's as replacement equipment.
I would again like to endorse the purchase of a color
printer for use department-wide.
First Lady's Correspondence needs:
1. To have all of the computers on the network.
2. To have all of the present pc's replaced with
IBM 486s for a total of 7 replacements.
3. To have a pc added to our system in room 17
for the use of our new staff member. I have been
asking for this pc since August of 1993 - in
anticipation of an additional staff member in
that room. That brings the total number of
pc's to 8.
4. To have the printers in Room 18 and 20
replaced with new Hewlett Packard Laser models.
5. To have network log-ons for all interns and
volunteers who work primarily with data entry.
NOVEMBER 29, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
COMPUTER PROBLEMS - OR - DRIVING AN EDSEL ON THE
INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY
I have mentioned in my budget requests submitted earlier
this year that First Lady's Correspondence needs to have the
computer system upgraded to the new IBM 486s. I had been given
to understand by the administrative officers in Presidential
Correspondence that all Correspondence computers would be
upgraded to the 486s in the very near future. Now, I have been
told that we must prioritize need; the 486s will be distributed
gradually and that there will be no 486s for use by volunteers
and interns.
In August of 1993, the workmen installing carpet in Room 17-
19 cut the cable wires for the computer hook-up in that room. I
was told that if we would permit the installation of a temporary
hook-up through the phone system that we would be a priority
office to get the new network installation. The estimated time
would be three weeks. That was August of 1993. We're still
waiting.
I also requested two new printers for fiscal year 1995.
During the month of November the printer in Room 18 which
operates from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. without stop would not work
for five full days. No letter could be printed on our main
printer for an entire week. I will not bore you with the variety
of reasons I was given for the failure to function.
Our present pc's (IBM 386s) are so overloaded by the software
that there is an erratic pause between the time a key is struck
on the keyboard and the letter appears on the screen. It's an
unnerving experience for those of us who spend most of the day at
the computer.
The "staff" who do all of the data entry and a great deal of
the drafting of individual letter responses are interns and
volunteers. Denying them the 486s is denying them the tools they
need to get the letters out in a timely and efficient manner.
NOVEMBER 21, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM DORSKIND
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
COMPUTER PROBLEMS
As you requested, I have listed below some of the on-going
problems that First Lady's Correspondence is experiencing with
our computer system:
1. Response time - When working in Quorum Word-Perfect,
there is an extended delay between keyboard entry and the
appearance of the text on the screen.
2. Printer - The printers are down more than they are up.
There seems to be no consistent reason for it.
3. Output Control - The system from time to time will
re-direct output from one of our PCs to a printer in
PLM.
I don't think I need to elaborate on the amount of
staff/volunteer/intern time this is costing our office.
MEMORANDUM FROM ALICE PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
1. We are the Office of First Lady's Correspondence. We work
for the First Lady. This office answers all mail received by the
First Lady from the general public. This includes mail from
children. We also do all of the First Lady's scheduling
correspondence and we write the greetings sent by the First Lady
to groups and events throughout the country. This office also
answers the mail sent to Chelsea Clinton. We answer mail as well
for the First Lady's Press Office. We are occasionally asked to
prepare large mailings for the Social Office. We have just
completed printing over 2000 thank you letters for the White
House Christmas ornaments.
2. The constant failure of my computer equipment. For example,
the printer that we use in Room 18 is in use steadily from 8:30
in the morning until we leave at night. There was one week this
fall when that printer was down for three full days. Everyone
who was sent to service the printer had a reason why the printer
was down, but it took three days to get it going again.
3. Essentially, we need 8 replacement pc's (IBM 486's) and two
new printers that are fast and reliable. I do not see this as
ideal, but rather as absolutely essential. My office is totally
dependent on volunteers and interns for data entry. I need to
have full access to the data system for these individuals. My
really good volunteers who are, in fact if not in name, the staff
for this office are refusing to come in because of the on-going
equipment failure. They state that the equipment they have at
home is better than the equipment in this office.
