Blazers sticking to deadline on shares

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
When the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society agreed to sell its WHL franchise to
River City Hockey, Inc., last summer, part of the deal involved the purchase
of shares in the society.
River City Hockey -- now the Kamloops Blazers Hockey Club, Inc. -- said it
would be willing to purchase the shares for the original cost ($1,000) plus
five per cent simple interest from the date the shares were purchased.
Letters dated Nov. 30 and including that offer were sent to shareholders,
who were told they had until Jan. 8 to respond.
"We had everybody respond but 34," Frank Quinn of the Kamloops law firm
Bilkey Quinn, which handled the purchase of shares on behalf of the Blazers,
said Tuesday. "Everybody who responded, responded yes . . . and we paid out
$352,000."
Bernie Deys, who purchased Share Certificate No. 115 on Sept. 25, 1984, is
one of the 34 who didn't respond. Deys winters in the Phoenix area and this
time chose not to have his mail forwarded, deciding, instead, to get
statements, bills and other important information via the Internet.
It was, he said, an attempt to go "paperless." And, besides, he was tired of
all the junk mail that was being forwarded.
When Deys returned to Kamloops in mid-April, he found the offer to purchase
his share for $2,145.48. However, the Jan. 8 deadline had passed.
After talking to people, including society executive director Bob Smillie
and Quinn, both of whom he said told him the deadline had passed and nothing
could be done, Deys wrote a letter to Blazers majority owner Tom Gaglardi.
In the letter, Deys explained his predicament and added:
"As a retired businessman in this community, supporting the Blazers over the
years, having been a season-ticket holder since Day 1 until present, I would
ask that you at least return the original $1,000 to me. Had I been in
Kamloops I would have exercised the option as suggested by the Club."
During the first week in May, Deys said he heard from Angie Mercuri, the
Blazers' office manager.
"She said, 'Unfortunately, you missed the deadline and there's nothing we
can do . . .,' " Deys recalled.
Quinn reiterated that stance yesterday.
"We had 206 people potentially who we had to make an offer to to purchase
shares," he explained. "We gave them five weeks to say yes or no to the
purchase.
"The reason we had to set a time limit is because we had to raise whatever
necessary money to complete that part of the deal. It's a lot of money. Some
of those people were paid almost $3,000."
Quinn said he later heard from two of the 34 who hadn't responded. He said
both people told him pretty much the same thing -- they had been away and
found the offer to purchase when they returned home.
"We've gone back to them," Quinn stated, "and said, 'We have to stick by the
date because otherwise we could find ourselves in a position where if we
indulge you we've got 32 other people we would have to indulge, which would
mean potentially as much as $70,000 or $80,000.'
"We felt we had acted reasonably in doing that. We thought about it quite a
bit. We thought it would probably upset those two individuals but that's
what we thought was a reasonable position."
Yes, Deys is upset.
"I've been a strong supporter of the Blazers all the way through, having
season tickets for all these years and a share," Deys said, "and all of a
sudden you get . . . something . . . saying, 'Screw you.'
"That's the kind of royal treatment you get after being there for so many
years?"
Shortly after hearing from Mercuri, Deys said, he received another letter
from the Blazers. This one included a season-ticket renewal form and included
an invoice for $922 to cover his two tickets.
"I was there from Day 1," Deys said. "It's not the money part, it's how you
deal with people.
"They are looking for more season-ticket holders and, I can tell you right
now, I'm not going to have any more season tickets."

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca