OpTree

In the wake of the announcement that third quarter profits have plummeted for online travel site, YTB, comes the announcement that the company has decided to mix some things up in their management team.

The company announced this week that they have promoted J. Kim Sorensen to Vice Chairman and Andrew Cauthen to President. 

Sorenson, who was previously president of YTB International, will remain President and Chief Executive of the company’s subsidiary, YTB Travel Network. 

Cauthen joined YTB since 2004 as the company’s Chief Operating Officer and then moved up to serve as President of YourTravelBiz in 2006. Cauthen was then named COO of YTB International in January 2008.

YTB has been hit pretty hard these last few months, not only have their profits plummetted almost 90% percent, but they’re being investigated for illegal practices in two different states, they’ve had to lay people off and just yesterday came word that they had to sell an office building and their learjet.  Hopefully these reassignments will shake things up a bit and get the company going in the right direction. 

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YTB International Inc., has just released their financial results for the third quarter, and not surprisingly, the company did not do well.

Currently, the online travel agency which uses independent sales reps to sell travel packages, is under investigation by two different state attorney generals, in Illinois and California, for allegedly operating a pyramid scheme.

Corporate filings (YTBLA: OTC) show pretty meager earnings for the third quarter, showing a profit of only $288,000 in the three months ending September 30th. That is a huge decline from the same quarter last year when the company raked in over $2 million dollars in profit.

Filing with the SEC show that while revenue grew, so did its operating expenses which climbed 13 percent this year. All total, net loss for the nine months ending September 30th was $3.4 million dollars.

“While we are disappointed by the reduction in our net income, we are also aware that much of the softness we are seeing is reflective of both an industry-wide trend and a difficult comparison to last year’s explosive growth,” company CEO Scott Tomer said Monday. “In the face of a looming recession, growing companies face the difficult choice of either cutting back on marketing efforts to save on expenses, or increasing these efforts in order to capture the increasingly selective customer,” he added

The company said that it plans to help raise cash by selling some of their assets, including an office building in Edwardsville as well as the company’s Learjet.

The YTB stock has gotten hammered this year.  From a high of over $4 to where it sits today at around $0.33, the company’s issues continue to mount as concerns about the ongoing lawsuits and financial situation continue to plague them.

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USANA general counsel and corporate secretary, James Bramble has received the 2008 Corporate Counsel Leadership Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel, Mountain West Chapter.

Bramble was presented with the award this past weekend at the annual 2008 awards gala which was held at the University of Utah Fine Arts Museum. The award is given each year to individuals who have been successful in championing the profession of corporate counsel. Bramble, like past winners has shown outstanding leadership and a dedication not only to USANA, but also to his community.

As general counsel for the health sciences company, Bramble is in charge of overseeing all litigation, intellectual property, international development, government relations and Associate compliance. Bramble must also keep board members up to date and informed on all legal responsibilities.

“James Bramble’s dedication, foresight and leadership make him an outstanding recipient for this award,” said USANA CEO Dave Wentz. “His legal influence on USANA’s marketing decisions and policies and procedures has helped our company remain the industry standard for quality and integrity. I congratulate James on this remarkable accomplishment and thank him for his commitment to USANA and his community.”

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The Shaklee Corporation, a global leader in environmentally friendly household products, nutritional supplements and beauty products, has just been put on the list of the Top 20 Retail Partners with the United States Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership.

The EPA’s Green Power Partnership is committed to helping consumers as well as companies understand the importance of going green, and its impact on the health of all people and the environment. The Partnership top partner rankings are meant to put a spotlight on companies that emphasize green power purchases to help reduce a negative impact on the environment.

Shaklee has had a longstanding commitment to the environment, becoming the first company in the world to be Climate Neutral Certified in the year 2000. The certification means that Shaklee has found a way to completely offset its greenhouse gas emissions, therefore resulting in zero impact on the environment. In 2002, the EPA presented Shaklee with the EPA Climate Protection Award which recognized the company for its dedication to climate protection and to preserving the environment.

“Our nation is shifting to a ‘green culture,’ with more and more Americans understanding that environmental responsibility is everyone’s responsibility,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “EPA commends Shaklee Corporation for making a long-term commitment to protecting the environment by purchasing green power.”

Roger Barnett, Shaklee Chairman and CEO, is proud of Shaklee’s addition to this prestigious grouping, “We are pleased to be part of a group of companies that are showing leadership in helping reduce our impact on our planet and we hope that many more join us in the future.”

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