Parks! America Files Proxy Soliciting Material

TL;DR

Parks! America dropped proxy docs, looks like they're talking to shareholders.

AI Summary

Parks! America, Inc. filed a DEFA14A on April 11, 2024, related to soliciting material under Rule 14a-12. The company, formerly known as Great American Family Parks Inc., is based in Pine Mountain, GA, and operates in the amusement and recreation sector. This filing indicates ongoing corporate communications and potential shareholder engagement activities.

Why It Matters

This filing signals that Parks! America, Inc. is actively engaging in communications that may influence shareholder decisions or proxy voting, which is crucial for corporate governance.

Risk Assessment

Risk Level: low — This is a routine proxy filing and does not inherently indicate significant financial or operational risk.

Key Players & Entities

• PARKS! AMERICA, INC (company) — Registrant
• GREAT AMERICAN FAMILY PARKS INC (company) — Former Company Name
• April 11, 2024 (date) — Filing Date

FAQ

Filing Documents

• formdefa14a.htm (DEFA14A) — 41KB
• 0001493152-24-014290.txt ( ) — 42KB

From the Filing

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION Proxy (Amendment No . ) Filed by the Registrant Filed by a Party other than the Registrant Check the appropriate box: Preliminary Proxy Statement Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) Definitive Proxy Statement Definitive Additional Materials Soliciting Material under 240.14a-12 PARKS! AMERICA, INC. (Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) (Name Of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant) Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply): No fee required Fee paid previously with preliminary materials Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11 On April 11, 2024, Parks! America, Inc. (the “Company”) issued the below press release: Parks! America Responds to FC Open Letter of April 2, 2024 PINE MOUNTAIN, Georgia, April 11, 2024 – This is the response of Parks! America, Inc. (OTCPink: PRKA) (“Parks! America” or the “Company” ) to the press release published by Focused Compounding, LLC (“FC”) in their open letter dated April 2, 2024. Dear Parks! America Shareholders, We would like to provide you and the larger market with a clear and fact-based response to the absurd narrative recently shared by Focused Compounding, LLC as part of their bid to take control of the Company. FC has never informed you, our shareholders, or the investing public, who will run Parks! America if they succeed in gaining control of the board. They have proposed a group of nominees who have no experience or qualifications to run the Company. Andrew Kuhn has stated that he would be the President of the Company and would work for free. We do not take any of these statements seriously. They do not even want Andrew Kuhn pretending to run this Company. They know that they have to employ real management. So, who would run Parks! America if they win? You are entitled to know the answer before voting at the Annual Meeting. The experience and expertise of our senior management and Board of the Company is a matter of public record. Their credentials are spelled out in the Company’s public filings with the SEC. We do not see a shred of experience or industry knowledge in the group proposed by FC. What is your game plan, FC? Roughly 34% of the Company’s stock is held by current members of the Board. We have a lot of skin in this Company. We want to know what you plan to do with our investment! We are very concerned that FC, having bought most of its shares directly from Dale Van Voorhis, plans to bring him back as a manager or in a senior advisory role. We are also concerned that one or more persons that we terminated for very good reasons will be brought back by FC. If that is not their game plan, why are they being so cute? Almost every criticism FC has leveled at Parks! America can be traced back to Mr. Van Voorhis. Yes, the Board bears some responsibility, and we acknowledge that. But the issues that FC has raised were being dealt with by the Board and some did not surface until Mr. Van Voorhis was no longer the President and CEO. These issues include: A myriad of poor decisions in the name of “saving money” which had harmful consequences such as under-insurance of our Georgia park which was hit directly by a tornado in late March 2023; Poor human resource management decisions which made hiring extremely difficult, undermined staff morale and led to lawsuits, including one that names Mr. Van Voorhis personally, as well as the Company; Poor decisions relative to “maintenance capital” (again in the name of saving money) which allowed the Company’s properties to slip into disrepair, while at the same time spending on ill-advised and poorly planned programs such as the “Holiday Lights” event at the Missouri park and the abandoned Giraffe exhibit in Georgia; The absence of shareholder meetings, which Mr. Van Voorhis insisted were a waste of money; and Neglect of shareholder liquidity issues for long-standing shareholders holding paper share certificates bearing restrictive legends. During his tenure as President and CEO of the Company, Mr. Van Voorhis was also Chairman of the Board and a major stockholder, owning approximately 21% of the outstanding shares. As such, Mr. Van Voorhis had a high degree of autonomy to run the Company. We do not want him back. It is important to note that our Board had serious concerns with Mr. Van Voorhis, and in early Spring of 2022, the Board approved a succession plan that included not renewing Mr. Van Voorhis as the Company CEO. Despite the Board’s dissatisfaction with his leadership, the plan included an olive branch enabling Mr. Van Voorhis, then one of the Company’s largest shareholders, to remain a Board membe

View Full Filing

View this DEFA14A filing on SEC EDGAR