Lon Morris Set to Auction Property

Court filings detail Lon Morris College’s plans to auction off a “substantial” amount of propety it currently owns. If granted by the Court, a Motion would allow the College to employ Tranzon Auction Resources, who assisted with a similar sale of Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas.

A proposed agreement between Tranzon and the College, marked “Exhibit A,” provides this brief summary of their marketing strategy:

Tranzon recommends conducting a modified sealed bid, no reserve, absolute, auction of the real property and an online auction of the personal property utilizing the guidelines of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Bidders will have the opportunity to bid individually on the chapel, the rodeo arena, the remainder of the campus and the personal property in its entirety, or to bid on all the assets as a whole. The seller will have the option to accept the bid that is in the best interest of the estate. The secured creditors will have the option to bid on the real property as any other registered bidder. The benefit of selling the real property through the bankruptcy court is it allow the secured creditors to avoid the foreclosure process and the ability to sell the property free and clear of all liens and encumbrances. Said liens and encumbrances will attach to the proceeds.

Combined with the Department of Education’s action from August, this would appear to be the move that ends Lon Morris as we know it, but, as Monty Python reminded us, we should “always look on the bright side of life.” Lon Morris College existed for 70 years before it moved to its current location. Long before Fair Hall or Cox Chapel, there was Lon Morris. Lon Morris is/was bigger than any of the buildings on the few blocks that made up the campus. In short, we are Lon Morris College and as long as we continue to fan the flames of its memory we can keep the school alive.