Escambia County
Childers Launches Sweeping Records Demand Against First Tee
As a lawsuit over withheld county funding moves forward, Clerk Pam Childers forgoes the normal discovery process and instead directs First Tee Gulf Coast’s attorney to hand over years of financial records, internal communications and donor lists.
Escambia County Clerk of Court Pam Childers escalated her dispute with First Tee Gulf Coast last week, firing off a broad public records request that demands the youth golf nonprofit hand over two years’ worth of financial statements, internal communications and even billing records between First Tee and the law firm representing it against her in court.
- The May 8 letter, signed by the Clerk’s attorney Bob Murphy of the Clerk’s legal office, was addressed simultaneously to Alex Andrade of Moore, Hill & Westmoreland, P.A.—First Tee’s attorney in the pending lawsuit—and to Escambia County Attorney Alison Rogers. The letter pointedly instructs Andrade to “send this to your client for action.” Read Clerks PRR First Tee.
What Childers Is Seeking
The request spans January 1, 2024 through May 8, 2026. The scope is extensive.
The request covers every form of communication imaginable—emails, texts, social media direct messages, voicemails, Slack and Teams chats, calendar entries, and even “deleted-but-recoverable” records stored on personal devices if used for official business.
Among the eleven categories of records sought:
- All communications between First Tee officers, board members, and honorary board members with any Escambia County Commissioner or county employee
- Internal First Tee communications about county funding requests
- Full attendee, sponsor, vendor, and donor lists for the 2025 and 2026 Golf Ball Galas
- All financial records tied to the Galas, including scholarship award records
- Approved budgets for 2025 and 2026
- Year-to-date profit-and-loss statements and income statements for both years
- All contracts with Escambia County
- Billing records and cancelled checks between First Tee and attorney Alexander Andrade or his firm
- All records prepared by Andrade or Moore, Hill & Westmoreland prior to or in connection with litigation
First Tee Pushes Back
The records demand didn’t go unanswered. Andrade fired back on behalf of his clients, disputing the legal premise of the request entirely.
“My clients aren’t agencies subject to the Public Records Act. You can either wait for our Rule 1.280 initial disclosures, serve actual discovery, or confirm that you are reconsidering issuing the payments to my clients if they produce their current year budgets and additional financial records.”
The response frames the Clerk’s records demand as legally misplaced—arguing that First Tee, as a private nonprofit, has no obligation to comply with Chapter 119 simply because it applied for public funding. Andrade’s counter essentially offers Childers a choice: go through proper litigation channels, or acknowledge that the real dispute is about the money.
Executive Director Marty Stanovich was equally direct. In a statement to Inweekly, he said his organization has nothing to conceal and that its own board was unanimous in pursuing the lawsuit:
“Literally, we have nothing to hide. Nothing. 990s are there. Before we filed our lawsuit, I put it out to my executive board. The vote was 5-0 to proceed, and the full board had zero questions when we presented to them. It’s very cut and dry as far as we’re concerned.”
Inweekly will continue to follow this story as it develops.
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