4. I would be most helped by consistently reliable equipment.
WHITE HOUSE VISIT REPORT
06/21/94
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: HOTLINE
DATE VISITED:
06/21/94
IN HOURS:
1
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: could not log on. PC was bad.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
07/18/94
IN HOURS:
1.5 Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Nobody could print.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
07/13/94
IN HOURS:
2
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Stacey and Alice P. Couldn't get logged on.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
08/01/94
IN HOURS:
1.5 Hours
CONSULTANT:
Qjohnp
NOTES: HRC had 2 PCs that got the new 2000 load. Since the new laod they
have not been able to print stand alone, but they can print from
Quorum. Maureen asked if I would take a look. What I found was that
IS&T had removed the print spooler (switch box) in the office and
hooked the HP2D to the Lat terminal server. This means yes they can
print from Quorum and no they can't print stand alone. The IS&T
people say when they put on the new load the print spooler gets
taken out because the printer is supposed to become a network
printer. I will check into this further. I need to make sure we can
laod a digitized sig. onto a Novell network printer. Then we can
remove it as Lat printer and hook it to the network.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
08/02/94
IN HOURS:
1
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: printing problems. Fixed!
Page 1
WHITE HOUSE VISIT REPORT
08/11/94
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED: 08/11/94
IN HOURS:
1
Hours
CONSULTANT:
Qjohnp
NOTES: They were frozen. All PCs and the terminals. I found that Stud.
Corres. were also down. I found the the LAT deamon was down. I
restarted the deamon and they were able to login again.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
08/17/94
IN HOURS:
2
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Had to put Quorum "Icons" back into windows load for three PC's.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
08/16/94
IN HOURS:
1
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Couldn't get into Quorum.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
08/22/94
IN HOURS:
3
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: The icon were deleted for three PC.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: HOTLINE
DATE VISITED:
08/29/94
IN HOURS:
2
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Worked on printer problems. Helped Stacey get a new list ready to
print.
Page 2
WHITE HOUSE VISIT REPORT
09/22/94
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED: 09/22/94
IN HOURS:
.50 Hours
CONSULTANT:
Qcandyb
NOTES: Alice is not able to print from Quorum. Reset buffalo box, printer
and pc. Printing fine.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
09/26/94
IN HOURS:
2
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: PC wouldn't boot. Called pc support. Had a virus on hard drive.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED: 09/02/94
IN HOURS:
1
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Alice had problem her her PC. The icon was deleted from her windows
load. Put it back on her PC.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: HOTLINE
DATE VISITED: 10/05/94
IN HOURS:
1
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Printer won't print
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: HOTLINE
DATE VISITED:
11/14/94
IN HOURS:
.25 Hours
CONSULTANT:
Qcandyb
NOTES: Alicep called with a printer problem. Printer fixed.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: HOTLINE
DATE VISITED: 11/17/94
IN HOURS:
1
Hours
CONSULTANT:
Qcandyb
NOTES: Alicep called with a printer problem. Problem turned out to be with
the buffalo box. Printing fine now.
Page 3
WHITE HOUSE VISIT REPORT
11/02/94
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED: 11/02/94
IN HOURS:
4
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Printer and PC's would not work. Called help desk and worked with
the techs to get them back up.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: HOTLINE
DATE VISITED: 11/04/94
IN HOURS:
1
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Still couldn't print. Called help desk.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED: 11/07/94
IN HOURS:
2
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: More problems with printers and PC's. Called Help Desk.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED: 11/18/94
IN HOURS:
2
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Printers not printing again. Worked with Ed from computer center.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED: 11/21/94
IN HOURS:
3
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Got printers working and hopefully they will stay up this time.
Reloaded sigs to both printers.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: HOTLINE
DATE VISITED: 12/21/94
IN HOURS:
2
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Frozen PC. Called customer support to reset Lat server after trying
to get into Quorum.
