Wikipedia:Articles for creation/2007-11-30

clanahaha

This request for creation has been declined. Please do not modify it.
This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. ClanAHaHA is the affectionate nickname of the Adult Heathens and Heretics Association. They are a group of adult gamers that play RuneScape together. The clan that they formed has a website www.clanahaha.com This site is the forum that is used to keep in touch and organize events. These group of adults consisting of age 21 and older RuneScape players do things together, called "clan events" in the Runscape relm. They have a wide age range from age 21 and up some into their 40's, 50's, even 60 and above. the average clan members age is 42. This social group was formed by RS player names romeo3333, bisquirrel, cmydob, and talwyn. They were in another group as moderators and decided that it was corrupt and felt that it infringed on peoples basic rights to be represented by their leaders. There were a few other people that were invited in AHaHA's folds in its conceptual stages. There were power struggles after a few months, between the concept creators and a few contributors whom felt they should be in control of power. Those few that felt that they should be in charge had a revolt and left to form a much smaller clan. The AHaHA group founders set out to create a membership ruled community. They decided to share all control and responsibilities equally through majority vote. In just over 1 year AHaHA had well over 100 members join. The most unusual thing about AHaHA seems to be that AHaHA has only one rule "to have fun in a respectable manor". AHaHA does have suggestive guidelines. They only use guidelines to protect and keep the clan as a strong family unit of friends And remind people to play nice at all times. The guidelines are decided by the membership through a majority vote, and controlled by that membership. The clan was based on a few simple concepts. Concepts such as "Every member has a voice and a vote", "a group by the people, for the people" and "a small active group of friends is better than a large group of inactive strangers". AHaHA during its beginnings tried to get the url ahaha.com, but it was taken, so they settled on www.clanAHaHA.com to represent the unity of a clan or family in its url as well as the "humorous" AHaHA abbreviation. The clan officially opened October 10th 2006. They have become one of the top, of the few adult clans in rs in many peoples opinions, offering a place for adults to gather to enjoy and discuss a game that they all share in common. AHaHA has many members whom have children that play. A sub-section of AHaHA was formed called Tyrants to represent members children under age 21. Sources www.clanahaha.com, An interview with Romeo3333, a founder who conceptualized the groups formation. 75.108.21.77 (talk) 00:12, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria (A7) and/or guidelines on notability. Please provide more information on why the subject is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia. Thank you. Ariel♥Gold 00:35, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

Stanford Hall (Loughborough)

This request for creation has been declined. Please do not modify it.
This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. Stanford Hall is a Stately Home in the village of Stanford on Soar in Leicestershire, UK. The hall was originally built between 1771 and 1774 for Charles Vere Dashwood. Perhaps the Hall's most interesting owner however was Sir Julian Cahn who bought the hall in 1928 and proceeded to make many additions including a professional grade theatre designed by Cecil Aubrey Massey Sir Julian Cahn died in 1944 and the family was forced to sell the house to the Co-operative union in order to pay death duties. The hall stayed in the ownership of the Co-operative union until it was sold to the Raynsway Group in 2001. The property developer Chek Whyte purchased the hall in 2007 and has announced a large scale renovation of the property. Sources http://homepage.ntlworld.com/douglas.gilbert/stanford_hall.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julien_Cahn 86.15.129.11 (talk) 00:12, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria (A7) and/or guidelines on notability. Please provide more information on why the subject is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia. Thank you. ~Sasha Callahan (Talk) 04:11, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

