Who would have known that Solana Beach is such a hotbed of commerce?
Name: EDUTEK, INC.
Type: Corporation
File Number: 20207-1998
State: NEVADA
Incorporated On: August 25, 1998
Status: Sixty day list of officers filed
Corp Type: Regular
This corporation is in good standing.
Resident Agent:
CROWELL, SUSICH, OWEN & TACKES (Accepted)
President:
ALLEN D. HARDMAN
462 STEVENS AVENUE SUITE 106
SOLANA BEACH CA 92075
Secretary:
ALLEN D. HARDMAN
Treasurer:
ALLEN D. HARDMAN
Well, thats not all Mr. Hardman is doing, because according to Bloomberg, Mr Hardman is also very busy serving as CEO and President of FTFR d/b/a/ Betterstuff...
ALLEN HARDMAN
PRESIDENT/CEO
BETTERSTUFF INC.
462 STEVENS AVE
SUITE 106
SOLANA BEACH CA 92075
"Allen Hardman said from his office in Solana Beach"
Friday, February 26, 1999
Tech Schools In Utah Face Little Regulation
BY STEVEN OBERBECK
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Allen Hardman knew he was taking a chance in September when he led a group of investors in purchasing the financially troubled Certified Technical Institute in Draper.
But the computer-training school, which promised its 180 students they soon would be earning $60,000 or more annually as certified network engineers, could be had at a bargain price.
"We knew they were having problems, but that was one of the reasons we were able to pick up the business so cheaply," Hardman said from his office in Solana Beach, Calif. "Unfortunately, it also meant we were not able to perform all the due diligence we should have up front."
Last week, CTI's new owners closed the school.
They blame the closure in part on the school's founder, Tali J. Haleua, an ex-convict who started CTI in November 1997 just nine months after being released from the Utah State Prison, where he served a year for theft by deception.
Such finger-pointing, however, is providing little solace to the school's students, some of whom paid $15,000 or more in tuition for the chance to earn hefty salaries in computer networking.
"I was stunned when I showed up for class last Friday morning and saw the sign that said the school was out of business," CTI student Mark Bray said. "I felt angry, betrayed and just ticked off."
What made matters worse was Bray and other students say they tried to do their homework and check out the school before they signed up. They called the Better Business Bureau and the Utah Board of Regents, which requires that such schools register before doing business.
"I was told everything was fine," Bray said.
The failure of CTI points to the lack of oversight of such technical schools in Utah, where just about anyone can start a school and begin collecting tuition by simply registering with the Board of Regents.
"We require the operators to register and provide us with information on the training they are offering. And we ask for a copy of their student catalog and enrollment agreement," Board of Regents spokesman Harden Eyring said.
Yet Eyring concedes the review is not as extensive as it is in most states, some of which have full-time staff members devoted to oversight of private training schools.
"I do not know what a student can do to anticipate these kinds of situations," he said. "We met with CTI two weeks ago because the new owners needed to register with us. We heard there might be some problems, but were told everything was fine. We certainly gave them every opportunity to tell us if something was wrong."
Hardman said he did not anticipate the terrible financial condition that CTI was in last September. But it quickly became apparent there were big problems. "They had no financial planning and no cost controls in place."
And Haleua, CTI's former chief executive officer who still held interest in the school and remained on the board of directors, was resisting setting up a budget for the school, he said.
"I got a copy of one memo he sent," Hardman said. Quoting the note, he said it read: "Scan this. This company is not going to be run on a budget."
The new owners said they discovered Haleua -- who also had served time in the late 1980s after being convicted of theft -- had teamed up with another CTI officer, Lance Orlob, to take more than $600,000 out of the of the company in the two months prior to the sale.
And they contended in a 3rd District Court lawsuit filed in early January that Haleua also took another $30,000 in the month after control of the school changed hands.
"We knew something was up when Tali showed up after the sale driving a BMW," said David J. White, an early investor in CTI who later became chief financial officer under the new owners.
Telephone calls to Haleua on Thursday were not returned.
Hardman said since September, the new owners lost $1.6 million trying to keep CTI going. "But it was going to take a lot more. The decision was made to close," he said.
