Jerry's Last Stand.

So,

Here I am embarking on a brand new adventure called Fireworks.

In case you didn't know it there's a little war going on between myself, my group of investors, and a guy named Bob Hall.

Here's some things I wanted to share with you about this whole situation.

Currently in Houston Alaska there are four fireworks stands.

Three of those four are owned by Bob Hall. The other was owned by a gentleman and friend of mine Jerry Mignano.

 Jerry passed away in February of this year. He left behind no signed will, so his stand and surrounding property were awarded to an estate in the care of his children.

The stand and property are now part of a bidding process between my group and three other groups.

Bob Hall is one of those groups.

In the beginning Bob Hall bid $420,000 for this land and stand.

Not a bad deal considering the borough assessment of just the land, just shy of 50 acres of prime valley property, came in this last March of over $680,000.

How in the world could Mr. Hall think he could get this land so cheaply?

 Well, he paid for a real estate broker to give his "opinion" of what the land was worth.

This broker came to the conclusion that this prime 50 acres was only worth about $360,000. Hmmm? About half what it was assessed at by the borough.

This was a very valuable "opinion" for Mr. Hall, because it gave him the figure he needed to bid so low.

Keep in mind, the profits from this land/stand deal are to benefit Jerry Mignano's surviving children. After back bills, taxes and other leans, a winning bid of $420,000 would have left very little behind for the kids.

That's when I stepped in.

 Ya see, Jerry got into the fireworks business more than a decade ago because he thought Gorilla, and the other stands owned by Bob Hall charged too much. He opened his stand in the spirit of fair competition, creating the only independently owned fireworks stand around.

 

Guess what?

Prices dropped.

Thank you Jerry!

I knew that Jerry took great pride in keeping fireworks prices low in South Central Alaska. He knew that he was the little guy, competing against the big guy...but in open competition, all it takes is another player to keep prices down.

Immediately after Jerry's death Bob Hall went to work on doing whatever he needed to do to get that stand. Why not?

Owning them all is one sure fire way to corner the market.

I couldn't sit by and let that happen.

So with some help from three very well funded investors we took Bob Hall on.

We bid higher, and included a percentage of the profits from the stand to go to Jerry's children until they reached the age of 18. We felt it was the least we could do to give them a piece of Jerry's legacy.

Then another player came in and bid slightly higher, but since her bid did not include a dividend for the children it was rejected as being a lower bid than my groups offer.

Here's where it gets interesting.

Bob Hall's plan of getting a broker's ridiculously low "opinion" of this land/stand backfired.

Sure, had I not gotten wind of his lowball offer of $420,000 for this land assessed at almost twice that amount, he may have indeed been able to pull off his attempt to monopolize the fireworks industry. Since he only paid $325 to get this "opinion", saving a few hundred thousand bucks on the deal would have made that money well spent.

 

But...

 Mr. Hall didn't count on little ol' me getting into the mix.

Since our current bid is well above the "opinion" Bob Hall paid for, Mr. Hall can't get a bank to approve a loan higher than this "opinion", once again commissioned and paid for by Bob Hall.

 So, Mr. Hall cried foul. He now tells the attorney for the estate that this "opinion" is too low, and a professional appraisal needs to be done in order to better value the property.

He even had the nerve to say, we owe it to Jerry's kids to get a higher appraisal so we don't short change them.

Are you kidding me?

Where was this compassion when you bid almost half the borough assessment?

Were you thinking about the kids then?

 The fact of the matter is Bob Hall needs a higher appraisal because he can't get a bank to loan him any more since the "opinion" he paid for was so low.

Hahahahaha!

Ironic, don't you think?

Mr. Hall also tries to convince me of how he and Jerry got along pretty well. They'd sit and have a beer together, and Jerry wouldn't care at all if his only competitor bought Jerry's stand.

 

Bull****!

Jerry would care, and did care. Jerry borrowed money from his mother a couple years ago when allegedly Mr. Hall made a move to buy Jerry's. Over the years I can say with conviction Jerry told me many times Bob Hall tried to buy Jerry's stand, but Jerry WOULD NOT SELL IT TO HIM!

Not then, not now, not ever.

So today, I sit here waiting for that professional appraisal  Bob Hall wants "for the children."

That's perfectly fine with me, and my investors.

You see, we're not trying to get this property and the stand for the lowest possible price. we truly do want what's best for Jerry's children, and his legacy.

I wonder why Mr. Hall hasn't included a yearly dividend in his offer(s) since he is so concerned about the kids?

Make no mistake Alaska, in my opinion,  this is all about one thing for Mr. Hall.

Money.

For me and my investors,

yes my group is interested in turning a profit with this investment, but for me personally...it's about trying to carry on the spirit of Independence that my friend Jerry Mignano  established many years ago.

I hope you remember this when it comes time to purchase fireworks in Houston.

I hope my group is successful in its endeavor, and I hope Mr. Hall realizes that this isn't just about making a buck,

it's about Jerry's Last Stand.

Thank you. 

 .