Brenden Scherr, MAT
President, Chairman & Director of Academics
LARSON Training Centers, Inc.
A highly innovative and multi-disciplined leader and trainer with over 24 years experience in progressively challenging leadership positions in both the public and private sector, Brenden brings skills in teaching, leading, organizing, developing and empowering students and others to achieve extraordinary levels of success, solving complex problems, learning and growing. He is the model staff member at Larson; a generous steward of his time, talent and treasure at the service of others.
Brenden’s career began upon his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Engineering Management (Civil). He later graduated from Oregon State University with a Masters Degree in Teaching (Physics Education). He also obtained his secondary teaching credential in the State of Oregon.
During his 24 year career as a US Army officer, including active duty in Europe, Southwest Asia and the Continental United States, Brenden has served in a variety of command, staff and teaching assignments culminating in his selection as one of the top mentors in leader development of junior military officers in the Army Reserve Western Region. He has held teaching positions at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as an Associate Professor of Military Science and at the Army’s Command and General Staff College where he was a Staff Leader for the Combined Arms Exercise Course, formerly known as the Combined Arms Services Staff School. Besides his position on the Larson Staff, he is currently commands a Training Support Battalion in the Army Reserve where he holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Having a passion for service and spirituality, Brenden served the Archdiocese of Portland as an Administrative Manager for Bishop Kenneth Steiner. Here he assisted four nonprofit organization boards, two at the community-level, where he specialized in stewardship and homelessness issues in the City of Corvallis, Oregon. Afterward his employment by the diocese, he remained an avid volunteer in multiple ministries at the parish and community levels.
He is frequently consulted by various industries for his ideas on leadership, training and customer service. He has served as an advisor to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Las Vegas on the Diocesan Pastoral Council, is a past structural track coordinator for the nation-wide professional code education seminar EduCode International (Brenden is a licensed professional civil engineer), past president of Project GREEN, an environmental restoration program in Henderson, NV and former Chair of the Las Vegas Chapter of Project H.E.R.O., a disabled veterans assistance program sponsored by the International Code Council.
Brenden’s mission is to serve the community by providing a superior vocational education learning experience in the region with the ultimate goal of increasing the employability of California’s work force.
Shawn A. Morrow, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
EXPERIENCE
JF HOLDINGS LLC., Las Vegas, Nevada
Private Holding Company consisting of 4 multi-family apartment buildings, over 500,000 sf. of developed commercial real estate, Silver Nugget Gaming and Lev Restaurant Group (35 restaurants).
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE December 2007 – Present
Beginning at company’s inception, architected company’s accounting processes and managed cash and credit, including banking, credit cards, loans and leases. Produce, publish and present monthly, quarterly and annual financial and operational reports to Board of Directors.
● Selected software for and implemented effective, streamlined accounting systems. Trained accounting associates and director of technology and transitioned accounting responsibilities. Accounting and IT team has grown from an initial 2 team members to a total of 11 team members.
● Decreased professional fees twenty percent through establishing relationships and negotiating contracts with banks, insurers, accountants and other partners.
● Evaluated and automated ERP payroll entry process as team member headcount has increased from an initial 40 team members to currently having 800 team members, saving 100+ personnel hours per year.
● Bridged previously existing gap between Operations and Finance through providing a daily dashboard to allow management to have measurable actual daily financial results for benchmarking purposes.
● Chair quarterly meetings with managers to explain balance sheets, income statements and discuss routine financial terms such as cost of sales, physical inventory counts and monthly accruals.
GORDON GAMING LLC., (Dba SAHARA HOTEL AND CASINO), Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas casino and hotel, with 1,720 hotel rooms, 1,600 slot machines and 40 table games established on the Las Vegas strip in 1952. Operator of the Eureka and Jerry’s Nugget casinos in Las Vegas.
DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS/TREASURER November 2004 – December 2007
Responsible for all cash management functions including lines of credit, term loans for remodeling and gaming equipment financing. Responsible for overseeing the treasury, accounts payable, payroll and financial analysis departments.
● Prepare all property and department level operating and capital budgets and assumptions for review/approval by senior management. Provide monthly P&L’s with variance explanations by department for review by departmental and senior management. Assist department managers with initiatives to increase revenues or decrease expenses to conform to budgetary requirements.
