You may remember the big fall-out and scandal a few years ago between Wal-Mart and its hot-shot marketing executive, Julie Roehm.  

She was a rising star in the marketing world for her work in the auto industry; she led the effort to brand Dodge vehicles with the tag line “Grab Life By The Horns.”

Wal-Mart recruited her to push its marketing into edgier territory towards the end of former CEO Lee Scott’s tenure, but the personality clash between risk-taking Roehm and Wal-Mart’s long-standing conservative culture was a bad fit.

Roehm was terminated on the premise of violating corporate ethics policies.  In her legal quest for severance pay, it was alleged that she had an affair with a subordinate.  Roehm’s legal team countered with ethics charges and allegations of affairs against high-ranking Wal-Mart execs.

The whole sordid business ended rather abruptly after several lawsuits and counter-lawsuits and an ultimate undisclosed settlement. Both sides did plenty to tarnish each other's images.

Roehm re-surfaces in a Fast Company article (thanks to a Twitter follower for the tip), and guess what?  She’s still in Bentonville.

The reporter on the story accompanies Roehm on a trip to Wal-Mart – her first since leaving the company – and she confesses to how hard it’s been to live in the town dominated by Wal-Mart’s omnipresence.

She hasn’t left town primarily because she can’t sell her $800,000 house in the current real estate market, and she amassed substantial debt during the legal battle.  It’s a pretty interesting read for those who follow Wal-Mart closely and for those who remember the debacle.  Click here to read more.