Calendar of Election Events

January 6, 2009 @5:00pm Qualifying Deadline
Primary Election, Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Primary Runoff, Tuesday, April 21, 2009
      (if needed)
General Election, Tuesday, April 21 2009
      (if no runoff needed)
General Election, Tuesday, June 9, 2009
      (If there is a primary runoff)

Committee to Elect Allan Rhodes

4092 South Memorial Parkway, Suite 1A
Huntsville, AL (256) 604-5923
Allan Rhodes, Chairman
Misty Kennedy, Treasurer
email: allanrhodes@allanrhodes.com

Campaign Manager

J. Holland
email: j.holland@thehdc.com

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About Allan Rhodes - Transparency

Jan 8, 2009

     As I stated in my opening news conference, I am not a politician, I am a businessman who wants to go to Montgomery and provide a business approach to our Alabama government. We need to have people who are not ashamed to be completely transparent.

     The purpose of this website is to let you get to know me, Allan Rhodes, a candidate for Alabama Senate Seat District 7. In the initial web pages I attempt to write some things about myself and included information about my faith, family, conservative views, and experiences as a local businessman / entrepreneur.

     In the business section of the website I talked about the opportunities to start many small businesses some successful; some not, but all the while learning how to run a business from the ground up and understanding the needs of small business. I was recently reminded of one of these start-up businesses that failed nearly 20 years ago. So, to be completely transparent, I would like to offer the following summary about that business experience.

     My campaign manager J. Holland received an email from a business partner at a video production company I started after leaving Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. The company, Jacksonville Technical Productions, later moved to Anniston, Alabama and changed its name to Skyline Productions. Due to the BRAC in1990 that closed Ft. McClellan and earlier decisions by me and the other partners to operate in an undercapitalized manner, the business failed.

     The business, a video/audio production company, was started as a next step in my career after graduation from Jacksonville State University. I spent a couple of years after graduation as the Television Production Coordinator and Faculty Advisor to the campus radio station. While in this position I sat on the board of Calhoun County Crime Stoppers and was a 2-year director of the countywide program. I met a lot of people and became a part of the community. I decided to start a business and found 8 investors. Since I was just a few years out of college and did not have any money, the investing partners guaranteed 2.5 times their pro-rata share (a method to limit personal liability) of the company for the borrowed start up money. The original business plan called for each investor to put up cash to start the company however, everyone voted to borrow the start up monies. The company did very well for the first few years. As the managing partner I agreed to not take any profits out of the company until the loan was paid back, which is the loan guarantee that the partner writes about in her email. The partners also agreed to pay my salary during the start up and throughout the business from receipts generated by the company and cash calls if necessary.

     The business had been in operation for about 3 years when BRAC 1990 closed Ft. McClellan, a U.S. ARMY facility in Anniston, Alabama. When that happened, many businesses in Calhoun County begin to fail – ours was one of them. In an under capitalized company it does not take long for an economic downturn on a community for small businesses to go under.

     After about 3 months with very little work the partners and I decided to close the business. At the end, the company owed me $70,000 in back salary that was never paid and never asked for. As the managing partner the loan officer at the bank told me that I had two options. One - I could be sued by the bank for the entire amount of the $250,000 loan and I could then hire a lawyer to sue the partners for their share of the debt or, two - I could declare personal bankruptcy and he could then move to break down the loan into individual amounts of 2.5 times their pro-rata share of the debt. After a discussion with the partners, we decided that I would bankrupt personally which opened the pathway for the bank to divide the debt up among the guarantors at their pro-rata share.

     I spent many days in prayer about what to do and knew that I had a personal responsibility to take care of my family, pay our bills, and assist with the close out of the business. However, during a time of prayer I felt that God wanted me to go to Huntsville the next Monday. I did not know the reason but got up the next Monday morning and headed home. I met with an equipment salesman in video production thinking that we were going to be able to sell the video equipment to him and satisfy the loans. I ended up getting a job with a new contractor on Redstone Arsenal and later being hired as a GS 9 temporary by the U.S. Army in Visual Information.

     Instead of feeling sorry for myself I decided to get to work and take care of my family and the personal obligations we had. The company owed taxes that flowed down to me personally. I paid all of the company taxes; I re-affirmed all of my personal debts and paid all of my bills in full. I also assisted in the final sale of the equipment, (proceeds going to reduce the company debt owed) and the installation of this equipment into a church at Pinson Alabama, where I drove back and forth for several months until they had an understanding of how to operate it.

     I have great affection for all of the partners in the business in Anniston that felt a desire to invest in my talents. I learned many lessons from the business experience that will help me make tough decisions as to when to borrow money and when to wait, when to invest and when to spend. In any business failure there are two sides to every story and yes, people were hurt and hard lessons learned. I appreciate the forgiveness given by those involved and hope that we can continue to move forward to accomplish great things in the future.

     About 80 percent of all small businesses fail in the first 2 years after they are started. Many of these experiences leave people disappointed, even angry at each other, some point fingers. The intent of this response is not to point a finger at anyone, but to be completely transparent to the voters of the 7th District.

Sincerely,

Allan Rhodes

     To be completely transparent and open I am publishing the email that prompted the information provided above. I decided to withhold the name of the partner but will provide it if the former partner wants. All events associated with this issue took place 18+ years ago.

Letter: From Former Business Partner

Mr. Holland,

I understand from a recent radio broadcast, that Allen Rhodes has chosen to run for the Alabama Senate. And the you are his campaign manager. I am contacting you rather then Allen only because I could not find an email address for him.

I find it rather interesting that in his "transparent campaign" he left so many facts out concerning "his business" in Anniston. I think maybe you should ask him about that. I understand that there are always two sides to every story, and I can just bet his is very different from the side of the people he walked out on.

I wish Allen well. I have forgiven him for what he did, and for the hardships caused to our family. I can't speak for the other investors. One passed away recently, and one had to file bankruptcy after Allen left. I hope his life has been better since he left the area.

I guess what astounds me the most is the fact that he was able to completely turn his back and walk away from people who trusted in him and his word. Never showing one once of regret. He knows he signed notes to each one of the investors in that company. If he can live with the fact that he will never live up to his written promise, that's fine. It's between he and God. We put it away a long time ago knowing it would never be repaid. But the big question here is.....is this the kind of person the people of Alabama deserve.

I am not in Allen's district, so I am really no threat to his being elected or not. My point is writing is in hopes of making Allen think of the effect his actions had on people who trusted him with a small thing such as a production company. How is the State of Alabama suppose to trust him?

Have a great day!
(Name Withheld)