Tag Archives: Brad Lofton

Goodbye –Brad Lofton @ VLCIA 15 Mar 2011



And now the moment

that’s been discussed
since

Thursday,
Brad Lofton’s

goodbye:

Like Mr. Minchew I’m not good at goodbyes either.
I wanted to say I’ll be brief…
I’m not articulate enough to begin to thank y’all
for the unbelievable privilege I’ve had for the last five years.
…unbelievable board of directors,
the most talented staff I’ve ever worked with.
…
My wife was going to be here but she would have been too emotional.
Thank you all for your trust and confidence in me.
It really has been the best five years of my life.
I just want you to know your leadership….
Wish you the best of luck.
That’s all Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.





Brad Lofton saying goodbye at the

regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)

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

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager,

15 March 2011.

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

He didn’t mention the community.

-jsq

Beliefs are good, but facts are better –John S. Quarterman @ VLCIA, 15 March 2011



First I praised the

completion of the Wiregrass Solar LLC plant in Valdosta.
Then I complimented

Brad Lofton on finding his new job and hoped he’d be happy in Myrtle Beach.
Then I praised the VDT for

its editorial recommending using this opportunity to consult
the councils of the various municipalities and the County Commission,
and in particular that one way to produce

unity in the community
as G. Norman Bennett had previously advocated,
would be to find out what the community wants VLCIA to do.

I understand the point about beliefs.
But it’s not all about just the beliefs of just the people on the board.
It’s also about things like
is there enough water, and do we want businesses that soak up
a lot of water, like

Ben Copeland said at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce.
Beliefs are good, but facts are better.
Thank you.





John S. Quarterman at the

regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)

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

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager,

15 March 2011.

Video by David Rodock for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Praise for Brad Lofton –Crawford Powell @ VLCIA 15 March 2011



Former VLCIA board member Crawford Powell

remarked in Citizens Wishing to be Heard:

I was on the board as most of you know when we hired Brad
and I just want to publicly say Brad
I think you’ve done an exceptionally great job for this community.
I’m very proud of the accomplishments you and the authority have done
over the last five years since you’ve been here
and I wish you continued great success wherever you go,
and prosperity.





Former VLCIA board member Crawford Powell at the

regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)

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

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager,

15 March 2011.

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

He did mention community.

-jsq

Farewell second take –Gary Minchew @ VLCIA 15 Mar 2011



Former VLCIA board member Gary Minchew

said he wanted to have a Take 2 on his goodbye speech.

I have great admiration for what y’all are doing,
sticking to your guns.
I learned a lot.
One thing I didn’t learn was to keep my mouth shut.
I run into a guy the other day who remembered me from
a college course from the University of Georgia.
The only thing he remembered was me and the professor,
and I always argued with him.
And you pay the price for saying what you believe.
I paid the price in that course.
I think in that course I got the only A I ever made in college.
I mean, really,
anybody in politics that can sit there and take whatever
is dished out and you stick to your beliefs, I have the greatest
admiration in the world for you.
We did not always agree, but I have the greatest admiration for you,
and that’s great.
It’s a lot more fun sitting out here than it is up there.
I didn’t break down this time, so give me a break.





Former board member Gary Minchew at the

regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)

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

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager, 15 March 2011.

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

It’s interesting that he accurately characterizes what VLCIA does as politics.
Also that he refers to beliefs, but says nothing about evidence or facts
or the community.

For reference, here is

Gary Minchew’s parting speech Take 1.

-jsq

Environmental Justice –Leigh Touchton @ VLCIA 15 March 2011



Chairman Jerry Jennett asked for Citizens Wishing to be Heard,
and first up was
Leigh Touchton, President of
Valdosta-Lowndes NAACP,
who presented them

a letter from Dr. Robert D. Bullard,
about his findings that 80% of the residents
within one mile of the proposed Wiregrass Power Plant are black
and 75% of biomass facilities in Georgia are sited in minority/poor communities.


“This is what is called environmental racism.”

She

also said
she
was tired of people who are against biomass being

represented as a fanatical fringe crew,
primarily by Mr. Lofton,
considering she stood before them representing the local NAACP,
the Georgia state conference of the NAACP,
“the largest organization non-profit of voters in the state of Georgia”,
and the national NAACP.





Leigh Touchton, President, Valdosta-Lowndes NAACP

regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)

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

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager,

15 March 2011.

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

Perhaps I missd it because I was a few minutes late,
but this was the only mention of the Wiregrass Power LLC biomass plant
that I heard at this VLCIA board meeting.

-jsq

Protesters at VLCIA, 15 March 2011



The first thing I saw when I drove up to the Industrial Authority building:

protesters outside.
They don’t seem to like some biomass plant.





Protesters, Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE) at the

regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)

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

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager,

15 March 2011.

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



Let’s ask these two what this is about.
Dr. Michael Noll,

President of Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE)

said:

“We’re here to protest against biomass.
We wish Brad Lofton well in his new job,
but we want biomass to go as well.”





Karen and Michael Noll, Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE) at the

regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)

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

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager,

15 March 2011.

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

I asked Leigh Touchton, President of
Valdosta-Lowndes NAACP
about

a letter she forwarded to LAKE, and she

said:

Continue reading →

Wiregrass Solar Plant Completed



Last Saturday I heard Hannah Solar had completed the Wiregrass Solar
plant installation in Valdosta.
Today

Col. Ricketts confirmed that.
Congratulations, Industrial Authority, Wiregrass Solar LLC,
and Hannah Solar!

The first slide shows the location of the solar plant,
which is



in the back of Valdosta’s Mud Creek Water Treatment Plant
on Water Plant Road off of GA 94 (New Statenville Highway).

Where there used to be just a bare field, it’s now covered with solar panels.

The current holdup is


waiting for Georgia Power to connect the panels
to the grid.
After that, they just need to schedule a commissioning ceremony.
Col. Ricketts said they’d discuss that “later”.

Here’s

the video:





Regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, VLCIA,
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director,

Allan Ricketts Program Manager, 15 March 2011.

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

-jsq

Industrial Authority board meets tonight



The Board of Directors of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
(VLCIA)
meets tonight,

5:30 PM 15 March 2011 in the Industrial Authority Conference Room,
2110 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia.
I hear they’re having a personnel change.

Maybe with new staff they can finally get agendas and minutes
on their website, and maybe a picture of Tom Call.
The picture of Call

below was found elsewhere by LAKE.

-jsq


Roy Copeland

Roy Copeland
Tom Call

Tom Call
Mary B. Gooding

Mary Gooding
Norman Bennett

Norman Bennett
Jerry Jennett

Jerry Jennett,

Chairman

“Parameters on the types of industry” –VDT Editorial



And what about all that land?

In addition to a news story about

Brad Lofton moving on up to Myrtle Beach,
the Valdosta Daily Times also had an editorial yesterday (14 March),

Lofton’s leaving a void
in which they make some good points, including:

While the search is on for a new director, now is the time for the city,
county and industrial authority board to come together to make some
decisions about the organization and what the community leadership needs
and wants it to be.

Here are

a few modest suggestions along those lines, including considerations
such as water.

More from the VDT:

Continue reading →

VDT on Lofton Leaving



What’s Brad Lofton’s legacy?

The VDT finally published something today about Brad Lofton moving to
Myrtle Beach, apparently mostly drawing on the same SC newspaper story

LAKE picked up on last Thursday,
with some material from

the second SunNews story of Friday.
The VDT did

add some local interviews:

Continue reading →