DeafNation, Inc. Merges with Barish Communications Int’l, Inc.

LAS VEGAS — DeafNation, Inc., a nationwide full-color cover monthly newspaper has merged with Barish Communications Int’l, Inc. (BCI), the parent company of DeafAmerica Network, a national Internet Service Provider (ISP) and WebbyNet.Com.

This merger creates the largest Deaf-owned media and information services entity under the name of WebbyNation, Inc.

The merger had taken its roots a few weeks prior to National Association of the Deaf National Conference at San Antonio, Texas.

Board member of Barish Communications Int’l, Inc. John Yeh contacted Marvin Miller, CEO of DeafNation, Inc. through e-mail to discuss about the possibilities of working together in the near future.

“I responded positively to that e-mail because I knew John Yeh was well respected in the business community. That e-mail prompted me to think about how DeafNation can further expand its services,” explained Marvin Miller, Chief Operating Officer of WebbyNation, Inc.

“While thinking about how to expand DeafNation’s presence on internet, I felt that Barish Communications Int’l and its flagship product – DeafAmerica Network – would be a logical fit in our expansion plans so I contacted Joel Barish via ICQ (a free internet chat program) to request for a meeting to discuss about a potential merger.”

Joel responded enthusiastically to the request and agreed to a meeting at the Conference

“We always had our eyes on DeafNation newspaper since we started DeafAmerica Network because it is a dynamic & remarkable newspaper for the Deaf community,” adds Jed Barish, Chief Marketing Officer.

Miller said, “At that point, I started to look BarishComm’s web site for further information and background, and quite frankly, I was surprised to see that John Yeh was on the board. I quickly figured out that they were interested in our company as much as I was with theirs!”

The meeting took place several times at National Conference in San Antonio, and it progressed rapidly.

One interesting obstacle everyone faced was that they lacked the ability to keep this merger talks very quiet – there were simply too many eyes at the Conference and in downtown San Antonio.

“We had to try our best to keep it as quiet as possible without creating unnecessary rumors, but apparently in some areas, we did not succeed completely,” Jed said.

The talks resumed when Millers flew to Las Vegas, Nevada a few weeks after NAD conference, and the agreement to merge was created.

“In less than 3 weeks after the merger agreement was signed, our family moved over 2,000 miles from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Las Vegas, Nevada. The move was made very quickly because this is really an exciting opportunity for us all,” Miller said.

“We do miss our beloved home state of Michigan and our great friends and family there, but we are also looking forward to making many new Nevadan friends!”

Established back in 1995, DeafNation, Inc. is one of the largest newspapers oriented towards the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community in America. Founded by and run by Deaf people, it has has a strong readership of over 12,000.

DeafAmerica Network serves the Deaf and hard of hearing community as their internet gateway access through over 700 local dialin numbers across America and worldwide.

“We’re absolutely excited over this merger because this presents a great opportunity for growth in both traditional and internet based media,” says Joel Barish.

WebbyNet.Com is another ISP owned by BCI, targeted towards the general population, with the same services as DeafAmerica Network.

WebbyNation, Inc., the parent corporation, and DeafAmerica Network will draw together the merger under the unified DeafNation brand name for the newspaper, internet, web hosting, and online store services. Respectively, the new names will be DeafNationNewspaper, DeafNationNet, DeafNationWeb, and DeafNationStore.

WebbyNet will retain its name and continue to serve as an ISP for the general population.

The board of WebbyNation, Inc. will compose of current DeafNation, Inc. founder, Marvin Miller, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; BCI founders Joel Barish of Fairbault, Minnesota; and Jed Barish of Las Vegas, Nevada; and John T. C. Yeh of Potomac, Maryland.

John Yeh will serve as the chairman of the board, with Joel Barish as the Chief Executive Officer, Jed Barish as the Chief Marketing Officer, and Marvin Miller as the Chief Operating Officer.

Yeh said of the merger, “These young folks of WebbyNation, Inc. have amazing energy and potential to move very quickly into the future. I’m thrilled to be working with them on this new venture.”