Monash Gryphons Amateur Football Club

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This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. Monash Gryphons Football Club plays Australian Rules Football in the Victorian Amateur Football Association since 1991. A history of the club can be seen below: 1991 - G Section South · Club formed by members and associates of CIT Staff & Student Union. Craig Robinson, Andrew O’Brien, John Duncan and Lisa Cox were key founders. · The club was named the Monash Gryphon’s Amateur Football Club with the Gryphon originating from the mascot of the Chisholm Institute of Technology. (What the Caulfield Campus was called before Monash University took control in 1991) · The strip consisted of a Maroon Jumper with a Gold Gryphon on the front. The home shorts were light blue and the away shorts were white. The socks were and still are Maroon. · Admitted into the VAFA G Section South competition with one team. The club finished 7th. · The first President of the Gryphons was John Duncan. He held this post for two years. · The first coach of the Gryph’s was Arnold O’Brien with Craig Robinson the first captain. They both held these positions for 2 years. · Simon Hogan was the inaugural Best and Fairest winner. · Chris O’Brien won the first of four Goal Kicking awards. 1992 - Club 18 Sth · Peter Smith won the first of his two best and fairest. · Chris O’Brien takes over the club captaincy. 1993 - Club 18 Sth · Matthew Campbell became president for a two year term. · Robert Hardman coached the club for the season. · Club played in Club 18 Sth (grouped geographically) 1994 - G Section · The VAFA informs the club that it must play in the G Grade competition which meant a Senior and Reserve team had to be formed. · Alan Sutherland was appointed coach · Justin Fuller is appointed the first Senior team club captain. Peter Burke was named the first Reserve team captain. · The Senior team won their first game against VUT. The club finished in 9th position. · The Reserve team did not win a game for the season and finished last. · Jon Blandford wins the first Senior B & F. · Paul Lowcock wins the first Reserves Best and Fairest. · Lee Wapling becomes the first Gryphon to reach 50 games. 1995 - E South · The VAFA competition is restructured with the teams in E, F and G grades being grouped by location which meant we played in E South. · Peter Burke takes over as President of the Club. · It was a tough year with the Senior Team winning one game v Albert Park and the Reserves winning their first ever game against Monash Whites. · It was the club first and only wooden spoon. · Lee Wells won his first of four consecutive Best and Fairest Awards. · Luke Fraser wins the first of back to back Goal Kicking Awards. · Gryph Inn Bar & Bistro opens and becomes the clubs Social Base & Major Sponsor. · Large Scale Trivia night & Revue Nights held at the Gryph. 1996 - E South · Gary Ryan is appointed Senior Coach of the club with David Ratner appointed Reserves Coach. · David King is appointed Captain of the club. · Seniors win five games. Reserves win seven games. 1997 - E South · The club moves from Blue home shorts to Maroon.· Lee Wells is appointed captain of the club. · Tim Gilchrist wins the first of his three consecutive Goal Kicking awards. · Seniors win five games but only finish 9th. · Club Values of Passion, Mateship, Commitment and Honesty are developed and implemented. 1998 - F Section · The club finishes second last which meant the VAFA would make us play in F grade (now known as D4) due to further restructure by the executive. · Club Values of Pride is added to the list of values at Pre-Season Training Camp at Sorrento. · Matthew Healy becomes President of the club. It is the first of four terms which is a record for the club. · Justin Fuller becomes the first Gryphon to register 100 games. · The club wins its first minor premiership with a record of 14 wins and 4 losses. The reserves finished with the minor premiership as well with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses. · The club plays its first final but loses to Hawthorn Amateurs. · Beat Syndal Tally Ho in the Preliminary Final to progress into the Grand Final. · Lose to Hawthorn Amateurs in the Grand Final by 21 points after leading by 22 points at three quarter time. The final Score was 12-10-82 to 16-7-103. The head to head tally was 3-2 to Hawthorn after the season. · Win a club record 9 games straight. · Tim Gilchrist wins the VAFA goal kicking award with 79 goals for the regular season with him kicking 86 goals. · Tim Gilchrist kicks a record 9 goals in one game against West Brunswick. · Beat Syndal Tally Ho at home by a club record margin with 15 goals kicked in one quarter. · Tim Drew is appointed Captain/Coach of the two’s. · The Reserves exit the finals series in straight sets. · Jim Gonis wins the first of three straight Goal Kicking awards for the two’s. Jim led the goal kicking in the competition for that year. · Greg Browell wins his second Reserves B&F award. He was the only player at the time to do this. 1999 - E Blue · Club is promoted to D3. · The club finishes in 5th place just missing out of the finals. · Jason