John Lewis II

Arkansas Business, April 4, 2005

Maybe you saw that John Lewis is retiring as CEO of the Bank of Fayetteville.

That reminded us that another John Lewis also announced his resignation recently: John Lewis of Little Rock, who had been CEO of Ram Venture Holding Corp.

Ram Venture, you may recall, is the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., publicly traded shell corporation that combined with camouflage gear manufacturer American Apparel & Accessories Inc. of Little Rock in a reverse merger in April 2004. In June, Ram announced an agreement to buy that icon of the Delta, Mack's Prairie Wings at Stuttgart, for $8.5 million.

Even with Stern Agee & Leach Inc. working to sell new shares of stock, the Mack's deal has yet to be closed. And that seems to be part of the reason for Lewis' departure.

We couldn't reach him for comment, but in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Ram Ventures disclosed that "Mr. Lewis indicated (to the board of directors that) he was not satisfied with the Company's lack of progress during his tenure" as chairman and CEO.

The 8-K filing also said that Lewis "has and has had no disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its operations, policies, or practices and that his decision to withdraw from the CEO and Board Chairman positions was also motivated by his growing inability to devote sufficient time and attention to effectively discharge his obligations as the Company's Chief Executive Officer."

(Gen. Wesley K. Clark of Little Rock, the former Democratic presidential candidate, also didn't have any disagreement with the company when he resigned from its board of directors on Jan. 31, according to an SEC filing made at that time.)

Lewis remains a director of the company and its controlling shareholder.

Ram Ventures lost $1.4 million during the last three months of 2004 and $3.55 million during the nine months ended Dec. 31, according to SEC documents. Revenue during the nine-month period was slightly over $1.3 million.

Jeff Harris, already, president and chief financial officer, was given the additional job of CEO, but the chairmanship remains vacant. Harris said he couldn't reveal any more about Ram Venture's plans than had been reported to the SEC.

Ram Venture's option to buy Mack's Prairie Wings expired on Dec. 15, but the company told the SEC on Dec. 20 that "we still have an informal agreement to pursue this acquisition at such time as the funds become available."

Nothing more on the subject has been filed since then, and Marion McCollum, owner of Mack's, didn't return a call seeking comment.