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"Hesitancy by numerous players to commit to playing ... eventually obliged the Plaintiffs to cancel the season due to uncertainty," the suit states.
Now thats funny. Thats why they canceled the season,eh?
F Ricky Smith
this is terrible news. again the little guy gets f'ed. this man and this organization has and continues to destroy the lives of so many people.
I hope so...i look forward to talking to them
Upset, one thing to keep in mind is not only did this happen last year, but it also happened the year before. Don't forget about the ones that got the RS burn down in Bellingham the year before.
I too feel bad for the people that lost money last year, but just a little research should've told you that the WHA was destined for failure in year two. The fact that year two even came around was unbelievable. Nobody stopped to ask questions like, "really, Bellingham just pulled out of the playoffs?" "Why would they do that?"
Or "really, Lumby (the best team in the league year 1) just pulled out of the playoffs"
Or better yet...Whatever happened to the players and staff in bellingham and lumby?
I guess the bottom line here is a lot of people got hurt financially for this. If you want questions answered, I believe a good place to start might be by asking questions to those who worked with and were around the looser RS all day long. One could fairly easily get an old staff listing of all the teams and front office and go from there.
good luck and take care all
Well at least you might get something, good news.
I hope all is well.
take care
don't feel too bad for Gary. I liked Gary and I thought he got shafted the first time. However, he did (for whatever reason) decide to try it again.
If RS offered me my job back or another opportunity to work with him again, I'd tell him to piss into the wind.
yes exactly. Its time people stop believing and losing money. Everyone from companies, investors, towns, everyone.
Why not just meet with Hockey Canada and figure something out? That seems to be a huge hurdle and has been for years.
good luck
Every other hockey league in North America has released a schedule, had tryouts, started, etc. etc and the WHA hasn't put out an official schedule on their website yet?! Many of the jr leagues have even started playing their regular season. Even the WHA's main competition, the BCHL, the league in it's backdoor is several games into their 2008-2009 season. If they have enough players to field teams, what are they waiting for?
News? Come on your smarter than that
That's not news. Thats a "press release" posted on the WHA website. Of course its going to say everything is ok. Thats like a headline for the Penquins reading "Crosby nears 50 goal mark in lose to Philly" When the score of the game was 9-1 Philly.
This league is going no where in a hurry. Until you get a release or some sort of pub. from a source outside the league that says things are looking good (and not the Lumby gazette, no offense folks in Lumby) I don't think its really news.
Well anyway good luck with another action packed, drop out, cut season short year. And I hope I'm wrong just for all the people & businesses that are going to lose $ in the communities that WHA roles into.
Now that's funny. Steve is a really great guy. I find it hard to believe he believes RS solely owns the entire league.
I find it hard to believe Ricky owns anything. I bet everything he has in his possession is legally owned by someone else including that fancy Cadillac SUV he drives around all the way down to those Puma sneakers he wears all the time
good stuff
This is fricking priceless
When Ricky fired Gary he told me he was a no good guy who was consumed with alcohol. He said that Gary lies to everyone and he was tire of him lying to him. Ricky told me the league would be so much better off without him.
Then when Gary used to come to Bellingham to see his son play, I was told not to say anything to him and ignore him. I mean I suppose there is such a thing as forgiving someone, but these two working together, to me, only means trouble.
I really feel bad for the kids, parents, volunteers, and community businesses that loose money as another WHA season gets cut short for the third time due to bills not being paid, teams pulling out of the league, etc, etc. Go WHA, go for the “three-peat” of a season gone bad.
So, why doesn't someone get rid of RS and hire someone to take this idea to the "promised land"?
This league has potential. Don't you see it. You, the investor believed in it at some point. Wouldn't it be nice if your $0.0004 stock would increase to, lets say $0.05?
I guess I'm just saying, get rid of the problem, get the solution and move forward.
Doesn't anyone think its strange that RVE is still labeled as the Treas. and Sec of this organization? This is of course occording to the Florida Dept. of State Divisions of Corporations.
I mean search for yourselves...they are public records. document # P03000104420. Another strange thing is that in Sept. the articles became
INACTIVE
Last Event ADMIN DISSOLUTION FOR ANNUAL REPORT
Event Date Filed 09/14/2007
I mean someone took the time to file that dissolution and never took the time to take rve off the official paperwork? strange
Have any of you investors seen the annual report?
uh
take care and have a good holiday. the lives we have tend to be strange and seem to always work themselves out.
and on a side note, i hope that all that stuff about RS is not true. I hope he has done nothing that is said on all those wanted posters and links and stuff. It would be sad if that were true.
bman, I'm sorry to hear that you seem to be so upset by my post. Considering I haven't posted anything on this board in 4 months I wouldn't think that I'm trying to get some twisted revenge on RS. It’s not like calendar read, Dec. 21st, time for your quarterly WHA bashing, better get on the boards. Just the contrary, two of our bham boys are playing in Squamish this year and I would hate to see their parents hard earn $ go to waste. I hope they are able to finish the season and learn a lot from a good coach in Matt and possibly further their hockey career or even get into college playing hockey.