Barrie is injured in a horrific accident in a Reserves Game against St Johns Dandenong. The injury meant a long stay in hospital and the possibility of not walking again. Due to his positive attitude and spirit he is walking again. The club had a fundraiser and raised $11000 for him. · Gary Ryan resigns as Senior Coach of the club after a four year term. 2000 - D3 · Jack McDonald is appointed coach of the club. · Carnegie Football Club folds, meaning the Monash Gryphons attain sole use of ECR. · The club finishes 9th but is not relegated due to a team in a higher grade pulling out of the competition. · Steve Bourbon is nominated captain for the first of five seasons. He also wins the first of two B & F’s · Mathew Killmister wins first of two consecutive Goal Kicking awards. 2001 - D3 · Club finishes 4th and makes 2nd finals series. · Renovations at ECR results in clubrooms. · Play St Johns in first semi final and loses by 41 points. · Club wins eight games straight in second half of the season only losing to eventual Grand Final winners Fitzroy Reds. · Jon Blandford becomes the first Gryphon to register 150 games. · Foundation Member, Craig Robinson becomes the first Gryphon to be awarded Life Membership of the club. · Adrian Flowerday wins his first of three Senior Best and Fairest. · Matt Healy resigns as President. 2002 - D3 · Carol Nichols is appointed as the clubs first Female President. · Phillip Knight is appointed Reserves coach and assistant to Jack McDonald. · Club avoids relegation in Final Game of the season with a great win over Power House at their ground. · Phil Warren wins the first of his back to back Reserves B and F’s. · Jon Blandford is the second person to be awarded as a Life Member. 2003 - D3 · Club finishes runner up with 13 wins · Club loses to Swinburne University in the Second Semi final. · Club plays Rupertswood in Preliminary Final and progress to Grand Final after Tim Gilchrist snaps a goal in the dying seconds to win the game by 4 points. · Club loses to Swinburne University in the Grand final 3-8-26 to 16-19-115 at Victoria Park. · Jon Blandford becomes the first Gryphon to register 200 games. · Matt Malone kicks a club record 12 goals in a game against St Johns Dandenong. · Jack MacDonald resigns as coach after four seasons. · Mark Graydon receives Life Membership. 2004 - D2 · Phil Knight is appointed Senior coach · Club is promoted to D2 Section. · Club votes to change jumper design and new jumper is introduced for season. · Committee votes to start a Club XV111 side with Matt Bourbon and Mick Mastromanno dual coaches. · Club plays first triple-header against LaTrobe University. The clubbies win their first game this day and were the first Gryphon side to keep an opponent goal-less. · Matt Healy and Geoff Still tie for the Reserves Best and Fairest which is the first time this has occurred in the clubs history. · Simon Dresser wins Club XV111 Best and Fairest. · The highlight of the season was beating Swinburne University at their home ground after being down by over 40 points at quarter time. There was less than a kick between the two sides. · The club finishes 9th · Carol Nichols resigns as President after three-year term. · Phil Knight resigns as Senior Coach. · Matthew Healy and Ryan Gillchrist receive Life Membership 2005 - D3 · Mark Graydon is appointed President for 2005. · Club is relegated to D3 Section · Ex-Captain and Dual Best and Fairest winner Steve Bourbon is appointed Senior Coach. · 2004 Reserves Best and Fairest winner Geoff Still is appointed Reserves Coach. · Matt Healy is the second player to achieve 200 games. · The committee decides against fielding a Club XV111 side. · Lee Wells wins his 5th Senior B&F · Geoff Still wins the Reserves B&F · Reserves play off and lose Grand Final vs St Johns · Seniors won 6 games and finished 7th. · Peter Burke, Peter Williamson, Chris Leeton and Lee Wells all receive Life Membership. 2006 - D3 · Steve Bourbon continues as coach and Mark Graydon as President. Geoff Still Returns as reserves coach with Phil Warren. · Dan Baxter is appointed captain of the club. · Mark Graydon becomes 3rd player to reach 200 games. · Gareth Kent and Brett Coxhead play 150 games. · Lee Wells wins his 6th Senior B&F · Justin Heatherington wins reserves B&F · Reserves play off in and lose the Grand Final by 1 point. · Seniors win 5 games and finish 8th. · Steve Bourbon resigns after 2 seasons as Senior coach. · David Ratner receives Life Membership. 2007 - D3 · Walter Pocock is voted in as President · Tony Naumoff is appointed senior coach · Jim Gonis is appointed reserves coach · Lee Wells becomes 4th player to reach 200 games. · Nick Rutherford and Walter Pocock play 100 games. · Seniors win 6 games and finish 8th. · Reserves win 6 games and finish 7th. Sources http://www.monashgryphonsafc.org.au/wordpress/?page_id=90 58.178.174.222 (talk) 00:34, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria (A7) and/or guidelines on notability. Please provide more information on why the subject is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia. Thank you. ~Sasha Callahan (Talk) 04:11, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

