Awareness of the Cumberland Park project surfaced to the general public August, 2007. This was at least 18 months after the project concept had been initiated with AEP by Howard Spencer. As more details have slowly emerged about how this project continued to progress it has become obvious that the public was intentionally kept in the dark by Howard Spencer and other elected officials. It has also become apparent that members of the Giles County Board of Supervisors were either bypassed by Howard Spencer, or they have experienced a convenient and self-serving loss of memory about this project. The same can be said for members of the Giles County School Board. The Giles County Partnership for Excellence was formed as a non-profit organization by way of stating that their mission is to promote EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT.

THIS OBJECTIVE IS ACCOMPLISHED BY ENCOURAGING CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE SMALL BUSINESSES, INDUSTRIES AND COMMUNITIES OF GILES COUNTY.

The above statements reflect what was filed with the Internal Revenue Service as justification for the partnership being granted tax-exempt status.

If we believe recent statements by the School Board, they have no knowledge of the actions of the partnership, nor do they participate with the partnership in the receipt of any funds for public schools in the county. Therefore, if these school board statements are accurate, why does the IRS continue to grant tax-exempt status to the partnership? Those of us who are interested in this issue anxiously await an answer from the IRS regarding their ruling on the tax-exempt status of the partnership.

This essay will not attempt to provide all of the details about the Cumberland Park project. That effort will continue to be pursued by appropriate agencies and I trust that the eventual outcome will exact due process where it is deserved.

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to use Cumberland Park as an object lesson for students, adults, elected officials, and corporate citizens.

Although 64 years of age, I can well remember the days of my youth. The influences on one’s life during those early years of innocence cannot be overly stressed. School teachers had a tremendous influence on my life. They probably never knew just how much they molded my character. One of those teachers is a member of the current School Board. A great teacher, good character, able to communicate with students, and deserving of the respect he earned from students, school staff, and parents. Retired from teaching for many years, he now strives to serve the educational needs of county students by way of his elected position to the School Board. I do not question his sincerity, commitment, or ability to excel in his efforts as a member of the School Board. However, I place him in the category of those elected officials whom have created a perception problem. I will explain this in more detail later in this essay.

A former Superintendent of Schools in Giles County, Robert Dunn, was a favorite person in my life as a student at Pearisburg High School and Giles High School. During those days he was one of my football coaches, a basketball coach, and then the Assistant Principal at the high school. He was a member of a group of school teachers, coaches, and administrators who convened an inquiry into alleged inappropriate behavior of athletes at the school. I was one of the athletes interviewed during that inquiry.

The athlete actions in question were minor but deserving of a thorough explanation. During my interview I was asked numerous questions that had nothing to do with the inquiry but I answered each question with total honesty and candidness. I will never forget the words spoken to me by Mr. Dunn at the end of my interview. “Doug, you are the most honest and truthful person, student or adult, that I’ve known during my entire life.” Those spoken words have guided me throughout my life. To be told that, by a person whom you respect and admire, is quite an endorsement. It is also a statement about the person who spoke those kind words. It told me that Mr. Dunn placed a lot of emphasis on honesty and truthfulness. It told me that I could always trust him, his decisions, opinions, and his professional and personal conduct. Robert Dunn had a profound impact and influence on my life, one that endures to this very day.

I share this story for a purpose. As I’ve witnessed the behavior of our elected officials throughout the course of the Cumberland Park debacle, on numerous occasions I’ve asked myself if these people are aware of how their actions might have a positive or negative influence on some young person in our county. School Board members (4 of the 5) have made denials, statements of questionable equivocalness, and in some cases they’ve resulted to stonewalling tactics that accomplish nothing more than impugning their character. The one member who has had the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, has been left standing alone with no support from any of the other four members. What is the positive example being set by these elected officials? What lasting impact will this behavior have on a student who witnesses, hears, or reads about the behavior of these adults? One of these members is my former teacher. The great teacher, the one with good character, who was able to communicate with students, and deserving of the respect he earned from students, school staff, and parents. As a student, I never saw this most recent side of my former teacher. I never thought of him as a deceptive person, someone who wouldn’t stand up and be heard, someone whom I would possibly lose respect for at some future date because of the perception he has created about himself.

Somewhere along the journey of life we might come to a fork in the road where our choice of direction has a lasting impact on our life. Possibly we change routes such that we move from the road of good to the road of evil, or to a lesser degree of good. Influences come to bear on us and we are subjected to life’s temptations and opportunities to compromise our ethics. Does this only happen to people who run for elected office? No, it can happen to any of us. But for some reason we see and hear about numerous elected officials who behave in a dishonest and deceiving manner that cheats their constituents in order to reward themselves or others. Apparently, this happens at all levels of government, even in the small county of Giles.

I can only hope and pray that this Object Lesson that continues to play out will have a positive and lasting effect on students, teachers, parents, corporate citizens, and the elected officials of Giles County. At some point in the distant future I hope someone will recount this experience and give testament of how the eventual outcome of Cumberland Park provided positive guidance and influence throughout the years of their life.