Ken Wheeler “Passing Away Story” Pulled by Christopher Menkin, editor The story sent to subscribers late Monday morning, January 30, on the passing of EFG Leasing (formerly Equipment Finance Group) president Kenneth Wheeler was removed from the web site later that afternoon. The information in the story came directly from Ken's son, Sean, who wanted readers to know that his father died, what he died from, and what was going to happen to EFG Leasing. In reality, when we first called EFG Leasing, the receptionist Tamara Owens was not aware Ken had passed away at 7pm the previous night. When we also made the announcement, many readers questioned whether the story was accurate, asking where was the obituary, several adding they would never believe anything Sean Wheeler would say. There were also twelve readers who wrote e-mails that the cause of death and story itself "went over the line." Six asked to be removed from the subscription list. Several specifically did not like the use of the picture of "The Elbow Room" or the title, "EFG Closed." There were nine recent stories about the company, most centered on rumors that the company was closed, while it was not, with a similar title used, and in fact, the “Top Story” collection title is “EFG Leasing Closed?” In addition, four stories and several Weekly Bulletin Board complaints about Ken's taking a 2 1/2 hour lunch break at "the Elbow Room." Ken several times replied he met with his accountant and attorney during lunch there every day during this time period. As a matter of fact, I spoke to him directly there several times as he not only returned all telephone calls, but had given me other telephone numbers to reach he and Sean Wheeler, including his favorite haunt. In my many years of experience where I served on the board of directors of the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center, I learned that families are often "powerless" about the control of their family member's addiction. Some of the readers got this message from Sean Wheeler and "The Elbow Room." "Geez, that is so sad. Hopefully someone will read this and make changes in their lifestyle and avoid the same ending." All the best Kit,” gary (Gary Saulter) "You did a "good job" telling an unfortunate story. "Leasing News tells the truth, keep it up." (From a Fresno reader, who knew Ken well.) "Alcoholism is both a mental and physical disease. It does not come from excess drinking. I believe that many potential alcoholics exhibit alcoholic tendencies before they become full-blown alcoholics. It is one of the rare diseases that has no known cure. Treatment is primarily through abstinence. "The immediate physical effects of drinking alcohol range from mild mood changes to complete loss of coordination, vision, balance, and speech -- any of which can be signals of the temporary systemic poisoning known as acute alcohol intoxication, or drunkenness. Alcoholism is insidious among young people and the elderly, in part because the symptoms are not easily recognized until the affected person becomes truly alcohol dependent. “Additional behavioral changes include: “For more information on alcoholism please visit http://alcohol411.info “. Jeffrey Taylor And we received other e-mail besides the ones who did not like the tenor of the article: "This is another ploy by Ken and Sean Wheeler. He isn't dead. They are just trying to get away with something." (name with held) "I'm not buying it! Do you have a copy of his obituraire?" (name withheld) In the article, we noted that Sean had not written it yet to submit to a newspaper as he was not the executor of the estate, although he was helping out by contacting funeral homes and most likely a funeral would be the end of the week. I hope this was a wake up call to many. Ken was quite a controversial person, with many vendors and brokers very angry at him. I can tell you he always returned my telephone calls, always looked into the complaints, and returned with plausible answers, actually returning money, and in several instances the vendor had taken the lease elsewhere, as he was taking too long ( and he would explain why.) When I wrote this, the hate mail came in as if I was "protecting him." It is with that spirit, and in honor of Ken Wheeler, that the story was pulled. If twelve people had taken the tenor incorrectly, it was twelve people too many. May he rest in peace.
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