Prevent Village Trophy Co. from closing

Hello, my name is Paul Wright and I am a "retired" teacher from Grandview Hts. High School and the owner of Village Trophy Co., a business that I started over 48 years ago while I was teaching and which I continue to operate today.

I am humbly asking for your help to save my business that was devastated by the 2020 COVID shutdown and the events that followed.

I had just purchased a large amount of components and materials in preparation for my peak spring and summer season when the COVID shutdown started. When all the events were canceled, no trophies or awards were needed. In the first two days of the shutdown, we had over $30,000 of unpaid completed orders that were canceled. This was followed by the cancellation of over $75,000 of future orders. Sales for 2020 were down over 70% for the year. Sales continued down over 50% in 2021 as events were slow to recover. While current sales have recovered and now exceed 2019 levels, the debt issues from 2020 continue to challenge my business' survival.

When my business was shuttered, I made a commitment to my employees' well-being as my top priority. I used business and personal funds to maintain them at full salary and benefits throughout this period. I simply had no income to pay my mortgage, supplier invoices, and payroll taxes during this time.

I've worked every day and done everything that I can do to recover from this financially, but I am still behind in payments to my suppliers and most importantly I still have unpaid payroll taxes. The IRS is threatening to seize my property, my bank accounts, accounts receivables, etc. They have the power to shut me down and sell off my equipment and inventory to satisfy my tax debt. They have recently required me to provide them with asset lists, accounts receivable reports, etc., and I fear that they could shut my business down any day.

I've tried repeatedly, but I've had no success in securing a bank loan to pay the IRS and get current with my suppliers. This GoFundMe is my last option for my business to survive.

I'm asking for your consideration for a financial donation so that we can continue to provide a valuable service to the central Ohio community as we've done for the past 48 years.