Athletic World Advertising closes, employees lose jobs ! Competitor buys company assets
Posted on Friday, October 10, 2008
The assets of Fayetteville-based Athletic World Advertising have been sold to Springdale-based Game On, a company formed recently by a former Athletic World manager.
Athletic World Advertising employees were told Wednesday afternoon that the company is being closed and the employees have lost their jobs, a local television station reported Wednesday.
A receptionist at Athletic World refused to confirm or deny the closing of the business or termination of employees Thursday afternoon when only a few employees appeared to be working. Two company top officials also refused comment but did not dispute the reported closing or job losses.
The company employed about 120 people at its Fayetteville and Tulsa locations. It sold advertising for sports posters and schedule cards for high school and college athletic departments across the country.
The apparent closure Wednesday came on the same day that The Bank of Fayetteville served writs of execution on three other local banks in an effort to collect on its $ 745, 947 judgment against the company. This move effectively froze the company's cash in those banks.
Ken Sheeman, the attorney for Athletic World Advertising, said the company intends to make sure that all of its employees get their final checks. He said the final details of the sale of assets were worked out Thursday afternoon. The deal includes paying the company's employees, he said.
Mark McQueen, the president of Game On, did not return phone message seeking comment. McQueen is accused in the lawsuit filed by The Bank of Fayetteville of drawing an excessive salary and misrepresenting the financial status of Athletic World Advertising when he worked there.
The bank got a summary judgment against Athletic World last month after suing it for failing to make payments to the founder's brother, who had pledged these payments to the bank.
The bank filed the lawsuit in July against Athletic World Advertising and Brick Wade Ogden, the brother of the company's founder, the late Greg Ogden, who died Aug. 18, 2007.
In December 2000, Brick Ogden sold his stock in the company for payments totaling $ 1. 75 million over 10 years.
Ogden assigned his interest from the stock agreement to the bank as collateral on his loan. Ogden lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands, according to the lawsuit.
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