● Prepare weekly cash forecast and monitor weekly A/P disbursements and payroll expenditures assuring cash balances were adequate and requesting wire transfers from investment accounts when necessary.
STATION CASINOS INC., (FIESTA RANCHO HOTEL AND CASINO), North Las Vegas, Nevada
Hotel and casino located in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE July 2003 – November 2004
Oversee 100+ personnel in accounting, internal audit, finance, cage and, warehousing functions.
● Ensure compliance of all Gaming Control Board Regulations, implemented Sarbanes-Oxley controls at the property level while decreasing month-end close from 10 working days to 5 working days.
● Reviewed and approved all purchase requisitions for the property on a daily basis, reviewed all property disbursements, manually signing all A/P checks and ensuring General Manager or Controller also reviewed.
● Submitted to Corporate for review any changes to property Minimum Internal Control Standards or Sarbanes-Oxley controls due to changes in systems or processes. Reported any violations of controls.
● Responsible for all communications with auditors and Gaming Control Board related to external audits.
GORDON GAMING LLC. (Dba SAHARA HOTEL AND CASINO), Las Vegas, Nevada
HOTEL CONTROLLER July 2001 – July 2003
Responsible for overseeing accounting staff and acting as liaison with hotel operations department to ensure highest level of customer service in the hotel operations group.
● Train and supervise hotel income auditors, review and approve all journal entry postings to related hotel accounts in the general ledger. Review city and guest ledgers daily, prepare required monthly balance sheet reconciliations. Prepare monthly P&L variance analysis in coordination with Director of Hotel.
● Review and submit for approval any appropriate chargeback’s, rebates, and cash refunds to senior management. Review aging of receivables and initiate collections on unpaid balances and prepare aging analysis for review by senior management, including detailed collection efforts for determination of write-off of uncollected hotel receivables.
ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP. Las Vegas, Nevada
Multi-national Big 5 public accounting firm, providing audit and attestation services to SEC public companies.
Senior Auditor August 2000 – June 2001
Plan, coordinate and perform audits for clients predominantly in the hospitality, real estate and entertainment industries. Develop business valuation models for targeted acquisitions, including financial due diligence, including recasting of financial statements based on expected synergies of acquisitions, determine accretive effects of acquisitions. Supervise staff on multiple engagements.
GORDON GAMING LLC., (Dba SAHARA HOTEL AND CASINO), Las Vegas, Nevada
Non-Gaming Audit Manager March 2000 – July 2000
Responsible for training and supervision of food and beverage, comps, retail and entertainment auditors. Approve and post all journal entries for related audits, prepare monthly balance sheet reconciliations, and provide requested reports for department managers. Ensure compliance with all GCB, Minimum Internal Control Standards and Company policies.
KPMG LLP., Las Vegas, Nevada
Multi-national Big 4 public accounting firm, providing audit and attestation services to SEC public companies.
Senior Auditor June 1999 – March 2000
Work closely with underwriters, attorneys, and key client personnel on IPO’S, including pro-forma financial statements and preparing and reviewing financial information presented in SEC registration filings, S-4, 10-K, 10-Q. Supervise multiple audit engagement teams consisting of between 5 and 10 audit team members.
Barraclough and Associates, P.C., Santa Fe, New Mexico June 1996 – May 1999
Largest public accounting firm in northern New Mexico, providing audit and consulting services.
Staff and Senior Auditor
Plan, coordinate and perform audits for clients in varying industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, governmental and non-profit sectors, in accordance with GAAS and GAGAS.
EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS
University of New Mexico – Anderson School of Management
Bachelors of Business Administration – Accounting
Certified Public Accountant – Nevada License #3409
Edward Bevilaqua
(born September 10, 1957 in Oakland, CA) is an entrepreneur who co-founded several businesses, the father of six[1], an author and a white collar ex-felon.
He is now Director of Education at a 24 year old nonprofit vocational school whose mission is to help motivated ex-felons and other less advantaged groups become financially secure through stable and meaningful clerical, administrative, customer service and sales employment (and thus, in the case of ex-felons, break the chains of recidivism).
Personal life
Bevilacqua graduated from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree in 1979 along with Janet Napolitano (former governor of Arizona and Secretary of Homeland Security; now President of the University of California system) and John Cunningham (Chairman of Blucora). He earned a law degree from Western State University (renamed to Thomas Jefferson School of Law) in San Diego in 1994.