Page 4
WHITE HOUSE VISIT REPORT
12/09/94
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED: 12/09/94
IN HOURS:
3
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Printers were down due to connection problems again. Needed
customer support to work on them.
CUSTOMER:
HRC
TYPE OF VISIT: ONSITE
DATE VISITED:
01/10/95
IN HOURS:
2
Hours
CONSULTANT:
qtimp
NOTES: Printer problems. Needed to load sig back onto printer in room 18.
Page 5
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
JANUARY 17, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR OF
CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY
Alice
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT
The purpose of the Office of First Lady's Correspondence is to
respond to the letters received by the First Lady. To the
recipient, the letters that we write are a tangible
representation of the First Lady. This representation is
manifest in both the content of the letter we send and the
physical appearance of that letter as perceived by the recipient.
The letter is important both in the accuracy of its message as a
reflection of the views of the First Lady and by its timeliness
as a reflection of her interest in seeing that the writer
receives a response.
Equipment has a great impact on both the timeliness and the
appearance of the letters we send. Attached to this memo are a
representative sampling of the on-going requests made from this
office for both new pc's and printers. Since the beginning of
the Administration, all requests for equipment have been
channeled through Presidential Correspondence. You will note
from the attached memos that I have consistently asked for pc's
and printers. I had understood that my requests were being
forwarded to the appropriate Administrative Office. Only
recently did I learn that Presidential Correspondence has
requested eight new printers, but that First Lady's
Correspondence is not on the list to get any printers.
Originally, I was told that all Correspondence pc's would be
replaced with the new IBM 486's. Therefore, I made no requests
for replacement computers. Now, I am told that the computers
will be replaced gradually and we must have a priority list
within the office to schedule replacement. Given my experience
with the printer replacement, I have little hope for receiving
any 486's anytime soon. In the meantime, we are plagued by
equipment breakdown as you will see from the attached memos.
The equipment problems are affecting both efficiency and morale.
I have one volunteer who says she will not come back until the
equipment is upgraded. She has better equipment at home and
finds it frustrating to work on what we have to offer. I would
appreciate anything that you could do to forward our equipment
requests and would be happy to discuss this with you at any time.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
11-Jan-1995 10:08am
TO:
Maureen A. Hudson
FROM:
Alice J. Pushkar
Presidential Correspondence
CC:
Marjorie C. Tarmey
SUBJECT:
Printer in Room 20
Good Morning! Today the printer is still pulling more than one sheet of paper
when it prints. This causes the top sheet of paper to appear gray and dingy.
Therefore, both have to be thrown away.
Also, when the technician was here yesterday about the squeaky noise, he said
that the printer needs a new fan. There are none available at the present time.
They are on order, however. He did some stop-gap oiling and cleaning and said
that when it starts to squeak again, we should call and they may have some
parts by then.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
11-Jan-1995 09:20am
TO:
Maureen A. Hudson
FROM:
Alice J. Pushkar
Presidential Correspondence
SUBJECT: RE: Printer in room 18
The interns were working in Quorum when it happened.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
10-Jan-1995 04:59pm
TO:
Maureen A. Hudson
FROM:
Alice J. Pushkar
Presidential Correspondence
CC:
Marjorie C. Tarmey
SUBJECT:
Printer in room 18
The printer has started to print an unnecessary second sheet with every final
letter that it prints. It prints one page with an rB in the upper left hand
corner. Tim says he doesn't know why it's doing that. We're wasting a
boat-load of paper.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
10-Jan-1995 09:56am
TO:
Maureen A. Hudson
FROM:
Alice J. Pushkar
Presidential Correspondence
CC:
Marjorie C. Tarmey
SUBJECT:
Printer in Room 20
Good Morning! The printer in Room 20 is making a noise (It sounds as if a
cricket has been trapped in there.) Tim Poole (Quorum) says that it is the fan
that is supposed to cool the printer and it needs servicing. Help!
