December 1, 2003
To Whom It May Concern:
My colleagues and I at the Investment Group Santa Barbara have acquired several small companies over the past 15 years and are familiar with the challenges of growing a start up. The first challenge is gleaning good information and data in order to put the company on the right track. The second is growing the company to enhance shareholder value. Maurice has played a pivotal role in achieving these objectives at BodyTrends Health and Fitness.
When we acquired BodyTrends Health and Fitness Inc., in 1999 information and data were difficult to obtain. There was inadequate financial reporting, no cash management, deficient inventory management, inadequate asset management, and weak internal controls. I hired Maurice to run the financial management of the company. On his first day he submitted a Status Report, which was an accumulation of pulling fifteen different reports and combining the meaningful information into a one page Status Report. This report gave me a clear and concise report of the Key Indictors of our business. He went on to develop the best financial reporting systems that I've experienced. After clarifying our financial status he began implementing systems and mechanisms to enhance shareholder value. From the Operation's Management side, Maurice instituted a technology solution that reduced the purchasing time from one week to one hour, while simultaneously reducing backorders and improving inventory turns, resulting in improved cash flow.
Maurice also immediately implemented a cash management program, which substantially improved our cash flow. Our entire Board of Directors was impressed with the results that he achieved. Additionally, he implemented internal controls that made Body Trends GAAP compliant. All of these achievements were recognized by our CPA Firm with the issuing of four consecutive years of an Unqualified Opinions.
Maurice has held the positions of VP of Finance and VP of Operations for four years with BodyTrends. I have not had anyone in any of my organizations who was more effective at organizing and reporting the information necessary to make day-to-day operational decisions as well as contribute to long-term strategic planning. His cash management skills have allowed BodyTrends to self-finance the majority of our growth. While we are going to miss Maurice in our day-to-day operations we are retaining his consulting company to handle reporting, accounting and cash management for BodyTrends. We have greatly benefited by Maurice's contribution to our company. If you choose to retain his services I am confident you will benefit from his dedication and skills. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further do not hesitate to call me.
BodyTrends Health and Fitness, Inc.
Rex Bird
CEO
805-684-8404 ext. 100