An Open Letter About Vermilion Oaks

Many of you received mail this week questioning my qualifications and values. I want to first express my disappointment and apologies to you that in this day and age we still have people in public office who believe this is an acceptable political strategy. I stand behind everything I have said both publicly and privately to each of you as we have visited throughout my time on council and during my campaign for Mayor. I stand behind every action I have taken on council and I believe I have done so with honesty and integrity. I do not make backroom deals, in fact I have advocated for transparency and public inclusion on all important issues.

I did not propose the city lease the golf course, nor did I ask any other council member to do so. When the discussion came up about reopening the golf course under the city umbrella, I abstained from all discussion, and openly stated my ties to the property. I sat quietly as my family was falsely accused and attacked over and over in meetings and on social media by a fellow council member. I did this because I believe that all ideas deserve due process and I believed that in the end the best decision for all would be made without my interference. I am happy that these discussions happened because later the course was reopened by a private individual, and I do believe that the golf course is important to our local economy and quality of life especially for young aspiring golfers and retired members of our community.

As for the financial information discussed in the mailer, I stand by the decisions of my late grandfather to invest money into maintenance and improving facilities and services without raising dues and fees for the first year of operations as a show of good faith to the membership of the club. He understood this would be a substantial financial loss and was willing to take that loss to see if we could grow our customer base. We both believed the golf course was important to our community. In 2016, we faced record rainfalls, with the course being under water multiple times throughout the year, including the August 2016 flood resulting in extended closures and further losses in revenue. Again we chose not to scale back maintenance because the goal was to pull the business out of the state it was in due to years of budget cuts, neglect and lack of proper maintenance. These decisions were not made frivolously or irresponsibly, but with the long term plan of growth. These decisions were made using private funds for private business and the losses taken were deliberate. It is easy to look at numbers on paper and use them to tell a story negligent of all the facts to serve a cynical purpose, but below are the FACTS absent of agenda:

• Our family took ownership of Abbeville Country Club in the hope of improving it, attracting new visitors and business to Abbeville, and saving it from closure.

• Many improvements were made to the aging facility, including a restaurant addition, in the first year of operations.

• These improvements were made at a substantial cost and a loss was deliberately taken to avoid raising dues or green fees on Abbeville residents.

• The recession and two years of record rainfall, including the flood of 2016 led to the difficult decision to cease operations.

I come from a business family, and I have been a member of our business community for over 20 years. Because of my experience at Vermilion Oaks, I understand the struggles of small business. I am the only mayoral candidate that has had to make payroll after being shut down for weeks due to storms and flooding. I understand the importance of improving drainage and the detrimental impacts flooding has on businesses and residents. I know the time, passion, and financial commitment it takes to open a business. I have worked 20-hour days and given everything I have to a business and had it fail, not because of mismanagement, but because of economic recession and weather events. I know what it takes to get back up and keep going after closing a business you love. I am the only candidate that understands the reality of the struggles of businesses in our community. I know that more businesses fail than succeed, and I have a fire inside me to help our small businesses that are struggling to keep their doors open. I am also the only candidate that has navigated the web of red tape it takes to start a business firsthand and felt the frustration of inefficient government procedure. I will use my knowledge and experiences to cultivate a more business friendly environment and take an active approach in recruiting new businesses for our area to provide more local opportunities.

There is an old adage: “united we conquer and divided we fall”. I ask you each to stand with me in unity and let those candidates that participate in dirty politics know that we will no longer allow them to hold our community back by pushing personal agendas of hate and distrust disguised as “protecting our community.” Enough is enough.

I am sharing this letter as an invitation to each of you to call or email if you have questions about me, my qualifications, or my intentions as mayor. I am happy to discuss them openly and honestly as I always have. My phone number is 337-298-7611 and my email address is ros@roslynwhite.com. You can also learn more about me on my website www.roslynwhite.com.

I humbly and respectfully ask you to vote for me, Roslyn White, #9, this Saturday, March 26, 2022, to be YOUR Mayor. I am committed to our community and dedicated to progress, but I need your support to make a difference.