Bevilacqua’s father also graduated from Santa Clara University (1949) where he was a member its Board of Regents (1960-1966 and 1970-1976), a member of the California Real Estate Commission under Governor Pat Brown and president of family-owned First State Bank of Northern California which was purchased by Lloyds Bank in 1976.
After graduation, Bevilacqua began a land journey (i.e. driving) to the tip of South America in 1980. The political climate following the revolution in Nicaragua and brutal repression in El Salvador caused the venture to settle in Costa Rica and included two days lost on foot in the Costa Rican jungle in the Oso Peninsula (which ended when he reached the Pacific Ocean). Six months later Bevilacqua returned to the US and began a venture capital career in Silicon Valley that led to founding start-ups with Santa Clara classmates John Cunningham and William Barkett.
Early business career
Unitel Corporation was founded by Barkett, Bevilacqua and Cunningham in 1982. It was Bevilacqua’s first experience as the CEO of a publicly traded company (1984); he was one of the youngest presidents of a NASDAQ listed company. At this time Bevilacqua formed a close relationship with and was mentored by Merrill Flood. With approximately 5,000 video games pool table, pinball machines, jukeboxes and cigarette machines, Unitel was one of the largest street vending companies in the U.S. In 1985, with operations in five states, Unitel became one of the country’s largest private payphone operators as a result of the break-up of AT&T.
While attending law school at night, Bevilacqua became friends with Randy Grossman, an agent of baseball great Steve Garvey. As a result of Grossman’s involvement, Bevilacqua and Garvey created, “Steve Garvey’s Greatest Hits”, a company that leased the then new, compact disc jukeboxes to taverns throughout Southern California. That business was acquired by publicly traded Sport Active Television in 1994.
In 1997 Bevilacqua joined PlayNet/Aristo to launch its interactive jukebox business. Here he began working with Nolan Bushnell and IBM Global Services. Bevilacqua parlayed his PlayNet/IBM experience to found Fun eBusiness which, carrying -on where PlayNet left-off, developed an Internet enabled coin-op video game console. In 1999 Bevilacqua sold the game station rights to Amex listed NTN/Buzztime and, for a short time, became its manager of coin-op products where former Disney “golden boy” Stan Kinsey was CEO.
In 2001 Bevilacqua founded Bikini Vending with the goal of it becoming the first transcontinental operator of Internet enabled coin-op games and jukeboxes. The company’s 20+ employees included 8 Navy SEALs led by Mark Divine, founder of navyseals.com and included Scott Helvenston, the Navy SEAL contractor killed in Iraq and whose body, mutilated by a mob, was hung from a bridge in early 2004 and broadcast on television.
Prison
In late 2001, Bikini Vending became a provider of installation and repair services for Network Services Depot, a company that sold Internet kiosk Business Opportunities to individuals throughout the U.S. In early 2004, a Network Services Depot sales agent was caught in a CBS Los Angeles sting operation in which he made fraudulent statements about Network Services Depot’s business. After seeing the sting operation on TV in February 2004, and in order to avoid prosecution, Network Services Depot contacted the FBI, and shortly thereafter its owner was granted immunity from federal criminal prosecution by claiming that Bevilacqua was the mastermind behind Network Services Depot’s 10+ years of biz-op activities.
In March 2004, Bikini Vending’s office was raided by the FBI. Computers and files were seized and over $1,500,000 was seized from Bikini Vending’s bank accounts. However, within 90 days the FBI determined that no crime had been committed. Bevilacqua was never arrested or interviewed. The Securities and Exchange commission declined to review the case. Eventually, the Federal Trade Commission performed a thorough investigation of Bikini Vending and Network Services Depot which, in April 2005, resulted in the Commission’s unanimous decision to not prosecute Bikini Vending or Bevilacqua, (see page 2, line 23 et seq) and voted unanimously to prosecute the owner of Network Services Depot which resulted in the the Federal Court issuing a Summary Judgment against Castro (see page 8, line 24) in the amount of $18,827,528).
Despite the US Attorney’s finding no crime, and the Security and Exchange commission declining the case, and the California Attorney General’s office declining the case, and the California Department of Corporations declining the case, an assistant district attorney in San Diego County decided that it would be his last case before retirement. In September 2006 the owner of Network Services Depot and Bevilacqua were indicted on securities fraud charges. The owner of Network Services plead guilty, begged the court for mercy and was sentenced to three years in prison. Bevilacqua refused to plead guilty and showed disrespect to the prosecutor and the judge. In June 2008, while successfully defending his case, new charges were filed against Bevilacqua resulting in his arrest and $1.5 million bail.
