My Sommet Story

So, I was going to wait to post this... but before closing down for the night, I thought maybe it would be good to catch my emotions as they are right now in this moment.

To say the least, I'm actually all cried out at this point ... or I think I am.

Long story short - I started a new job on May 10, 2010 at a company called Sommet Group. I received my Separation Notice on July 7, 2010. The past few days have resulted in a tax lien on Friday, Fourth of July observance on Monday, and an FBI raid on the company on Tuesday.

Here is my story for those of you who are curious...

My job description was Payroll Administrative Assistant but I pretty much only supported the VP of Payroll, Marsha - who is actually a managing partner along with her husband, Brian and father, Ed.

My job usually consisted of making copies, faxing, filing,Fed Exing, mailing and organizing. I was Marsha's assistant. Thus far, the best job I have ever had. Marsha was human... she was beautiful and young and bright... and funny... she cracked me up. I remember when we bonded for the first time - she asked me to make her some coffee... it was such a joy to me - because she took some time to really let me ASSIST her... but I was so excited to make her a cup of coffee. To those of you who know me, you know I LOVE TO HELP PEOPLE... lol! ... so seriously, a cup of coffee... really brought me JOY!

Let me tell you what I know of Marsha - she is humble! She has a heart for God. She never took advantage of me. She is funny and smart and spunky! My experiences with her have always been pleasant.

On Thursdays, I covered the front desk for our receptionist on her lunch break. I enjoyed my front desk time because it was an hour to interact with the third floor (the payroll department was on the second floor, which was secure) but the third floor was great... green walls and modern decor.. Great energy ... and great personalities all over Sommet Group. I usually received about 5 calls tops on a regular Thursday, but this particular Thursday was not regular. Within the hour I had to have received over 50 phone calls from irrate clients. Some were upset that their health insurance cards were not working and some were payroll clients who were upset that they were hearing rumors that their employees were not going to be paid... and some were upset clients who were calling about their tax delinquencies... this was very odd for a Thursday.

Finally, after a torturing hour... I headed back downstairs but ran into a coworker in the hall who said "what the hell is going on down there?" (on the 2nd floor)... I told her that I was unsure and asked her why... she said "I've heard from around the way that we're not getting paid next Friday because there is no money to pay us with" ... I just shrugged my shoulders... and went back to the payroll floor.

Friday, July 2, 2010 was a good day as far as I was concerned. Shredding documents, mailing checks, etc... I picked Marsha up some comfort food per her request (she never eats comfort food... only salads and grilled chicken sandwiches) but Friday's menu consisted of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and turnip greens.... and her well known sweet tea.

Friday afternoon around 3:30, I noticed it looked like Marsha was leaving.. but she almost always said goodbye to me... but she just walked past my office with our Marketing Manager who asked her "Are you ready" ... and she replied "yes". I figured they were going upstairs for a meeting... a while later, I was told by a coworker "We can't leave yet?!" ... it was 5:00 on Friday before the holiday and I was ready to go... I asked her why... and she said "the media is outside wanting a statement" I said "A statement for what?!?!" and she said "The state of Tennessee has placed a tax lien against Sommet Group". This startled me... and I started to realize something was wrong... but have to admit that I still felt that it would be worked out and I was sure it was some sort of misunderstanding.

Top Story on Channel 4 news that evening... very sad to hear them talk so bad about the company that I loved.

Monday, July 5, 2010 We did not have to work in observance of the fourth of July falling on a Sunday... yay! Day off with the family... well, my daughter, Trinity - just happened to fall on the playground on Monday evening and scrape her knee up pretty badly.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 I woke to a sunlit room and had that feeling that I had overslept... I looked at the clock and it said 7:30 ... I had to be at work around 8:00 and still had to get up, get ready, get my daughter ready, fed, and to daycare... there was no way. So I asked my husband to take her to daycare. Once we woke Trinity up she was complaining a lot about her knee and she didn't want to go to daycare so I figured I would let her rest for the day. I texted Marsha to let her know I would not be in but that I was right down the street and could sneak away and would be on my way to do the mail soon (another job function was to sort and distribute the mail) She responded to me around 9:30 and said "No worries, someone else has already taken care of the mail, just stay home today". I thought this response was strange of her... but just went on about my business.

Around 11:00, Trinity was apparently tired of playing hookie... and asked to go to daycare... so I took her and dropped her off, hung out with my husband a bit (he was on scheduled vacation) and returned home to lounge... later I took a walk...

I had been battling some internal spiritual fight about people and worldliness... I struggle with this often... but I decided that I needed to get out for a walk with the Lord and a serious talk. I set off on my walk to the mailbox, which is quite a distance away... and I spoke with the Lord about friendship, Truth, His Will, seeking more of Him and trusting Him more... and I was interrupted by my phone ringing... a strange number with a strange area code that I was unaware of... so I ignored the call and let it go to voicemail as I continued my chat with the Father... after a few minutes I noticed I had a message and decided to check it. It was a coworker saying "Hi April, Marsha told me to tell you not to come in tomorrow... or until further notice... if you have any questions you can give me a call back" My first thought was "Wow! Did I just get fired over my voicemail and by one of my coworkers?!?! That is strange!?!" So I called my coworker back and asked her what was going on... she said "Are you not aware of everything that has happened today?!" To which I replied, "no, not a clue." She said "The FBI raided Sommet today ... check out the story for more details" she gave me the info to locate the story ... the title read "BREAKING NEWS: Feds allege wire fraud, money laundering at Sommet" http://www.williamsonherald.com/home?id=71235 You can click on the link to read the full story.