Tanky-Wheely

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This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

Blippo

This request for creation has been declined. Please do not modify it.
This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. Blippo is a font family from Bitstream designed by Robert Trogman inspired by Herbert Bayer's font P22 Bayer Universal (from German Bauhaus school). www.blippo.com is Japanese and Asian e-shop with clothing, toys, collectibles and accessories. Sources Information about the typeface Blippo [1] Short bio of Herbert Bayer [2] Blippo.com e-shop [3] 91.127.38.220 (talk) 01:04, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and not a dictionary. We cannot accept articles that are little more than definitions of words or abbreviations as entries. A good article should begin with a good definition, but expand on the subject. Please try creating an article at Wiktionary instead. VivioFateFan (Talk, Sandbox) 02:15, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

The Bobby E. Leach Center

This request for creation has been declined. Please do not modify it.
This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. The Bobby E. Leach Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida was established in November of 1986 in memory of those fallen in the Freedom space shuttle explosion of January 1986. Bobby Leach, the captain of that ship, had the long-term life goal of having an exercise facility built for his family and friends. This was discovered in his daily journals from the years 1975-1983. These journals have been read in literary circles and are considered to be instantly ingenious and of Classic status. Published by Vanderveer BooksTM in 1989, his journals have made statements of aversion of Racism, Support of Jehovah's Witnesses, and of the imminent possibility of a Big Brother role in United States government. Bobby Leach Bobby E. Leach was born on January 21st, 1949 to parents Jason Leach and Margaret (Fizzletoffer)Leach. Sources 128.186.159.15 (talk) 02:41, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. We cannot accept unsourced suggestions or sources that are not reliable per the verifiability policy. Please provide reputable, third-party sources with your suggestions. Third party sources are needed both to establish the verifiability of the submission as well as its notability. This submission is also declined because it has a number of obvious factual errors: The space shuttle that broke apart in 1986 was named Challenger, and the Commander (there is no such thing as a captain of a shuttle) was Dick Scobee. There has never been a shuttle named Freedom. Additionally, Bobby E. Leach's parents were named James and Thelma, not Jason and Margaret. Finally, the submission is derogatory, and defamatory, and I've removed portions of it as such. Ariel♥Gold 02:46, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

Barry Dolinger - Prodigy

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This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

UPLB Thespian Circle

This request for creation has been declined. Please do not modify it.
This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. The UPLB Thespian Circle is a recognized student-based non-profit theater organization at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. TC began with a group of thirteen enthusiasts who believed they could provide a more dynamic theater atmosphere on campus. On March 6, 1990, the organization was established with the goal of developing talents and honing individual skills in all aspects of the theater arts. As such, TC’s repertoire has been varied from realistic to expressionistic forms. TC has produced western classics, romantic comedies, social and psychological realistic plays, dance-drama, musicales, and even children’s plays. Since its inception, TC has already mounted more than 30 productions on and off campus. Its most recent production was Dennis Marasigan’s Ang Buhay ay Pelikula directed by John Victor Canta and staged at the D.L. Umali Hall on September 3 and 4, 2007. The UPLB Thespian Circle also aims to foster a genuine love for drama and promote Filipino culture using theater as a tool for communication. It has been collaborating with other theater and cultural groups within and outside of the University and has been conducting workshops for people of all ages. Now on its 18th theater season, TC is producing Rolando Tinio’s Pilipino translation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the D.L. Umali Hall in February 2008. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE JOHN VICTOR CANTA Company Manager LEI DYNARAZADE CONDE Deputy Company Manager RACHELLE CALALANG Secretary MAIREEN QUIATSON Treasurer MAE ABIGAIL OBEROS Auditor JENNIFER ANGELES Workshops and Training Officer RANDY ALQUERO Property Custodian JEAN CLAIRE FERNANDEZ Senior Adviser DONNA PATRICIA NUGUID Junior Adviser Sources 1. CASayahan 2007 Souvenir Program 2. Ang Buhay ay Pelikula Souvenir Program 124.105.19.32 (talk) 03:20, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria (A7) and/or guidelines on notability. Please provide more information on why the subject is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia. Thank you. ~Sasha Callahan (Talk) 04:10, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