I figured that people like RS will have eventually have to answer to someone.
Take care of yourself and as I've said before, good luck with this one.
J
Sooooo
Hows it going? I haven't checked the boards or even thought about it until today. I'm not sure why I thought of seeing how things are going but WOW!
Well good luck to everyone dealing with RS. Like I said before, like in June of 07, some might consider listening to the little guys instead of calling them bashers or whatever it was. I think someone even accused me of trying to negatively affect the stock value. what value? $.0005?
Happy Holidays and good luck with this one.
John
actually it was a sharpie on a oversized notepad.
Strange but true.
thanks
j
Ricky
We sat down at his desk at the WHA office and he offered me a salary and a title, wrote it down on a piece of paper and signed it. Very informal, however according to my lawyer, legal as I still have it and they've looked at it. When I asked him if I should post a press release on the webpage about me and my new position he said no. I never was sure why.
The reason for my constent asking for my salary is he informed me on Feb 9th that my position was terminated. I have no problem with that. The problem is that my two payroll checks in jan came back NSF and I was never paid from feb 1 to 9. And the "camels back" has he calls it barelly covered my cell phone bill, as that was to be paid by the wha according to my contract
Thanks again
J
Invitro
Here is my email to ricky that prompted his reply on july 27
I'm not sure what he is implying by saying my threat...
Ricky
It's John Ayre
Well, it's been six months now since you said "when you get your money will be on my terms". Do you have any intensions on paying me my salary and expenses that you owe me still from Jan/Feb?
Ricky I'm sure you noticed but I've been following the investors hub page and I really think it would be in your best interest to make an effort to pay me the money you owe me.
Please take the time to reply to this email.
I hope your family is well
Thanks
John
I really didn't want to post the whole email as the last one is very long but if you would like to have them here here they are...
Rickys full reply...
John- if you were not so pathetic - you'd be laughable . / your veiled threat is one of interest to my Lawyer . / john , look at the law suit , there are spaces with 3 John Does [one has yr name on it buddy], as you were the other signature on the B of A account with a man who is being charged under the RICO act - -
Your last cheque [the certified one] that you & Dennis shared was yr camels back as even Dennis said ...& i quote " i dont even know what he does "....."but how does he get paid more than me" he said you spent more time [babysitting] than with the Bulls.
Dennis also mentioned to numerous people - "he thought when he cudnt find you - you were in Surrey working at our office???????] - - really.
I was the one who tried.............on numerous occasions to get you into a better fit , but everyone who saw you in the Arena on game night thought you were a volunteer .
Knock yourself out - - you were the 2nd highest PAID EMPLOYEE in the League after Unger...do you think you deserved that monthly salary ??? - - -
Do you have any idea what happened - any idea at all , what van enter did & what briners did? as it appears that you are making judgements that have no basis from which to make them- - if you want to know- come see me face to face & i'll enlighten you.
RS
Then my full reply that ended it without a response...
Ricky
First considering you wouldn't hire me as a American working in Canada and decided paid me as a Bulls employee, it made it very difficult to cross the border three + times a week. We have a little thing in America called security issues. I think you're aware of them since you needed me to drive your car back over the border the night you came to bellingham.
Second, I went to the rinks and made it seem as I was just an average Joe because you asked me to. You wanted to know what was going on and didn't want the people at the rinks to think I was reporting or working directly for you. Remember the lunch at McDonalds when you said you wanted me to get a behind the scenes look at things. Go to the rinks and make sure that the people working aren't abusing the WHA name/logo/merchandising, etc...
Third, who was the person that was up every Thurs, Fri, Sat, night until 1 or 2 am getting scores, stats, chasing down coaches and posting stories and updating the web page for the league. You don't think the investors liked going on the Internet and seeing on Friday morning the score and stats to Thurs nights game. Of course they did. Who do you think did all those stats that highlighted, updated the web page everyday and showcased your leagues top prospects. Me. Who do you think tracked your boy in New West, Hull's save % was, Me. I have it all still on my computer. Every stat you could imagine from all the players of the WHA from last year. On top of all this I also had to spend a couple of hours on Sunday covering the New West game. That means I worked 7 days a week at complete random hours. If Dennis had a hard time finding me and I wasn't working for the WHA, I would think I could have a couple of hours off in the middle of the day to spend some time with my family.