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
09-Jan-1995 11:51am
TO:
Maureen A. Hudson
FROM:
Alice J. Pushkar
Presidential Correspondence
CC:
Marjorie C. Tarmey
SUBJECT:
Printer in Room 20
The printer in Room 20 has been jamming again. The technician told me that it
is because we are using recycled paper. He recommends that we not use re-cycled
paper. Aren't we required to use re-cycled paper? He said that, "Some printers
can handle it, and some printers can't."
September 27, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
BUDGET FY 1995
Following is the information that you requested:
January 1992 - January 1993 Mail received by previous First Lady:
63,302 pieces
February 1993 - August 31, 1994 Mail received by Mrs. Clinton:
387,972
Jenny McCarthy, Presidential Correspondence, informed me that she
had included all of my equipment requests in the memo that she
sent to John Podesta. It is my understanding that John Podesta
will forward these requests to June King at some point during the
week.
NOVEMBER 29, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
COMPUTER PROBLEMS - OR - DRIVING AN EDSEL ON THE
INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY
I have mentioned in my budget requests submitted earlier
this year that First Lady's Correspondence needs to have the
computer system upgraded to the new IBM 486s. I had been given
to understand by the administrative officers in Presidential
Correspondence that all Correspondence computers would be
upgraded to the 486s in the very near future. Now, I have been
told that we must prioritize need; the 486s will be distributed
gradually and that there will be no 486s for use by volunteers
and interns.
In August of 1993, the workmen installing carpet in Room 17-
19 cut the cable wires for the computer hook-up in that room. I
was told that if we would permit the installation of a temporary
hook-up through the phone system that we would be a priority
office to get the new network installation. The estimated time
would be three weeks. That was August of 1993. We're still
waiting.
I also requested two new printers for fiscal year 1995.
During the month of November the printer in Room 18 which
operates from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. without stop would not work
for five full days. No letter could be printed on our main
printer for an entire week. I will not bore you with the variety
of reasons I was given for the failure to function.
Our present pc's (IBM 386s) are so overloaded by the software
that there is an erratic pause between the time a key is struck
on the keyboard and the letter appears on the screen. It's an
unnerving experience for those of us who spend most of the day at
the computer.
The "staff" who do all of the data entry and a great deal of
the drafting of individual letter responses are interns and
volunteers. Denying them the 486s is denying them the tools they
need to get the letters out in a timely and efficient manner.
First Lady's Correspondence needs:
1. To have all of the computers on the network.
2. To have all of the present pc's replaced with
IBM 486s for a total of 7 replacements.
3. To have a pc added to our system in room 17
for the use of our new staff member. I have been
asking for this pc since August of 1993 - in
anticipation of an additional staff member in
that room. That brings the total number of
pc's to 8.
4. To have the printers in Room 18 and 20
replaced with new Hewlett Packard Laser models.
5. To have network log-ons for all interns and
volunteers who work primarily with data entry.
SEPTEMBER 19, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR JENNY MCCARTHY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR
CORRESPONDENCE AND PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES
CC:
MARGARET A. WILLIAMS, CHIEF OF STAFF
FOR THE FIRST LADY
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR
FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
1995 BUDGET
As requested at our meeting on Friday, September 16, I have
listed below my estimates for the supplies and equipment and
personnel needs for the Office of First Lady's Correspondence for
the fiscal year 1995. All requests are good faith estimates of
our needs based on past experience.
I. SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
3 - IBM 486 PCs One of the PCs will replace a terminal
which will be unusable when all computers go on-line.
The other two are an on-going request to relieve the
the "crunch" that exists in our data-entry process.
The long-term goal of this office has been to respond
to the First Lady's correspondence with letters rather
than cards. The absence of adequate computer
accessibility keeps us from fully reaching that goal.
2 - HP Laserjet printers The printer in Room 18 has had
continuous problems throughout FY 1994. This printer
is in use constantly throughout the working day. The
printer in Room 17 is very old. With the addition of
two PCs to that room, we can anticipate increasing
problems with the printer.
