Commissioners give another $75,000 to Eddie Holbrook’s family??? 4-1 Split vote by Commissioners-Deb Hardin Votes NO!!! Commissioners Susan Allen, Ronnie Whetstine, Johnny Hutchins and Doug Bridges say NO to citizens out of work, but Pay Holbrook’s kin!!! Facts, truth, gossip, evaluation and arguendo by Robert A. Williams
May 5, 2020 Commissioner’s Meeting:
What puzzles me about the American Legion World Series, Baseball, Inc corporation is what its purpose actually is? The name implies it is somehow a part of the American Legion’s baseball program that has been around for almost forever. But, a look at the North Carolina Secretary of State, the state agency that registers North Carolina based corporations, the ALWS, Baseball, Inc. has nothing to do with the American Legion or even baseball. The Shelby High School Baseball Field Is NOT the “permanent” home of the ALWS. Never was and never will be. What tipped me off to all this? It began with a close look at that $1,000,000 check the Commissioners gave to Eddie Holbrook I 2013 and the big checks before and after that biggest Check.
It was the name on that one particular Million Dollar Check. The name was “Cleveland County ALWS Baseball, Inc.” The real and genuine “American Legion World Series” is a division of the American Legion baseball programs that is the culmination of baseball games held between many of the thousands of American Legion individual Posts. And only a tiny bit of the overall American Legion programs all across America. A search of the North Carolina Secretary of State Business Registry shows the Cleveland County ALWS Baseball, Inc (SOS ID number 1111996) was incorporated on August 19,2008 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that is still active. (And, who is the Cleveland County ALWS Baseball, Inc’s Chairman of the Board-Former Commissioner Eddie “Massa Eddie” Holbrook. Remember this fact.)
Guidestar, a National Business listing and profiling organization shows that the mission of the Cleveland County ALWS Baseball, Inc is to: CLEVELAND COUNTY ALWS BASEBALL, INC. IS ORGANIZED FOR THE PURPOSE OF FOSTERING A NATIONAL AMATEUR SPORTING COMPETITION–SPECIFICALLY THE AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL WORLD SERIES. THIS EVENT IS HELD ANNUALLY.
The Program is: CLEVELAND COUNTY ALWS BASEBALL, INC. ORGANIZES AND PROMOTES THE AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL WORLD SERIES WHICH IS AN ANNUAL NATIONAL AMATEUR SPORTS COMPETITION.
Financials for 2010 Are:
Expenses: $1,002,292
Revenue: $112,818 (Ticket and souvenir sales as well and advertisers on the
Ball field outfield fence)
Losses: (Revenue minus Expenses) ($889,474)
A review of IRS Form 990 for the Cleveland County ALWS Baseball, Inc. for the years since 2010 indicates the Cleveland County ALWS Baseball, Inc. has lost on average around $1,000,000 per year. Through 2019, that would amount to around $9,000,000. Of which approximately $5 to $6 Million have been paid out directly with Cleveland County taxpayer funds, and the remaining losses were covered indirectly by grants and such-again from taxpayer funding.
By any measure the Cleveland County ALWS Baseball Inc. has been the top waster of Cleveland County Taxpayer dollars in its function to organize and promote ONLY those games played in Shelby, NC.
Now, consider that, although, the Cleveland County ALWS Baseball, Inc. has spent around $1,000,000 more every year than what it brought in-which should be considered wasted money-where that money went is the key to why the Cleveland County ALWS Baseball, Inc. continues to exist. Corruption!!! Appears the case in large part.
Who are the full-time employees at Cleveland County ALWS, Baseball when the games only last one week per year??? Brittany Beam first comes to mind. And who is Brittany Spangler Beam? Eddie Holbrook’s step daughter of course.
And who is Brittany Beam married to? Who is Mr. Brittany Beam? Mr. Beam is a landscaping contractor who has done lots of work for Cleveland County agencies-according to gossip-at the behest of “Massa Eddie” Holbrook. And who would we suspect would be the one to do all this expensive “Laser Grading” the County Commissioners just approved in a 4-1 split vote (Commissioner Deb Hardin voting NO!)?? Gossip has told me that the unnecessary “Laser Grading” work at the Shelby High School Baseball Field will, in reality, be done by or through Mr. Brittany Beam. With Mrs. Brittany Beam still drawing her full paycheck this year even though this year’s ALWS games have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, what can be done about all this graft and corruption in the Cleveland County Commissioner??? Pretty much nothing since the foolish voters in Cleveland County voted for Johnny Hutchins and Ronnie Whetstine in the 2020 Republican Primary Election. The only thing possible is to single-shot vote for Tommy McNeilly for Commissioner in November and hope Tommy and Deb will team up on what is right and pressure Commissioner Doug Bridges to honor his campaign promises and join them in fighting against Ronnie Whetstine and Johnny Hutchins doing all the bad things they are doing.
In the meantime, I smell a rat, maybe a rat’s nest of corruption in the financial wheeling and dealing of the Commissioners and “their” present team. I am considering asking to closely inspect county financial records of the previous CC ALWS shenanigans and other shenanigans that I believe I can find relatively easy, and maybe file legal actions against the Commissioners to provide me with the right to inspect public records that state law has provided to me. Rights that the Commissioners mostly deny me or anybody else to see. Nothing like a good old fashion lawsuit or criminal prosecution to shine the light on corruption.
I have known that taking this crowd to Court has always been an option. But the fact that the Commissioners, School Board and Cleveland Community all have refused to obey the public records laws has been a news story suitable to print all by itself. Commissioners, School Board and CCC BoTs (Not to mention the Shelby City council) are “crooks and liars” was the factually true story-line. But now, I would like to see somebody go to prison for stealing so many millions of taxpayer’s dollars. My days of “Rhetorical Hyperbole” may now be augmented with some good old-fashioned court trials. Wouldn’t that be a hoot???