Fourth, I would be more than happy to sit down with you and talk, face to face as you say. Please name the date and time and I'll be there (other than tomorrow at Noon, my son is having his 4th birthday party) And as far as the lawyer thing goes, I would love to meet with him, her, them, whatever. Seriously Ricky I think you know deep down that I did nothing wrong to your company and when we talked the night you called me late and told me about RVE and the things he did I told you I was truly sorry that you were going through that and I would do anything I could to help.
Let me know when you want to sit down and I'll come up and chat. and really Ricky we're only talking a couple of thousand $ and I'll disappear. Or if you want, run your stats again for the upcoming season.
Thanks and I'll talk to you soon
John
There ya go. Make out of these what you want...Thanks again for the chance to post here
J
Stockasaurus, thank you for your reply and thank you to everyone for allowing me to post these...I understand I'm not an investor, however I am a interested party.
Here are just two of Ricky's replies to me asking for my past due salaries and expenses. Also, if you all are in question about the money owed to not just people in Bellingham but businesses, just start with calling the local ice rink, The Sportsplex, and ask to speak to the Director. People, take these how you want, but the league owes a lot of money and without a solid business plan that includes payback of debt, it won't go anywhere.
Feb 20th 2007 - john- dont confuse yrself with someone of importance or with someone that a person may hide from or not take calls - i have no problem speaking to u
how we settle this & when will be up to me, if thats not good enough then u do what u want how u want RS
July 27th 2007 - John- if you were not so pathetic - you'd be laughable . / your veiled threat is one of interest to my Lawyer . / john , look at the law suit , there are spaces with 3 John Does [one has yr name on it buddy],
That email goes on to say that he tried on several occasions to work with me and finishes with "come see me face to face & i'll enlighten you. RS
I won't bore anyone with my reply however in it I stated " I would be more than happy to sit down with you and talk, face to face as you say. Please name the date and time and I'll be there (other than tomorrow at Noon, my son is having his 4th birthday party) And as far as the lawyer thing goes, I would love to meet with him, her, them, whatever"
NO REPLY
Hello
As you all now I check and review posts from time to time and I have to say something here and I hope it doesn't upset the apple cart, but...
I couple of months ago I copy/pasted an email from Ricky. It was his reply to me asking about my past due salaries and expenses. His reply was rude and to the point, F you and get over yourself. In my post I mentioned that I thought you as investors should know the manner in which your CEO conducts business. The monitors of this page quickly removed my post saying keep my personnal business out of this page.
Now looking back and seeing all your posts about Ricky and his failed business plan, and he has to leave and "he's an idiot" "He is mentally ill", etc. it makes me wonder...?
Maybe you should listen to the little guy every once in while.
Thanks
J
Sorry overachiever to say this, truly since I don't post here often, but that post is one of the most selfcentered things I've heard in a long time.
It makes it seem that money is your number one priority not the future of our youth and hockey. In order to succeed,(other than a good business plan) this league needs to be recognized as a real league with real talent. There was a lot of talent last year in this league and the kids couldn't advance due to the league being "blackballed".
Not only does your CEO need a better business plan but the WHA needs to work on a relationship where a kid that proves he's better than the WHA can, well I don't know, be drafted, or get to skate with, or attend some practices with higher levels. Isn't the goal to advance players on to the BCHL, the W, college and then be drafted (do you even know what the W is?). Wouldn't it be great if in 4 years you could say x number of kids who started out in the WHA have been drafted or are attending college on scholarships. In order for the league to be successful, as far as the public goes, you need to embrace the youth not the $$$$. You need the parents, the fans, the locals to say things like what a great league, I heard that so and so's kid just got a shot to play in the W, etc. Spend all the money in the world on marketing but the number one marketing tool is word of mouth.
"Any kid who wants to quit can play for another league the next year. Who cares? I sure don't." You say that, what if it was your kid.
sorry for the novel of a post, but I mean really, if all you're in it for is the $ then find a stock that doesn't involve the youth.
Take care
J
Your right.
I guess I just read the post and thought nothing really good came out of last year as far as the hockey end of things went.
Your right it did have a real product.
Take a look at the outcome of those products...
Lumby, anyone have the real reason the team didn't show up for the playoffs?
Osoyoos...enough said
Bellingham, no one ever mentions it. The league owes companies and people all over town and it will take a big cashiers check for past debt and a large deposit to get the team back on the ice at the Sportsplex.
Armstrong, again enough said.
4-6 communities and employees burned. Good year, eh?
that bus and that wrap on it in the picture above that has been staring you in the face everytime you come to this page is a perfect example of wasted money.
Finally, you've seen the light....
