Despite deaths, company continues

By DAYNA WORCHEL

News-Journal, Longview, Texas

A major employer in Upshur County plans business as usual, after the deaths of the founders, said Tony Pytlak, president and chief operating officer of the Strategic Fulfillment Group.

Art Muselman, 77, and his wife, Gloria Muselman, 76, were killed in a car wreck a week ago, company officials said.

Special to the News-Journal

Art and Gloria Muselman were killed in a car wreck about a week ago.

The company, which was formed in 1997, employs about 225 people.

"The company is one of the largest employers in Upshur County and by far the biggest in Big Sandy," said Jonathan Packer, executive director of the Upshur County Development Corp.

The Muselmans purchased The Needlecraft Shop in 1994 and Annie's Attic in 1996, both Texas-based craft magazine and catalog publishers. They consolidated the two publishers in 1997 to form the Strategic Fulfillment Group, which has a 160,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Big Sandy. The company fills orders for catalogs and magazine houses nationwide, according to the organization's Web site.

A funeral for the couple was held Monday near their home in Berne, Ind.

The couple's son, Roger Muselman, will continue to run the company, working with an independent board of directors, Pytlak said.

Local officials said they are expecting a smooth transition.

"I don't think there will be any negative economic impact on the community," said Mayor Wayne Weese, who added that he had family members and friends who worked at Strategic Fulfillment Group.

Strategic Fulfillment Group is part of Dynamic Resource Group, a privately held company founded by the Muselman family.