Nickolas Rumplik

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This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. Nickolas Rumplik The information in this page is not solely about flying, but it is about how flying is related to a young man and how it is saving his life. More information will be added to this page weekly, information will be coming from Nickolas Rumplik himself, or from interview that I have with this AMAZING young man. flying Nickolas Rumplik is a brave you man who loves to fly. "Flying is my life, without it I wouldn't fight my disease and die." he said in a quote from his book. Nickolas Rumplik has a rare type of cancer, but the doctors aren't able to tell what type of cancer exactly yet. They do know however that the cancer is in the upper body area and have been running tests for a year, but to no avail. STORY 11/26/07 - from Nickolas Rumplik - I HAVE BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL ALL DAY LONG FOR MORE TESTS. JUST TAKING A BREAK TO E-MAIL YOU ABOUT MY PROGRESS FOR THE WIKIPEDIA PAGE. SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA TO SPREAD THE NEWS ABOUT CANCER AND FLYING. - MORE LATER NICKOLAS RUMPLIK Sources 1.) Book - "Flying with Cancer." - BY Nickolas Rumplik 2.) Interview and/or contact with Nickolas Rumplik (done weekly) 74.235.194.89 (talk) 03:50, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria (A7) and/or guidelines on notability. Please provide more information on why the subject is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia. Thank you. Hersfold (t/a/c) 04:02, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

Michael B. Gallagher MFA Yale '70 Abstract Expressionist/Illusionist

This request for creation has been declined. Please do not modify it.
This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. Creativity takes courage. I am fascinated with what's difficult, trying to do what I can't do. I am not an an adventurer by choice but by fate. Through color, light composition and line I have found a way to express that which I could not in words- paint and canvas are the basis grammar of my language. Sources www.askart.com American Art Now 1985 Lucie-Smith, Edward 67.127.100.79 (talk) 04:15, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please see tips on how to better format your article. ~Sasha Callahan (Talk) 04:27, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
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Dawley Farm Village

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This request for creation has been reviewed. The reviewer comments appear below the article text. If you want to make changes and try again, copy and paste your article into a new submission and make your changes there. Dawley Farm Village Sioux Falls The Dawley Farm Village is a planned outdoor "lifestyle" center, which is an area that includes residential, parks, and commercial areas. The Dawley Farm Village will be located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and features anchor stores such as: Super Target (confirmed) Best Buy (confirmed) Kohls Barnes & Noble and other national retailers that have not been released yet. Dawley Farm Village plans to open in 2009. Sources Dawley Farm Village Website [4] [[05:33, 30 November 2007 (UTC) Declined. This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria (A7) and/or guidelines on notability. Please provide more information on why the subject is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia. Thank you. ~Sasha Callahan (Talk) 05:54, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it.

My days at the Vesely Company by George McCollough

Gene Vesely had a 6th grade education. He had worked for many years as a carpenter and a builder of modest sized commercial buildings. He hit it big when he invented the folding trailer and turned it into a business. Gene took his company public and its shares were then traded on the American Stock exchange. Gene profited handsomely from the shares he disposed of in the initial offering of the stock. He went from owning all the shares, to owning 2/3 of the shares, so he still had control of the company.

Gene Vesely had built a very profitable company when he owned it privately. His Apache camping trailers had 40% of the folding trailer market. He had a very strong dealer organization of some 400 dealers, country wide. He had the over-the-road hauling trailers and tractors to move the trailers, 9 or 10 at a time, to the dealers. But what happened when he took the company public was that other people found out how much profit there was in making and selling folding camping trailers. Several new businesses were set up competing for the trailer market with our dealers and others. Pricing suffered, and the Vesely company’s 40% of the market shrank over several years.