It doesn't matter. Look into it yourself. Find the "official" papers, they're out there.
The bottom line is he is listed and the briners aren't. If I was the CEO of a corp that had 100s of thousand, millions, whatever stolen from me by an employee or corp. board member, I would make sure that that person is removed from all documents large and small. According to that document, RVE can still conduct business as the T and S of the WHA. If he were to walk into a bank and say "I want to open a checking acct. and i'm the CFO of the wha and here is the documents showing it", they would let him.
have fun finding the "real" document listing the bod members.
figure it out...
Why is RVE still listed on the Corp papers in FL?
If RVE and the Briners have done all these terrible things to the WHA, then why is RVE still listed as the T and S? If He really stole all that money that Ricky Smith accused him of, don't you think he would take the time to have him removed from the Board of Directors list? I mean two months ago (actually April 20th to be exact) he, or someone had the Briners removed. Why not Van Enter?
Dont' believe me...
Check it out yourselves....
http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=P03000104420&inq_came_...
If that link doesn't work go to sunbiz.org, on the left side click document searches, at the top, click "inquire by name", type in World Hockey Association, click on the top link that is "act" doc # P03000104420 Inquiring minds want to know.
Thank you
I didn't realize the amount of things that have happened. I'm just a guy hoping to get paid.
I guess I just don't understand why Ricky won't make an effort to pay me. We aren't talking a ton of $ here. But it does mean a lot to me and my family.
I hope the best for everyone who is invested in this organization, however it is very unsettling to know that the league continues on without settling past due matters.
what the heck are you talking about?
I've done nothing wrong. I suppose being associated with RVE and RS is the only thing.
Are you kidding?
The employees are the single most important part of a business. Do you plan on coming to the games and setting up the merchandise stand to sell t-shirts, jerseys, etc.
employees are the front line of a company. If they aren't happy then you wont have anyone to work. They will quit and spread the word. When someone says, hey I'm thinking of working for the WHA, they will say I wouldn't do that they don't pay their bills or they treat their employees like crap.
If I dumped a bunch of money into a Mcdonalds franchise and I had no employees, how long do you think my mcdonalds would be open?
John Ayre from Bellingham
good day
I've been back tracking on some posts and would like to let everyone know that as of today 4-3-07 there has been no attempt by the league, Ricky, or really anyone to settle debts in Bellingham. Not myself, Dennis Sobchuk, or the Sportsplex where the team played. Just call them 360-676-1919 and ask them yourselves.
Good luck getting hold of Ricky.
My name is John Ayre
I was hired by Gary Scott in August of 2006 as Director of Business Operations of the Bellingham Bulls. After Gary's interesting departure, I was promoted to more of a league wide role as I then took on the web site mainentance as well as monitoring each individual teams' marketing of merchandise.
I updated the website after every game, updated stats, and wrote all the post-game releases as well as any other releases (exp, the Brad Park release). I was called by each coach following the games and then updated the web site. If anyone was wondering why the web site just stop reporting games and Ricky had to use the blogs he did to post scores its because I was the one who updated the web site. When he so quickly fired me, he had no one to keep everyone informed.
Personnaly, I'm not into bashing, abusing, or spreading rumors. I have a contract signed by Ricky Smith stating my level of pay as well as a pay schedule. I don't understand about all of the people that are talking about bashing.
I just want what is due to me. And for those wondering, I was directed here by someone who knew how much I've struggled since Ricky's actions toward me. I did nothing wrong. I just asked to be paid for my work done and got fired. I even worked the last Bulls home game after being fired as a volunteer, because there was no way that Dennis could do it while he was on the bench.
Also, Ricky and the WHA have a lot of debt in the town of Bellingham. It will take a nice check to bring the team back to this town.
I only have 1 post remaining on my free acct. today and I'm not here to hide. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at johnayre@gmail.com.
I've been directed to this board by a friend and I thought that maybe someone can answer my questions.
I'm at past employee of the WHA/Bellingham Bulls. I'm owed thousands of dollars by Ricky Smith and the WHA.
I've heard that the WHA plans on paying off all past debt. Does that include the employees that they destroyed their way of living? My last paycheck game back NSF. When I asked about my past due salary and expenses, I was fired and told "not to confuse myself with someone of any importance, and that "I will pay you the money I owe you when I want to." I still have the email Ricky. I was unemployeed, for months, lost my phone, almost had my car reposessed, almost had my power turned off, and since January of 2007 when Ricky decided to not pay his debt to me, my credit has suffered dramatically.
Sure someone might say that I'm just an upset past employee, and they would be right.
Also, what about all the companies that the league owes money to in Bellingham? The ice time bill alone is a lot of money.