Bray says he has a problem with the new owners trying to portray themselves as victims along with students.
"If they wanted to say they were victims too, then why weren't they out there Friday morning rather than off somewhere hiding? They might have taken some heat from the students because they were the owners, but they could have done more than sneak around and put a sign on the door."
In response to the closure, several other training schools said they are considering, placing CTI students into their programs for either cost or at a discount.
"We are trying to get a feel for where each student is in their training and where we might be able to help," said Melinda Zito, business development manager at Knowledge Alliance. "But realistically, we are going to need the help of all the other authorized training schools in the area to help take care of the problem."
10/27/98 /CONTACT: Al Hardman of BEVEX Inc. (formerly Fountain Fresh International), 619-350-4060; Imagine that, the same number as ZSUN and two digets off Veritas's phone number
FOUNTAIN FRESH INTERNATIONAL CHANGES ITS NAME TO BEVEX INC
...Beverage Center Redesign Underway
SOLANA BEACH, Calif., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- At the August 17, 1998
annual meeting of Fountain Fresh International (OTC Bulletin Board:
FTFR) 20,362,897 of 32,123,571 common shares of stock were represented
in person or by proxy, constituting a quorum. Shareholders voted on
the following actions and business matters:
1. The existing board of directors was reelected by a majority
shareholder vote as follows:
Hugues Monteil Chairman of the Board
Marc Bruhwiler Director
Allen Hardman Director
Michael Montandon Director
2. The appointment of the accounting firm of Jones & Jensen in Salt
Lake City, Utah, as auditor of record for Fountain Fresh
International was ratified by a majority shareholder vote.
3. The Stock Purchase Agreement, executed on May 19, 1998, wherein a
majority of Fountain Fresh shares were purchased by BSAG
(Switzerland) and its affiliates, was ratified by a majority
shareholder vote.
4. An amendment of Article 1 of the Articles of Incorporation of
Fountain Fresh International, changing the name of Fountain Fresh
International to BEVEX Inc. was approved by a majority shareholder
vote.
Fountain Fresh International previously was doing business as
BetterStuff Inc. BEVEX has now been reorganized to make BetterStuff
International a wholly owned subsidiary of BEVEX Inc. The beverage
center business will be conducted by BetterStuff International.
The name BetterStuff Inc. will no longer be used. Accordingly, all future communications to the beverage center marketplace will be from BetterStuff International. All communications to shareholders will originate with BEVEX Inc.
Redesign of the company's beverage center, to incorporate several new features, is underway. A concept prototype design review meeting is scheduled to be held in Switzerland on October 27, 1998.
"If the new features function as expected, we believe it will significantly enhance the opportunities to place beverage centers in the global marketplace," said Allen Hardman, president and CEO of BEVEX Inc. "Moreover, we believe these features will provide BetterStuff International with a much stronger competitive position than it had with the old design," he said.
In response to a frequently asked question, Hardman indicated that BestWay USA, which has been restructured, continues as the North American distributor for BetterStuff International. However, the purchase order BestWay initially issued to BetterStuff Inc. in the fall of 1997 was canceled when the first two beverage centers delivered to BestWay by BetterStuff Inc. failed to perform in the marketplace and were removed from service. The company has been advised by BestWay that BestWay will not place any new orders for beverage centers until the performance and reliability of the new design currently underway has been proven to BestWay's satisfaction.
BEVEX Inc. (formerly Fountain Fresh International) is a developer and
manufacturer of in-store beverage machines, designed to offer
value-oriented, self-serve soft drinks and purified drinking water.
Any statements released by BEVEX Inc. that are forward-looking are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Editor and investors are cautioned that
forward-looking statements invoke risk and uncertainties that may
affect the company's business prospects and performance. These include
economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors
discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
SOURCE BEVEX Inc.
10/27/98 /CONTACT: Al Hardman of BEVEX Inc. (formerly Fountain Fresh International), 619-350-4060; or Madeleine Franco of Jordan Richard Assoc., 801-595-8611/
/Web site: www.jordanrichard.com/ (FTFR) CO: BEVEX Inc.; Fountain Fresh International; BetterStuff Inc.; BetterStuff
International ST: California IN: FOD SU: PER RCN
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