Privacy Policy

ONLINE PRIVACY POLICY AGREEMENT

johnchao.com, (John Chao), is committed to keeping any and all personal information collected of those individuals that visit our website and make use of our online facilities and services accurate, confidential, secure and private. Our privacy policy has been designed and created to ensure those affiliated with johnchao.com of our commitment and realization of our obligation not only to meet but to exceed most existing privacy standards.

THEREFORE, this Privacy Policy Agreement shall apply to johnchao.com and any subsidiary company listed below , and thus it shall govern any and all data collection and usage thereof. Through the use of johnchao.com you are herein consenting to the following data procedures expressed within this agreement.

Subsidiary Company:
Grapho Inc

Collection of Information
This website collects various types of information, such as: • Voluntarily provided information which may include your name, address, email address, billing and/or credit card information etc., which may be used when you purchase products and/or services and to deliver the services you have requested.

Please rest assured that this site shall only collect personal information that you knowingly and willingly provide by way of surveys, completed membership forms, and emails. It is the intent of this site to use personal information only for the purpose for which it was requested and any additional uses specifically provided on this site.

It is highly recommended and suggested that you review the privacy policies and statements of any website you choose to use or frequent as a means to better understand the way in which other websites garner, make use of and share information collected.

Use of Information Collected
johnchao.com may collect and may make use of personal information to assist in the operation of our website and to ensure delivery of the services you need and request. At times, we may find it necessary to use personally identifiable information as a means to keep you informed of other possible products and/or services that may be available to you from johnchao.com and our subsidiaries . johnchao.com and our subsidiaries may also be in contact with you with regards to completing surveys and/or research questionnaires related to your opinion of current or potential future services that may be offered.

johnchao.com does not now, nor will it in the future, sell, rent or lease any of our customer lists and/or names to any third parties. johnchao.com may disclose your personal information, without prior notice to you, only if required to do so in accordance with applicable laws and/or in a good faith belief that such action is deemed necessary or is required in an effort to:

• Remain in conformance with any decrees, laws and/or statutes or in an effort to comply with any process which may be served upon johnchao.com and/or our website;
• Maintain, safeguard and/or preserve all the rights and/or property of johnchao.com; and
• Perform under demanding conditions in an effort to safeguard the personal safety of users of johnchao.com and/or the general public.

Children Under Age of 13
johnchao.com does not knowingly collect personal identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen (13) without verifiable parental consent. If it is determined that such information has been inadvertently collected on anyone under the age of thirteen (13), we shall immediately take the necessary steps to ensure that such information is deleted from our system’s database. Anyone under the age of thirteen (13) must seek and obtain parent or guardian permission to use this website.

Unsubscribe or Opt-Out
All users and/or visitors to our website have the option to discontinue receiving communication from us and/or reserve the right to discontinue receiving communications by way of email or newsletters. To discontinue or unsubscribe to our website please send an email that you wish to unsubscribe to sacredridgejc@gmail.com. If you wish to unsubscribe or opt-out from any third party websites, you must go to that specific website to unsubscribe and/or opt-out.

Links to Other Web Sites
Our website does contain links to affiliate and other websites. johnchao.com does not claim nor accept responsibility for any privacy policies, practices and/or procedures of other such websites. Therefore, we encourage all users and visitors to be aware when they leave our website and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. The aforementioned Privacy Policy Agreement applies only and solely to the information collected by our website.

Security
johnchao.com shall endeavor and shall take every precaution to maintain adequate physical, procedural and technical security with respect to our offices and information storage facilities so as to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure or modification of the user’s personal information under our control.

Changes to Privacy Policy Agreement
johnchao.com reserves the right to update and/or change the terms of our privacy policy, and as such we will post those change to our website homepage at johnchao.com, so that our users and/or visitors are always aware of the type of information we collect, how it will be used, and under what circumstances, if any, we may disclose such information. If at any point in time johnchao.com decides to make use of any personally identifiable information on file, in a manner vastly different from that which was stated when this information was initially collected, the user or users shall be promptly notified by email. Users at that time shall have the option as to whether or not to permit the use of their information in this separate manner.

