Leigh Touchton, president of the Valdosta-Lowndes NAACP,
says the local and state NAACP are opposed to the biomass plant
because the community that is most affected is the minority community.
She referred to her previous presentation of a letter from

Dr. Robert D. Bullard.

She also brought up an incident with Brad Lofton and recommended
that VLCIA hire an executive director who wouldn’t act like that.

And she said she deals with VSEB all the time:

I’ve taken men through there, I’ve signed them up.

She referred to me when she said that, so what I said before
is appended after the video.

Here’s

the video:

The health of the community is way more important than the job —Leigh Touchton

Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),

Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 17 May 2011.

Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

What I actually recommended regarding VSEB, in response to
a specific request from Leigh Touchton for recommendations,
was maybe schedule a meeting with Roy Copeland to talk about

VSEB and solar job opportunities:

For Leigh Touchton and the NAACP, a specific suggestion: Roy Copeland is
very interested in Valdosta Small Emerging Business (VSEB), the program
John Robinson has been promoting at Valdosta City Council meetings
lately. Roy Copeland has asked me why NAACP doesn’t get more involved
in promoting that program. Maybe there’s even a way to connect VSEB and
USDA’s REAP. Hannah Solar is great, but there’s no reason even more local
companies can’t do the same thing; Pete Marte knows this; I’ve had this
discussion with him. Solar in south Georgia is a big enough opportunity
that the pie will expand to have enough for many companies. Why not
schedule a meeting with Roy Copeland and Leigh Touchton and Phyllis
Stallworth and other interested parties to talk about these possibilities?

I still think people working with VLCIA about solar jobs is a good idea,
including NAACP about VSEB and solar jobs.

-jsq