Thanks
Good Evening,
I apologize I haven't had time to respond to this thread for the last couple days but as you can imagine, it's been a bit of a blur watching the stores get disassembled by the various floorplan and banking folks.
It is unfortunate that the economy has taken such a hit and that consumer demand is so low these days. For the folks that have observed our stores over the years, you know our focus has really been on diversification and growth. That growth process did not come without more debt and more debt takes cash flow to keep things working. As business has fallen off so drastically over the last year or so, cash flow was just not there. Mindy's health certainly also didn't help the situation as she's really the one who should get the credit for managing the stores. I'm pretty good at dreaming up big ideas but she's really the person who made it happen day to day. As for her health, the good news is that the luekemia drugs are working, her back is much better after surgery, and the lingering effects of narcotic withdrawal are getting better all the time. The stress of this situation has been hard on her, but she's still the toughest person I know and she's going to her old self again soon.
For those who know Ryan, you know that for him to come on here and post his thoughts is really something. Closing the store is tough on us, but not so much because of what we've done with the business, but because of all the effort that has been expended on our behalf by really great employees over the years. I always believed that Xtreme needed to be about the team and not about me. In spite of that, I often get a lot more credit than I deserve for all our their hard work. For a lot of us like Dom, myself, Mindy, Nick, Chris, and Ryan, we've never really done anything else. The prospect of not seeing those guys or talking to them daily is very disconcerting at this point. I really am proud that the current crew has been so willing to do whatever it took to try and save the store and they've worked their asses off in spite of all the uncertainty and fear that accompanies this sort of situation. We really had a great group for the last couple years and whether people were long time employees or relatively new to the company, everybody put a lot of effort in to keeping things going and we really do appreciate that.
I think Court hit the nail on the head about our customers. We've had the opportunity to meet, talk with, work with, and ride with some of the greatest folks. A lot of people know Jon & Kellie from the Test & Tunes and all the cool sleds that Jon has built over the years. What you guys may not know is that Jon & Kellie contributed all that effort and time to helping the shop and refused to take even the smallest compensation in return. I'm positive that I don't deserve to have friends like that, but I'm sure glad I do. Looking back over the years, it's astounding how many folks have contributed their time and effort to making the store work and I can't express how much we've appreciated that. From guys talking their buddies in to coming to the store to all the help I've had from Bill & Todd on the dyno while Robin put up with our incessant talking about horsepower numbers, it's phenemonal how many people have helped. At the moment, I feel like the folks giving an acceptance speech because you know no matter how many people you aknowledge, you'll forget somebody. Suffice to say, we accomplished a lot over the years and a huge amount of what we got done could not have happened without a lot of people contributing a lot of time and effort for no other reason than their love of the sport. We'll always be grateful for all those friendships that were made along the way.
Lastly, I appreciate Ralph's sentiment that only positive comments should be made. However, we all know that nobody or no organization can ever be perfect or anywhere close to it. I hope and believe on balance we did more stuff right than wrong, but we certainly had our share of issues like all organizations. I can only say that in spite of our short comings, we always wanted to do the best job we could and take care of customers as much as possible.
Once again, thanks for everything...we'll see you on the hill when the sun's out and the powder's deep.
Take care,
Donavon