Acceptance of Terms
Through the use of this website, you are hereby accepting the terms and conditions stipulated within the aforementioned Privacy Policy Agreement. If you are not in agreement with our terms and conditions, then you should refrain from further use of our sites. In addition, your continued use of our website following the posting of any updates or changes to our terms and conditions shall mean that you are in agreement and acceptance of such changes.

How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Privacy Policy Agreement related to our website, please feel free to contact us at the following email, telephone number or mailing address.
Email: sacredridgejc@gmail.com
Telephone Number: 541-380-0907
Mailing Address: johnchao.com 1400 State Rd Mosier, Oregon 9704

-Continued from Published

Bob Gilka, the Director of Photography at National Geographic Magazine seem to resent me for sleeping with the enemy. He was not about to further my career. He saw me as a rule-breaker. Someone unbefitting to his proven talents even though I graduated from the very top of his associated institutions. He never gave me a single assignment, voluntarily, that is. Thirty years later, his assistant sought me out at a gathering and told me he was near death.

I embraced her, asked her to wish him my best and to tell him how much I’ve admired and looked up to him. Her eyes glassed; in a tender, almost apologetic voice, she said. “Thank you, John, I know it will mean a lot to Mr. Gilka to hear this coming from you.”

Gilka was an ego-driven drill sergeant whose magazine was his oligarchy. The reputation and mystique behind the magazine suited him well. My first encounter with the man was in his office. Like all aspiring photographers, we made our way to be ordained. On his door, the sign said, Wipe Your Knees Before Entering.

“You need to work for a newspaper!” was his response after viewing my portfolio. Sheepishly told him I was offered a job in a Kansas newspaper but turned-it-down because I didn’t want to leave NYC. Before I could finish, he yelled: “Who Clarkson!?”

Surprised by the outburst, I timidly said, “Yes!” He stared at me for an eternity. I swear I saw smoke sputter out of his head. He hissed, “NOW, IF THAT IS TRUE! You have to be the dumbest jack-ass ever walked into my office!”

With his doubting eyes, he glared at me as if he’d caught me in a lie. “Do you know how many photographers would give their right arm to be at the Capital-Journal?!” My sheepishness must have confirmed his suspicions. Not being a student of journalism, I was unaware of the extensive network this drill-sergeant uses to gather his Geographic talents. Colleges, newspapers across the country, the bastion of the Missouri Workshop, were all part of his well-established web. That morning, I was utterly unaware; Topeka Capital-Journal was the pinnacle of his recruitment network. Anyone hired there would not have gone unnoticed, and anyone declining a job there is a liar. “Well, get the hell out there and come back after you have some newspaper experience.” (I swear I’ve got a bruise on my rear to prove it ;-).

So I called Rich Clarkson and asked if the job offer was still good.

A FEW YEARS LATER, I sat in the same office facing the same doubting face. Chief Editor, Bill Garrett insisted that he assign me to photograph an article I’d proposed on Taiwan. After weeks of delay, he reluctantly offered me a fraction of the day-rate compared to GEO and later made a stink about the Chinese receipts I submitted. I did not get more assignments from him even though the Taiwan article was credited to be “transformative.” I don’t know what that meant, but it was, the first time Geographic published blurred pictures. So when his assistant made the non-verbal apology, I was surprised and wished that I had the opportunity to sit and laugh with the old geezer some 30-years later.

I understand Bob Gilka; we had mutual friends. I will always be grateful to him. Firstly, in helping me realize what newspaper work means. Secondly, in affirming my conviction NOT to wear corporate success as a form of personal achievement. Throughout the years, I knew he was surprised to hear my name intertwined in conversations. I was the jack-ass that kept beating the drum but didn’t follow his path. I think, in the end, he would have applauded me for doing this. RIP

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