Gene’s grand plan was for the Vesely Company to be a major factor in all aspects of the recreational vehicle business. · The company had purchased land for three travel trailer plants. One had been built in northern Ohio and one was under construction near Harrisburg, Pa. The steel to build the third was on the ground at a location in western Illinois. The plan was to build three more after that. · The company had invested a quarter of a million dollars in preliminary design and molds for a fiberglass-bodied Class A motor home. · The company had a home grown design for an all-terrain vehicle. It was amphibious, 6 wheeled, equipped with a separate planetary transmission for the 3 wheels on each side and had a 20 HP 2-cycle engine and a body of molded polyethylene. Over a million dollars was invested in this project. · The company would recapture the bulk of the camping trailer with the new design that replaced canvas components with plastic elements.

As I look back today from the vantage point of knowing how the Vesely Company fared over the long run, Gene would have been well advised to have sold the company to a larger firm not in the recreational business. Instead Gene took his company public and its shares were then traded on the American Stock exchange. He had acquired street smarts, financial savvy, some production know-how and he never feared to put his money where his mouth was. At whatever he put his mind to, he intended to be the biggest and best.

As an example, with early profits from his business, he had acquired a couple thousand acres of farm land south of Lapeer. He acquired a herd of some 500 Holstein cattle and produced and marketed milk from about 350 milking cows routinely. He raised all the grain that the cows needed. He employed a Farm Manager from Carnation Milk to run his operation. One of the Dow family members was a noted architect, and Gene had one of his houses built by a pond in the middle of the farm. Gene’s intentions were to have a premium Holstein herd, and to breed a special Holstein bull, whose semen he could sell for breeding purposes for a great deal of money. The farm took a good bit of Gene’s time and he was constantly getting stuff and people from the trailer operation to do things at the farm..

Going back to my earliest days at the Vesely Company, I had a lot of people that I now supervised, and with whom I needed to get acquainted. One of my first jobs was to find a new V. P. of Finance for the company. The man who had held that post had recently resigned. I located a man with all the qualifications needed named John Herring. John came onto the scene, and though he only stayed about 18 months, he did a bang-up job of getting the accounting, cash management, receivables running smoothly. John’s predecessor had committed the company to a roomful of IBM equipment which was being installed at that time. The IBM Company had a birds nest on the ground with this program at Vesely Co. John sold me on the idea that we didn’t need the expense and staff to get as sophisticated as IBM was setting us up to be, and so, he canceled the rest of the installation, and had IBM take back all of the hardware they were setting up for us. We dropped a very large expense for the installation and the pay of about ten people afterward to keep it running. We had a serious cash pinch that spring. Gene had gone to the Caribbean on a vacation trip, and we needed $200,000 fast to meet our cash obligations. John and I called him in the evening and he transferred that much of his personal money to our bank as a personal loan to the Company. The cash problem, and the direction of the accounting and financial aspects of the company soon settled down. When John Herring left we had to fill that VP post again. Bill Offer, from whom I had rented the Tan Lake house, was a finance and accounting man, and he had quit his former company when he departed Phoenix. Our bank, Detroit’s Manufacturer’s Trust, knew Bill Offer well from his former employment, and they highly commended the idea that he would work for the Vesely Company. We offered the job to Bill, he accepted it, and was still there when I left the company in 1979.

When I reported for work at the Vesely Company on October 1, 1969, the engineering department, augmented by Gene’s acquisition of a design firm, was busy designing the folding trailer that would have no canvas, but would instead be enclosed with solid walls and roof constructed from parts made of molded ABS plastic. The top was to be raised by cranking a gear box .Gene had set up very large plastic sheet making equipment. Also he had installed 3 vacuum-forming machines that were very large for their day. These new trailers, in two lengths each of which had two floor plans, were to be in dealers hands before Christmas in 1969. No more of the canvas side and top trailer on which his business had been built were to be produced. His worry was that if the old line were still being built when he introduced the new, no canvas, line, the dealers would push the old product and there wouldn’t be enough push at the dealer level on the new model. Therefore, by abandoning production of the old and successful canvas sided line, the dealers would be forced to sell the new product at a volume that would be profitable for the Vesely company.

