It was 1975--a time when volunteers still addressed campaign literature by hand and no one thought of Iowa as important in presidential politics. Few candidates had seen a 'walking list', telemarketing for campaigns was unheard of, political direct mail was in its infancy, and "sound bite" was a new-fangled expression.

Over three decades ago in the state of Washington, at a time when few saw the need for more sophisticated campaign tools, a community activist had an idea. Lourene Criddle, a volunteer for numerous candidate and issue campaigns in California and Washington, sensed the wave of changes that were about to break over the political landscape, and Labels & Lists, Inc. was born.

Formed for the sole purpose of utilizing modern data processing techniques in the service of campaigns, her small company soon became a phenomenon. Lourene's graduate school training in education at Columbia University and her resulting experience as a teacher added to her raw energy and determination to make the fledgling company a success. Linden Criddle, Lourene's husband, was asked to join the effort and at a time when you could count on a few fingers the number of similar processors nationwide, Labels & Lists began to help shape the political landscape.

To complement Lourene's farsightedness and her intuitive and practical understanding of the needs of candidates, Linden brought with him years of senior management and data processing expertise in high tech companies including Bell & Howell, Ampex, Scientific Data Systems, and the Tally Corporation. As a Vice President of Operations he had utilized the electrical engineering training he had received at Berkeley to supervise the programming of some of the earliest commercial computers. Now at Labels & Lists he put all that experience to work in processing voter files.

And then Labels & Lists grew.

With little fanfare but with a healthy seriousness of purpose and a dedication to its customers, Lourene and Linden’s once small firm quickly set the standard for political data processing. Today, Labels & Lists is neither small nor local. Through word-of-mouth and increased efforts to advertise our services, inquiries and business have steadily poured in. Nearing our fourth decade of service, we're now looking back over approximately 4 billion mailing labels, listed names, laser letters and analyses.

Yet, as the company continued to grow, it remained small at heart. Labels & Lists now serves a multitude of states on a year-round basis. The company's current files contain regularly updated information on nearly 50% of all U.S. voters. Still, our customers of today find an attitude toward service that is every bit as personal as it was back in 1975.

Give us a call. Give us a try. We’ll show you what nearly four decades of dedication to customer service can do.