Tag Archives: Allan Ricketts

“a great plan!” –Brad Lofton

Brad Lofton replies to my message to the VLCIA board. I’ll respond in a separate post. -jsq
To: John S. Quarterman
From: Brad Lofton
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:47:04 -0500
Cc: [see below]

John! Good morning. Always good to hear from citizens so interested in economic development. I’ll be happy to forward your correspondence to the other members of our board. I also appreciate your comments in acknowledging our recent success in the renewable energy cluster. With a 350 Kw solar array about to break ground, and a 40 Mw biomass, no community in Georgia has been more successful in the green, renewable energy sector.

Speaking of Dublin, their recently hired economic development director (a friend of mine named Cal Wray) recently requested a meeting with us in Valdosta this month to study our program and evaluate how we’ve been able to create 1,700 new jobs and nearly half a billion dollars in new investment over the past four years even in the midst of a painful recession. It’s a tribute to good leadership, and a great plan! Have a nice day,

BL
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Cc: “Michael G. Noll”, “Mary B. Gooding”, “Ricketts, Allan” <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>, “Copeland, Roy”, “‘John S. Quarterman'”, “Susan R. Wehling”, Kay Harris

VLCIA Board Meeting tomorrow, 18 Jan 2011

The next VLCIA board meeting is 5:30 PM tomorrow, 18 January 2011 at their offices:
2110 North Patterson Street
Valdosta, GA 31602-2580
(229) 259-9972

Here is your VLCIA Board:

Roy Copeland
Roy Copeland 		Tom Call
Tom Call 		Mary B. Gooding
Mary Gooding 		Norman Bennett
Norman Bennett 		Jerry Jennett
Jerry Jennett,
Chairman

I expect to be there. Will you?

-jsq

PS: Maybe I’ll get an answer to my question.

What is your plan? –jsq to VLCIA board

I just sent this. -jsq
From: “John S. Quarterman”
To: Brad Lofton
Cc: [see below]

Since I know of no public email address for the VLCIA board, I’m asking Brad Lofton to distribute this to the board before their meeting tomorrow.

Dear Board,

This is an update to my previous question to you, which was published in the Valdosta Daily Times, 20 Dec 2010, available online here:

http://lake.typepad.com/on-the-lake-front/2010/12/whats-the-industrial-authoritys-plan.html

I’m sending this letter directly to you, and also publishing it online,

http://lake.typepad.com/on-the-lake-front/2010/12/what-is-your-plan.html

What is the Industrial Authority’s plan to bring in real clean jobs?

Your staff have claimed that Wiregrass Power LLC’s tiny solar plant plus their biomass plant will make us a “center of innovation excellence for renewable and sustainable energy in Georgia.” Is that all?

If so, let me make a few suggestions.

Continue reading →

Tiny LAKE is flattered by mighty VLCIA!

Posting a reply from LAKE to an inquiry from Brad Lofton. -jsq
To: Brad Lofton
From: John S. Quarterman
Cc: [see below]
Subject: Re: VDT Editorial

Howdy,

Tiny LAKE is flattered to be asked to repost VDT materials for mighty VLCIA! But to answer your question, this is a blog, not a newspaper, nor a wire service for a newspaper. LAKE also hasn’t posted all of the letters to the editor of the VDT pro and con on this subject or others of interest to us.

More basically, you seem to continue to confuse “VLCIA answered” with “the answers satisfied the questioners” or “the answers actually addressed the content of the questions” or “nobody is questioning anymore”.

Questions continued to be asked at the VLCIA “Forum” of 6 Dec 2010. I ask again:

Continue reading →

I will proudly share it with everyone. –Brad Lofton

VLCIA exec. dir. responds. -jsq
From: “blofton@industrialauthority.com” <blofton@industrialauthority.com>,
Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:35:23 -0500
Subject: RE: Videos from First Presbyterian Church, 6 Jan 2011

Thank you for providing the video from Thursday. I will proudly share it with everyone. It was a great night, and I was pleased with the very large amount of support in the room. You may also want to consult with the local Mortgage Broker’s Assocation. I spoke for them last week as well, and they are enthusiastic supporters.

Have a nice weekend,
BL

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Lofton copied the same people I did: Continue reading →

Re: Videos from First Presbyterian Church, 6 Jan 2011

Mary Gooding, VLCIA board member, acknowledges receipt of my heads-up (included below) to VLCIA about the recent videos of Brad Lofton. (More of those to come, by the way.) -jsq
From: “Mary B. Gooding”
To: “John S. Quarterman”
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:28:59 +0000
Subject: RE: Videos from First Presbyterian Church, 6 Jan 2011

John – Thanks!

Mary B. Gooding
Director of Marketing and Community Relations
Valdosta State University
229-333-7444
FAX 229-245-3891

IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BE A BLAZER!

—–Original Message—–

Continue reading →

Tom Call: New VLCIA Board Member

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) has a new board member, Tom Call, local realtor and pesticider:
Roy Copeland
Roy Copeland 		Tom Call
Tom Call 		Mary B. Gooding
Mary Gooding 		Norman Bennett
Norman Bennett 		Jerry Jennett
Jerry Jennett,
Chairman
Since VLCIA’s website has no picture for Tom Call, LAKE has used the one from his Plaxo page.

He’s on the board of Homeland Defense Corp., which does “Custom Automated Mosquito and Insect Misting Systems” and says this:

Thomas B. Call graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. After a career in the agricultural chemicals industry, Tom branched out into real estate. Today, he is the owner of Coldwell Banker Premier Real Estate, and owns a number of successful businesses specializing in residential and commercial real estate development. www.Valdostarealtors.com
(Also on that board are Continue reading →

An Expensive Hobby: Gary Minchew’s VLCIA parting speech

What Gary Minchew said at the end of his last Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) meeting as a board member:

He said he’s brought over 200 jobs a year to the area. He also said he organized getting the 1 mil of dedicated tax money for VLCIA. Continue reading →

In refusing debate, VLCIA staff are following orders from their board

We’ve seen Brad Lofton write I will not debate you over e-mail and We will not, however, debate you over e-mail meanwhile refusing to put tax-funded presentations and videos up for public view through the VLCIA website, and offering personal meetings instead. Having experienced one of those personal meetings down at VLCIA HQ, and having heard from others who have attended them, I know of no substantive debate that happened at those indoctrination sessions, either. Any attempt at debate or even to get Lofton to produce the scientific evidence he claims he has ends with a proclamation like this one from September:
We’re moving forward with permits in hand.
or this one from December:
We’re moving forward now, and we are looking forward to the ground breaking which will be Spring of 2011.

But let’s not be too hard on VLCIA staff. At the 21 Dec 2010 board meeting, it became clear Continue reading →

Unity or Participation? Norman Bennett v. Meredith Ellis

First Norman Bennett explained that the problem was that the community needed to unite behind the VLCIA so investors wouldn’t be scared away (no video of that; sorry). Then Meredith Ellis, who wasn’t even signed up to speak, begged to differ: Continue reading →