The trailer wasn’t ready for production in December when it had been promised for dealer deliveries, and didn’t get ready to ship until late February. Even then, there were very serious quality problems that had been designed into this radically new unit, and too often it wouldn’t work well when being raised or lowered. It was a good looking unit, but dealers were afraid to put it up and down for customers in their showrooms, lest it malfunction. The company sold a lot of those trailers in 1970, but they were a serious problem for the dealers and a lot of the retail owners..

The poor quality 1970 model Apache camping trailer caused a complete redesign of the trailer to be produced for the 1971 model year. It was still “solid state” but much had been changed to eliminate the problems encountered in field use of the 1970 model. Because the new design made the unit a little higher, the over-the-road haulaways used to carry the camping units to the dealerships had to be recreated and their capacity was reduced by 2-3 trailers per load, depending on the mix. In any case, there was a big expenditure to build 20-some haulaways, and the freight cost/trailer delivered to dealers increased. The 1971 model was much more reliable in use than the 1970 models, but still more refinements were needed. The Vesely product wasn’t first rate until the 1973 model year. That year’s trailers were excellent performers but were considerably more expensive to build that the “solid state” trailer was expected to cost when it was first conceived. Product quality for the “solid state” Apache was fine thereafter, but it was priced much higher than Gene had allowed for in his planning.

As a result of not getting the traditional canvas models from us in 1970 and 1971, many of our dealers either dropped the Apache line, or took on a competing line of canvas trailers as well as continuing with the Apaches. In view of the dealer’s reluctance to depend entirely on the “solid state” line, Vesely returned to the production of a canvas type unit, as well as continuing with the “solid state” line. By the time these trailers were back in the market place with Apache brand on them, a lot of dealer support had been lost - irretrievably, as it turned out.

More trouble was on the horizon. The plant under construction in Pennsylvania got finished. It was staffed and production began. Unfortunately, as in the case of the Ohio trailer plant, there was no demand for our trailers.

Early units of the all-terrain vehicle production that had been retailed brought more signs of trouble. They had transmission problems and became virtually unsaleable because of their poor reliability reputation.

It fell to me to get the company situated so its cash in would exceed its cash out and quickly. I convinced Gene that the only path was for returning to our bread and butter business and dump the activities that were consuming money, but not producing any. Accordingly, I took the steps necessary to close down and sell the travel trailer plants. I also shut down the all-terrain vehicle activities, which included the production in Lapeer, and the several warehouses and sales offices we had set up around the country. Manning count was reduced from 350 plus to about 125. The remaining manning was totally devoted to the camping trailer line.

In 1973, I was elected to the Presidency of the Vesely Company. Gene remained as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Gene’s interest in the daily activities of the company had waned considerably. He had bought a condominium in Boynton Beach, Florida and was spending a lot of time there. He left the running of the company pretty much up to me.

Another event in 1973 was the cutoff of oil from the OPEC countries. This was a devastating blow to the whole recreational vehicle business. The retail sales of RV’s virtually halted, and so did shipments from the factories to the retailers. Everyone in the business had inventory and the inventory levels were based on an expected rate of retail sales. The folding camping trailer was the least affected by this development, but it hurt just the same. It took months for retail sales to begin again, and with sales expectations lower, there was a lot of inventory between the dealers and the manufacturers to dispose of before manufacturing of RV’s could get going again.

One of the fringe benefits of the job with Vesely Company was a company car. Also, they paid for my membership in the Lapeer Country Club. This was a low budget 9 hole layout, but it was fun to play. I shot my first 18 hole (two nines) round in par there. I was President of the club for one year. I think that it no longer exists and is now a housing development.

For the first few years at the Vesely Company I was on a new learning curve. I was in a world more like mechanical engineering then chemical engineering. Also, it was the equivalent of getting a Masters of Business Administration. I learned a lot about the responsibilities that went with being listed on a national stock exchange. We were regular borrowers from a major bank. We had production employees, who were affiliated with the United Auto Workers, and truck driving employees, who were represented by the Teamsters. We processed steel into parts with a variety of presses. We formed ourselves, or contracted out, the many parts of our trailers that were made from plastic. We had a variety of credit arrangements with our dealers. We had to be able to fund the payroll every week and to stay as current as possible with vendors. Our business was particularly tricky from a cash management viewpoint, because it was so seasonal. The last years at Vesely Company were an exercise in managing costs so we could stay within our cash inflows while we were facing a gradually declining sales volume.