1 - Fax machine Our present fax machine is very old and
very slow. I anticipate that we will have a lot of
problems with the machine in the coming year.
1 - VCR The First Lady receives a great number of messages
on videotape. The majority of these are non-commercial
tapes prepared by private individuals. In order for us
to comply with established procedures to review those
no-commercial tapes, we need a VCR. During this
past year, we have had to book a room in the Conference
Center on Jackson Place, and then send our interns over
with boxes of the tapes for review. This solution is
unsatisfactory in that we have to remove mail from the
building and send our interns off-site with the
materials. For security purposes, we must review every
item received in the mail addressed to the First Lady.
1 - Desk lamp Wendy Towber was not working in First Lady's
Correspondence when we ordered desk lamps last year. As
a result she is working with a very inadequate desk lamp.
I have checked with the Admin Office to see if there are
any desk lamps available in excess furniture. It is my
understanding that a decent desk lamp is rarely returned
as excess furniture.
1 - Adding machine with tape print-out The need for accurate
and more detailed reporting of numbers in our office,
will be facilitated if we can provide the individuals who
are working with the numbers an adding machine of this
type.
Printing costs We anticipate that our printing needs will be
approximately the same as FY 1994. The Admin office has
provided us with the following printing costs:
Recipe cards
No charge specified
Issue cards
"
"
"
Multi-issue cards
"
"
"
First Lady bios
"
"
"
Insert card
"
"
"
Teacher letter - Teacher pack-
"
"
"
Student letter - Teacher pack-
"
"
"
Chelsea card
-
$715.50
All of our materials were printed in-house last year,
except for the Chelsea card which became our
responsibility in September 1994.
Shared costs:
HRC Baseball Photo/Bio card
10,000 cards - 1/5 of estimated cost $ *
HRC/BC Birthday Cards for young people
5,000 cards - 1/4 of estimated cost $ *
Appreciation events for volunteers $400.00. We will plan
two events during the course of the year which the First
Lady will attend. We estimate $200.00 per event. During
FY 94 the Admin Office paid for part of one of the events
attended by the First Lady. The Director and Deputy
Director of this office assumed the cost for the
remainder of the First Lady events and all other
reception-type events for volunteers and interns.
Publications As requested, I have included with this memo a
a separate listing of any publications that I anticipate
we will need to purchase in FY 1994.
*
Debra Wood has estimates for the total cost on these items
II. Personnel
One full-time slot We are currently interviewing to fill
the full-time slot which was vacated in July 1994. Once
this slot is filled, we will still be left with the
staff vacancy which occurred in April 1994. The nature
of this operation requires that we have managers to
oversee the substantive work that is being done by
interns and volunteers. Other than their personal
commitment to the First Lady, we have no guarantee that
a volunteer who is assigned a specific task will be in on
a given day. Even with the hiring of another full-time
staff person, we will be required to ask volunteers to
handle matters which we feel Counsel's office might find
in-appropriate for a non-staff person.
Therefore, I feel that it is essential that we be able
to fill both staff slots.
MEMORANDUM FROM ALICE PUSHKAR, DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
1. We are the Office of First Lady's Correspondence. We work
for the First Lady. This office answers all mail received by the
First Lady from the general public. This includes mail from
children. We also do all of the First Lady's scheduling
correspondence and we write the greetings sent by the First Lady
to groups and events throughout the country. This office also
answers the mail sent to Chelsea Clinton. We answer mail as well
for the First Lady's Press Office. We are occasionally asked to
prepare large mailings for the Social Office. We have just
completed printing over 2000 thank you letters for the White
House Christmas ornaments.
2. The constant failure of my computer equipment. For example,
the printer that we use in Room 18 is in use steadily from 8:30
in the morning until we leave at night. There was one week this
fall when that printer was down for three full days. Everyone
who was sent to service the printer had a reason why the printer
was down, but it took three days to get it going again.