I was in awe. I just sat here... in awe.

Needless to say, the evening was filled with reading stories online and watching video clips of breaking news... it was shattering to know that this was my company. Completely unreal.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 I woke up and received a voicemail from the same coworker saying that we had a meeting at 9:00 at Sommet. So I hurried my daughter to daycare and made a dash for Sommet. Coming through the parking lot was strange... I ran into a coworker on my way in. We greeted and gave a long hug. He was obviously upset. He said he wasn't getting paid.. so he was leaving and going to see if he could find some lawns to mow or something. I told him goodbye. As I walked up the back stairwell... I felt afraid for some reason... it was a strange feeling. I finally arrived to the third floor that homes suite 320 and today, when I opened the door to the office, a sad, sad, feeling came over my spirit. The office that was once full of energy and fun filled laughter was silent and eerie. No receptionist, no coworkers walking swiftly on their phones with clients or discussing orders... just silence and one employee sitting in a guest chair on his lap top. We smiled at each other and said good morning...

As I walked down the long hall I felt tears coming to my eyes.. I could sense hurt, frustration, anger, and many other emotions in the walls... just knowing that the FBI had been there and raided the place alone, was a strange feeling. I made it to our marketing manager's office where the meeting was being held to see a lot of drained people. They were tired... They were worried... we all sat around and told stories of what each person experienced... it was quite interesting. I was told of Chief Officers of the company who had resigned a few days before the raid and a lot of rumors were spreading fast... I asked if Marsha was coming... and was told No.

I feel like there were just people standing around... a lot of them afraid to ask if they were going to get paid on Friday... a lot of them curious to know if they still had a job... just people... walking around and not knowing where they were going. It saddened my heart.

Later, I returned to the second floor and opened my office door... I could tell it had been raided... but didn't notice anything missing. A coworker helped me box up my things.

We then went to the payroll manager to get Separation Notices and then over to the benefits manager to get Certificaes of Group Health Plan Coverage ... no one knows if we were fired.. or quit... no one knows... it was the strangest thing. Even to this moment I have not been told "April, you're fired" ... so it's just so weird... because you know there is no money... and you know you have no work to do... but to not be told you're fired... or to not quit... is a STRANGE thing...

So.. all that to say ... I don't know what's going to happen. I know I need a job.. lol! ... but as far as Sommet is concerned.. I don't know what's going to happen... I just know it's not looking good.

But I want to say this - I believe that regardless of what others think about people... I ALWAYS base my own opinion and feelings on what I know, experience, or have seen.

The Whitfield's are GOOD people from what I have known for the past five months. Maybe I don't know anything... but don't try to sway my opinion based on your own experiences... I have my own opinons.

Brian was always polite to me. I did not speak with him much, only in passing, but he was ALWAYS polite and greeted me. Majority of the time, he had a smile of his face and was on a mission... or so it seemed. Sometimes, he just simply dropped in to have lunch with his wife...

Marsha.. was amazing! By far, the BEST boss I have ever had. Humble and breath of fresh air. I remember just recently we had a talk about her daughter and a spiritual experience that she had... it was amazing.

Ed ... a GREAT man! A man of God.. a BIG heart! Super friendly!

Marsha and Brian have two daughters who I grew very close with over the past five months. My heart is aching for the whole family.

In my own opinion... I do not think that the Whitfield's were trying to involve themselves in ANY criminal activity. I think that a company was started ... and was doing good... and Brian wanted MORE because he saw it was good... so he made MORE... I think he (and WHOEVER ELSE makes decisions for Sommet) got in over their heads and didn't know how to stop it... I think they thought they could get a handle on it but the snowball was getting bigger and bigger... until it was just out of control.

I could be wrong.. but this is how I feel based on what I know.... (which is not a lot)... These people are PEOPLE... we are entitled to make mistakes.. and if they do go against the law, unfortunately there are consequences.... but the media makes everyone the DEVIL! No one has a heart for PEOPLE... because it's not good entertainment... and it sickens me...

I am hurt for everyone.. for the clients, for the employees, for those that are super sick and have no insurance coverage because of this mess, for those that are not getting paid this Friday and have no clue what they're going to do... I am hurt for the two daughters of Brian and Marsha.. complete innocense... and I hurt for Marsha and Brian. Bad intentions or not... I HURT. I care about their fear, regret, sorrow, embarrassment... call me soft... but they're people.

We all make mistakes... some bigger than others... and if proven that the "mistakes" are indeed with criminal intent... justice will be served... but people, I ask that you be praying for everyone involved. PRAY!

Pray for Sommet employees who are not receiving a check ... usually if you get laid off or fired, you have the comfort of knowing you have a paycheck or two before you're back to zero... NOPE.. not in this case... last I heard, no one was getting paid. Pray for peace. Pray for Jehovah Shalom (Lord of Peace) to show up and show out, pray for Brian and Marsha and Ed... and whoever else may be involved in this mess. Pray for clear thinking for them. Pray for the two daughters of the Whitfield's. They are 10 and 12... I can't even imagine.

That's my long story...

I pray that each of us will have clear minds and clear hearts. I pray that you always remember what is most important in this life and stay focused on that thing/things. I can tell you - The Love of Money is The Root to All Evil.

Persevering,

April