The recent “Bransongate” embarrassment was couched in terms of preserving the “purity” of Branson’s name from those who would deflower it by the city’s senior unelected leadership and elected leadership, as it was composed prior to the April mayoral and aldermanic elections. But, is there just the possibility that the primary motivation was more concerned about getting one particular business to drop the term “Branson” from its name than anything else?
What could possibly lead one to even think that? Well how about starting with the fact that there are only two businesses registered with the Missouri Secretary of State’s office with the term “Branson Sports” in them. One is “Branson Sports Club, Inc.” which was first registered with the state of Missouri on Apr. 9, 2003. It is a nonprofit corporation that lists its Registered Agent is Pamela Sue Dapprich, 414 Buchanan Road, Branson, Missouri 65615. The other is “Branson Sport Incorporated” which was first registered with the state on Aug. 29, 2005. It is a general business corporation that lists its Registered Agent as Jeffery Scott Nichols, 167 Jack Hollow Road, Walnut Shade, Missouri 65771.
Interestingly, one of those two businesses was, and still is, involved in bringing sporting events into the city of Branson’s new RecPlex at a charge of hundreds of dollars per team thus providing direct and peripheral revenues for the city of Branson. It appears that at a time when the city of Branson was doing business with a entity having the name “Branson” in its name and either knew or should have known that it was outside the city limits of Branson, Branson Sports Incorporated of Walnut Shade, it sent the now infamous letter of Sep. 15, 2006 to the only other business in Missouri with “Branson Sports” in its name, Branson Sports Club, Inc.
That was the letter signed by Branson City Attorney Paul Link sent only to “Branson Sports Club, Inc., informing them of the fact that “The City of Branson, Missouri owns the federally registered service mark BRANSON, MISSOURI” and that the use of the term “Branson” in its name was a deceptive trade practice and “constitutes trademark infringement under Section 32(1) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C 1114(1); false designation of geographic origin under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1125(a); and violates state trademark statutes and common law principle of unfair competition and misappropriation?”
The same letter that said, “Within 10 days of the date of this correspondence, we expect to receive from you a written undertaking that you will formally change the name of your business to delete all references to ‘Branson.’ Alternatively, if you would consent to annexation into the City of Branson when the City is ready to take you in, then we would not prohibit the use of ‘Branson’ in your name.”
At first blush it would appear that there are two choices. However, when one considers that Pam Dapprich was very outspoken against annexation into the city of Branson, could not a reasonable person conclude that there was really only one viable intended choice left for Branson Sports Club, Inc., the deletion of all references to “Branson” from its name?
“Oh come on Seagull, isn’t that a little far fetched?” Why, is it any less far fetched to believe that it is just a coincidence that a business having a name similar to a business working with the city to develop revenues for the Branson RecPlex, Branson Sports Club, Inc, got the type of letter it did when neither the business working with the city, Branson Sports Incorporated, or any other business entity received such a letter until things blew up in the city’s face?
If an Ole Seagull were a betting Seagull he’d bet that the real reason the letter was sent to Branson Sport Club, Inc. was to try to get them to drop Branson out of its name, not to try to get them to annex into the city or otherwise help them. Unfortunately, when it’s ill advised, deceitful and intimidating letter became public and the city elected to react in the manner that it did, Bransongate became a sad and embarrassing part of Branson’s history.
