The president of the General Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr. Memorial Foundation, Inc., Cris Dosev, posted a photo of Black girls on Spring Break to call out the Escambia County Tourist Development Council for allegedly discriminating against veterans.
The photo is from the Sun, not of anything happening on Pensacola Beach but actually at Daytona Beach.
Dosev wrote: “Welcome to Pensacola Beach. Tourist Development Fund opportunity to invite the UFC. Can you imagine the interest? We need a Haas Study and Attorney General’s opinion and we are off to the races. On second thought, those requirements are discriminatoryly applied only to veterans.”
IRONY: The president of a nonprofit that wants to honor the first Black four-star Air Force general searches the internet to find a photo of Black coeds on Spring Break to accuse the TDC of being discriminatory.
DAMAGE CONTROL
Visit Pensacola, Pensacola Beach Chamber, Greater Pensacola Chamber, and all beach businesses should demand Dosev delete the post that intentionally misleads the public and potential visitors about our area.
- EVEN MORE IRONIC: We have a man who wants tourism dollars, hurting our tourism
I can’t see the Escambia County Commission or the Pensacola City Council giving funds to the Foundation until the nonprofit answers for the statement of its president.
BACKGROUND: Last month, the Foundation’s board of Directors of the General Daniel “Chappie” James Jr. Memorial Foundation asked David Bear, Lewis Bear Company CEO and chairman of the Escambia County Tourist Development, to prove that he contributed to its Foundation. Bear provided a copy of the canceled check – which called into question what’s happening with the group’s finances if it can’t account for all its donations.
The TDC believes the tourist tax revenue cannot legally be spent on the construction of the Chappi James Monument. County Clerk Pam Childers has said it qualifies as an “open-air museum” but has provided no evidence that any Florida TDC has paid to build an open-air museum anywhere in the state.