After eight months in jail trying to bring the case to trial, Bevilacqua was informed by his attorney, that while in chambers, the assistant district attorney informed the judge that the trial would take ten weeks and cost over $1,000,000; to which the judge replied that though Bevilacqua was entitled to a trial, if he took ten weeks of the court’s time and cost the taxpayers over $1,000,000, if found guilty the judge would be inclined to sentence Bevilacqua to 20 years, but if he plead guilty without a trial, he’d accept six years. Bevilacqua later said, “When learning the judge’s intentions before there’s been a trial, one doesn’t think of the merits of the case, one thinks about his attorney’s ability to persuade the jury of the truth. Unfortunately, I had a public defender...”
Bevilacqua refused to plead guilty until the Court accepted his filing a West plea and a 7 year term. By then Bevilacqua had served the equivalent of one year. Upon arrival at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, Bevilacqua sought to reduce his time served by requesting a transfer to a labor camp (aka “fire camp”). Bevilacqua was sent to the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown where, at the age of 52 he became a certified wildfire fire fighter. Shortly thereafter he was sent to Oak Glen Conservation Camp (which housed seven fire crews and a total of 150 inmates) to serve his time. He was assigned to the kitchen, where he became the equivalent of kitchen manager.
In June of 2010, after being told by a correction officer, that the camp is, “not big enough for both of us”, Bevilacqua was transferred to Bautista Correction Camp on a Sunday afternoon. The next day, because there was no hearing Bevilacqua was transferred to Chino State Prison where he spend over two weeks in solitary confinement awaiting a hearing related to his transfer out of Oak Glen. After the trial returned to Oak Glen.
In November 2010, Bevilacqua was transferred to Prado Conservation Camp to serve the last six months of his sentence, which was further shortened by six weeks because he enrolled in community college courses.
Bevilacqua was released in March, 2011 on Non-Revocable Parole and released from parole in April 2012.
Current business career
While at Oak Glen, Bevilacqua was visited by Lt. Colonel Brenden Scherr. During visitation Colonel Scherr observed how damaging prison was to the families of inmates. He said to Bevilacqua, “ We've got to do something about this, prison tears families apart and spawns another generation of felons…” As a result of that visit Bevilacqua worked with other inmates to create a school curriculum designed to help motivated ex-felons break the chains of recidivism.
With only 5% of the world’s population, there is a serious societal problem when 25% of the world’s prison population is in US prisons[2] (about 10% of all prison inmates in the world are housed in California prisons). Bevilacqua’s prior education and upbringing provided him a rare insight to how the prison system in the US harms society through its cost, structures supporting recidivism, and by perpetuation of behavior that causes incarceration to become inter-generational.[3]
Immediately upon Bevilacqua’s release, Scherr and others started Gladius Business School. In May 2011, Gladius contracted with Larson Training Centers, a 22 year old vocational school to offer a Sales and Communication course designed for ex-felons.
In March 2012, upon the death of Larson’s owner, Gladius bought the school. Though the name was retained, the school is now a nonprofit school that offers 20 vocational programs divided into two general categories: medical administration, accounting and customer services classes and general business administration, accounting, customer service and sales classes. Bevilacqua is prohibited from being an owner, officer or director of the school, but serves as its interim Director of Education. Larson is now a certified testing center for QuickBooks and Microsoft Office products.
Larson's primary student base is comprised of motivated adults (40 - 65). Most students are sent to the school through Department of Labor vocational rehab, Veterans Administration vocational rehab, Workforce Investment Act, and other Federal, State and local grant programs.
Gladius’ goal is to open campuses in the top 20 US markets by 2016.
He is also a member of the board of directors of 50+ year old historic Italian American Social Club in Las Vegas (and head of its membership committee), publisher of Ciao Tutti (the official news magazine of the Italian American Club in Las Vegas), and co-organizer of the Italian Culture, Dining & Social Meetup group in Las Vegas
[1] 5 daughters and 1 son
[2] http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/massincarceration_problems.pdf
[3] http://www.pewstates.org/research/reports/one-in-100-85899374411