3. Essentially, we need 8 replacement pc's (IBM 486's) and two
new printers that are fast and reliable. I do not see this as
ideal, but rather as absolutely essential. My office is totally
dependent on volunteers and interns for data entry. I need to
have full access to the data system for these individuals. My
really good volunteers who are, in fact if not in name, the staff
for this office are refusing to come in because of the on-going
equipment failure. They state that the equipment they have at
home is better than the equipment in this office.
4. I would be most helped by consistently reliable equipment.
NOVEMBER 21, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM DORSKIND
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
COMPUTER PROBLEMS
As you requested, I have listed below some of the on-going
problems that First Lady's Correspondence is experiencing with
our computer system:
1. Response time - When working in Quorum Word-Perfect,
there is an extended delay between keyboard entry and the
appearance of the text on the screen.
2. Printer - The printers are down more than they are up.
There seems to be no consistent reason for it.
3. Output Control - The system from time to time will
re-direct output from one of our PCs to a printer in
PLM.
I don't think I need to elaborate on the amount of
staff/volunteer/intern time this is costing our office.
January 19, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
FROM:
ALICE PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
COMPUTER PLANNING FOR FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
The following is the arrangement that I would like to have for
the computers in First Lady's Correspondence:
Room 17-19
Three pc's along the inside wall with Quorum
One pc at Wendy's desk with Quorum and Oasis
One printer networked to the four computers
Patti Solis signature will be available on this printer only
Room 18
Three pc's with Quorum and Oasis
Computers should be placed on the three desks in this room
Room 20
Three pc's with Quorum and Oasis
Computers should be placed on the three desks in this room
One printer networked to the computers in Room 18 and 20
This printer will have the First Lady's signature and my
signature as well
Please call me if you need any more information.
SEPTEMBER 6, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
FROM:
ALICE PUSHKAR
FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
EQUIPMENT REQUEST
First Lady's Correspondence has two equipment needs. I have
discussed these with you previously. They are a new printer for
Room 18 and an additional PC for Room 17. The recalcitrant
printing on the present printer is really impeding efficiency and
the PC for Room 17 has been an ongoing request. As the volume
picks up this fall and the interns return, the need for both will
intensify.
SEPTEMBER 7, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MAUREEN HUDSON
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR, FIRST LADY'S CORRESPONDENCE
SUBJECT:
REVISED EQUIPMENT REQUEST
I would like to include in my equipment request (dated
9/6/94) a replacement for the terminal in Room 18. As we have
discussed, once the entire system goes "on-line" it is my
understanding that we will not be able to use that terminal.
Therefore, my final request should include an additional PC
for Room 17, a replacement PC for Room 18 and a new printer for
Room 18. Because we are replacing the PC's, I would like to
request that we get the new 486's as replacement equipment.
I would again like to endorse the purchase of a color
printer for use department-wide.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
NOVEMBER 29, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET A. WILLIAMS
FROM:
ALICE J. PUSHKAR
SUBJECT:
COMPUTER PROBLEMS - OR - DRIVING AN EDSEL ON THE
INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY
I have mentioned in my budget requests submitted earlier
this year that First Lady's Correspondence needs to have the
computer system upgraded to the new IBM 486s. I had been given
to understand by the administrative officers in Presidential
Correspondence that all Correspondence computers would be
upgraded to the 486s in the very near future. Now, I have been
told that we must prioritize need; the 486s will be distributed
gradually and that there will be no 486s for use by volunteers
and interns.
In August of 1993, the workmen installing carpet in Room 17-
19 cut the cable wires for the computer hook-up in that room. I
was told that if we would permit the installation of a temporary
hook-up through the phone system that we would be a priority
office to get the new network installation. The estimated time
would be three weeks. That was August of 1993. We're still
waiting.
I also requested two new printers for fiscal year 1995.
