Apparently, there might be some news coverage after all. from the Earth First website:
UPDATE - The $6 million styrofoam statue of liberty commissioned by YTB for their convention this August is going to meet some resistance from environmentalists in the St. Louis, Missouri area. YTB claims that the statue is a ‘tribute to the troops’, but the mind-boggling cost paid for this polluting nightmare could have been put to far better use, perhaps going directly to the troops and their families.And from a Craigslist posting:
The protest rally will be held at the YTB convention, August 6th-10th, at the Edward Jones Dome. Contact the person who posted the Craigslist notice for more info.
If you’re in the St. Louis area and plan to attend, please take photos and contact us! For more info on the statue of liberty, check out our previous post - Eco Fail: Giant $6 Million Styrofoam Statue of Liberty One Big Polluting Mess
Protest Rally @ YTB Convention (Edward Jones Dome) Reply to: pers-764189392@craigslist.org Date: 2008-07-21, 3:58PM CDT
Protest rally @ YTB Convention, August 6-10.
Edward Jones Dome and their HUGE foam statue costing $6 MILLION. This is supposed to be a tribute to our troops. Better if YTB donated that $6 million to the soldiers and/or their families.
http://earthfirst.com/eco-fail-giant-6m-foam-statue-of-liberty-a-big-polluting-mess/
http://www.tripso.com/today/nothing-says-freedom-like-25-tons-of-styrofoam-or-does-it/
http://digg.com/environment/Eco_Fail_Giant_6M_Foam_Statue_of_Liberty_a_Polluting_Mess http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/17/styrofoam-statue-of-liber_n_113426.html
I wonder which one of the "brains" at the top of YTB decided that this would be a good idea. I can imagine "Crotch" sitting in a chair with a gin and tonic, and boing..Statue of Foam!! What a great idea! Old cook should be in a retirement home, it's obvious he can't make any smart decisions.
ReplyDeleteAnd John thanks for making people register, traffic is down, and we don't have to read all the mindless anonymous posts. This just proves what I thought. Most of the anons were the same people, posting multiple times as someone else.
Actually, traffic is up considerably, but the number of comments is down a little bit.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that there were a some dual anons and they have now morphed into one name. But there were a lot of Anons that were simply cowards and cannot stand up to their own convictions (not that they have any without Coach or Scott telling them what they are) and enjoyed the thrill of running into an existing argument and kicking someone and claiming victory!
AS with most ideas at YTB this appears to be ill conceived and poorly thought out. Will be interesting to see how they spin this.
ReplyDeleteAm interested to see how Crowne Point feels in a year after it is faded, cracked and blowing little styrofoam pellets all over their town.
Well you all know who I am! =)
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite comment from one of the environmental blogs:
ReplyDelete"Maybe they could make styrofoam coffins for all those involved with this project."
Things are going to get interesting with this whole statue. Kim owns the printing company that built it. Thus he takes the 6-8 million for it and pays the company that built it, which just lines his pockets more. So when YTB dies, he can claim, every other things fault, while he conveniently has his little coffer over at the printing company. I find this whole thing strange and I think the cat has now been let out of the bag.
ReplyDelete"J. Lloyd Tomer, J. Scott Tomer and J. Kim Sorensen own a company that
ReplyDeleteYourTravelBiz.com, Inc. utilizes for printing of its sales materials. During
2006, we made $1,467,402 in payments to such company for printing sales
materials. In addition, at December 31, 2006, we have a pre-paid asset of
$136,553 on the balance sheet for payments related to work not yet completed by
such company."
http://sec.edgar-online.com/2007/05/.../Section25.asp
And, according to Dunn and Bradstreet the President of BM is none other than Mr. Kim Soerenson.
Wow---seems like the three musketeers have set up a system to shelter some money and maybe some taxes.
ReplyDeleteHow does a company that loses so much mney afford $8 million dollar statues.
Might make for a fast exit for the three of them wiht a cool $2 million each. Filter it out of a publicly traded company into a private one held by them and poof.
And, here is the link for all you doubting YTB people.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_h94hsx
If not illegal, it sure is suspicious.I would think that even a perceived conflict of interest (much less an actual one) would want to be avoided!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the perception of a conflict of interest. But we don't know whether there's been any monetary gain.
ReplyDeleteI was the President of the YWCA for 10 years. I got NOTHING in terms of money, unless I put it out first and got reimbursed. And I made sure the trail was clean.
Oh please Denyse Sorenson and the crew don't do anything without getting paid! They worship money! They are greedy! They are charming, slick and Satan incarnate. And, for you who claim to be so holy to associate with them makes you a what? Hypocrite? Just like them?
ReplyDelete"Evil lives when God people do nothing."
Um apparently there is $8 million dollars heading to Beryl Martin from YTB. Did you watch any of the videos or read any of the papers. Unless YTB is planning on stiffing Beryl Martin
ReplyDeleteIt may go to Beryl Martin, but that doesn't mean it's going into Kim's pocket. Maxine, do you know these people personally?? Careful, you border on slander.
ReplyDeleteCoach stiff Kim?
ReplyDelete"It may go to Beryl Martin, but that doesn't mean it's going into Kim's pocket. Maxine, do you know these people personally?? Careful, you border on slander."
ReplyDeleteAre you threatening me Denyse? I never said a word about it going directly into Kim's pocket. BTW-I have 2 attorneys in my family AND a federal judge. Don't ever threaten me again.
Well when the owners of B-M are Kim, Coach and Scott, you can be sure SOME of it goes to their pocket.
ReplyDeleteThere obviously is some cost of material and labor to do the thing, but I am having a tough time grasping $8 million for styrofoam.
It's going to be really hard for YTB to clean up this PR mess. Since they own the company that created the giant eco-mess, it's going to be a tough one to spin. It should be really interesting to see how this one turns out.
ReplyDeleteThere was no threat made Maxine. It doesn't matter who's in your family. Slander is slander....you called me a hypocrite. You know nothing about me besides what you read here.
ReplyDeleteAnd YTB will be alright. They've gone through many challenges and have come ok. =)
What does the statue of liberty and YTB have in common any way? The only connection that I can make is the fact that YTB liberates a ton of people from their hard earned money!
ReplyDeleteListen to Coach's call and you'll understand it better.
ReplyDeleteHey John, I've moved from the #10 spot to the #5 spot in the top commentators category. Do I get a prize when I move to #1??? LOL
ReplyDeleteMy opinion you are a hypocrite and you talk out of both sides of your mouth. And, the first amendment guarantees freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteI am not afraid of you Denyse. Bring it on honey. I don't have to pay a dime for legal representation unlike you.
As to your prize, they don't give out prizes for being the biggest Ass.