There were two major reasons why we were experiencing declining sales. The first was that, in abandoning our canvas trailers that had such a strong share of the market for folding trailers, we had, in effect, created a Cadillac camping trailer which was doomed to get a Cadillac share of the camping trailer market - about 5%. We were headed in that direction.

The second reason was that as our camping trailers became more expensive, the Class C, or mini-motor home was becoming very popular. Though these were considerably more expensive than our Apache Solid State camper, a mini-motor home buyer could get 8-10 year terms, while 3-4 year terms were the rule for the camping trailer. It was a fact that for many items, notably cars, sold largely with a down payment and monthly contract payments, the size of the monthly payment was the measuring stick for the buyer. The length of time taken up by the monthly payments was of much less importance to him. Consequently, a retail customer could, for very little, if any, more in the form of monthly payments, have a mini-motor home sitting beside his house instead of a fold down trailer. The neighborhood and family prestige factor was much in favor of the motor home.

So, our Solid State Apaches had two effective competitors - (1) folding trailers of the canvas type that were cheaper and (2) mini-motor homes with a lot more apparent value but about the same monthly payment for the buyer. We had tried building travel trailers, 5th wheel trailers, and mini motor homes. We had little success in selling them as the market was full of long-standing producers of those product lines. Our best regular Apache dealers had split us with other camping trailer brands that retailed for lower prices. If we sold one of our dealers a mini-motor home, it was 2 camping trailers less he had room for in his floor plan limits. The result was that our product line was in its death throes. Gene Vesely’s grandiose ambitions and plans had folded in on themselves.

About 1977, Gene Vesely was kidnapped out of his house for ransom. He escaped and returned home, a shaken man, in about 12 hours. He and his wife, Anne, left for their Boynton Beach apartment in Florida, and I think he only returned to Lapeer once after that.

In the late part of the year of 1978, Gene Vesely was approached by a syndicate of investors to explore his interest in selling the Vesely Company. He was interested, and I was encouraging him to sell out. These folks went to the annual Louisville Recreational Vehicle Show and were impressed enough with what they saw to make him an offer. He sold his shares to this group in early 1979 for a half million dollars up front and an annual payment of $45,000 each succeeding year for 5 years ( which I am sure he never got). There were three major investors in this group. Two were Canadians. One of them owned a small-town hotel chain in Canada and the other was between ventures having recently sold his interest in a Calgary steel company. The third and largest investor was a Californian who was in the used automobile wholesaling business.

These three appointed the Calgary Canadian, Norman French, to be the partner who would oversee the operations of the Vesely Company. Norman began appearing at the company’s offices that spring, and he and I got pretty well acquainted. He liked to play golf and chess, and we did some of both together. He was a personable fellow, but he never was far, even in the office, from a whiskey bottle. The business slide that we had been experiencing for a few years continued and the new owners were fast becoming disenchanted with their purchase. I had been gradually cutting staff at all levels for about 3 years and these folks wanted more. In addition, Norman French was not being well accepted as a leader in the remaining working group because they were still looking to me for direction. The upshot of this was that one day near the end of September, Norman proposed to me that I resign. I had options to buy about 3000 shares of Vesely stock at $2.50/share that I had never exercised. . These people had promoted the stock vigorously, and it was selling for about $13/share. I gave him my resignation, and the next morning exercised my options and sold them immediately at the market price. I took away from the job a wonderful, painful, frustrating and broadening experience. Thus ended my 10 years of time at the Vesely Company. There is a great deal more I could have written into this opus about the Vesely Company but this is enough as an overview. I could easily write a book about this experience.

Sources

http://www.apacheowners.com

http://www.apachepopups.net/cms/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3

http://www.rv-news.com/may2003/contents.cfm

67.80.77.211 (talk) 06:11, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Bring It On

Bring It On is a non-album track featured in the Madden NFL 2006 football game. The total track time is 3:19. It has yet to be featured on an album, single, compilation or EP.

Sources

64.235.82.96 (talk) 06:20, 30 November 2007 (UTC)