During the month of November the printer in Room 18 which
operates from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. without stop would not work
for five full days. No letter could be printed on our main
printer for an entire week. I will not bore you with the variety
of reasons I was given for the failure to function.
Our present pc's (IBM 386s) are so overloaded by the software
that there is an erratic pause between the time a key is struck
on the keyboard and the letter appears on the screen. It's an
unnerving experience for those of us who spend most of the day at
the computer.
The "staff" who do all of the data entry and a great deal of
the drafting of individual letter responses are interns and
volunteers. Denying them the 486s is denying them the tools they
need to get the letters out in a timely and efficient manner.
First Lady's Correspondence needs:
1. To have all of the computers on the network.
2. To have all of the present pc's replaced with
IBM 486s for a total of 7 replacements.
3. To have a pc added to our system in room 17
for the use of our new staff member. I have been
asking for this pc since August of 1993 - in
anticipation of an additional staff member in
that room. That brings the total number of
pc's to 8.
4. To have the printers in Room 18 and 20
replaced with new Hewlett Packard Laser models.
5. To have network log-ons for all interns and
volunteers who work primarily with data entry.
this
TO:
ANDREA RUTLEDGE
FROM:
ANN STOCKT
DATE:
JULY 18, 1995
RE:
SOCIAL OFFICE FAX MACHINE
The reason for this memorandum is to request your assistance in helping my office obtain a
new FAX machine. We have been advised that our FAX machine is outdated and that is the
reason we are having so many repair calls. I have hesitated bringing you into the problems
we have been experiencing with this machine, but the latest episode has left me no other
choice.
My office has been without the use of the FAX machine since Friday, July 14th. It is my
understanding that two calls were made to your office requesting repair. On Monday this
machine still had not been repaired. We began calling your office at 9:30 with the last call
being made at 1:00 p.m. At that time, we were told the repairman was on the way.
This morning the FAX machine still had not been repaired. When we spoke with your office
we were told the repairman was here at 4:30 on Monday. I do not understand why he did
not come to this office as we were here until close to 8:00 p.m.
When he did arrive this morning it took approximately 10 minutes to repair the problem with
the repairman giving conflicting reasons for not being here yesterday. He alleged his office
was not aware of any problems until today.
As our FAX machine is a vital part of our operation, I need to know what needs to be done
to obtain a new FAX machine. Thanks for your help on this problem.
cc Maggie Williams
Replacing the
FAX machine
in the Social
office
Debby - this
came in todays
mail as a
follow uptothe
previous memo
- LG
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 21, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR ANN STOCK
SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
AND SOCIAL SECRETARY
FROM:
ANDREA S. RUTLEDGE
DIRECTOR, ADMINISTRATIVE ABR OFFICE
SUBJECT:
Replacement FAX Machine
I received your July 18th memorandum regarding the FAX machine
today. I was not aware of the situation until Tuesday, as I was
out of town. I am deeply sorry that you had so much trouble
getting it fixed on Friday and Monday. We have since taken the
following action:
-
On Thursday, we met with a representative from the repair
company and expressed our dissatisfaction with the
performance of the technician. In particular we talked
about the "4:30 incident." Apparently, the technician never
came on Monday, instead he called at 4:30 to say it was too
close to the end of the day and that he would not be able to
service the machine. Our service provider as assured us
that this technician will no longer be assigned to our
offices. In addition, they have promised to be more
responsive to our service calls.
Given the lengthy service record of the machine in the
Social Office, we have included it on a list of FAXes we
would like to replace at the end of the fiscal year. I
should emphasize that year end spending plans have not been
approved. Nevertheless, I wanted you to know that your
office was included in our plans.
Again, I apologize for the disruption caused by the failure of
the FAX machine and the failure of the service company to be
responsive. We are monitoring the situation and we hope we have
rectified it. If you have any additional concerns or require
additional assistance from the Administrative Office, please do
not hesitate to call on us.
cc: Maggie Williams