Re: Perdue's Inaugural Ball

Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Dear PV,

I have waited several weeks before commenting because I wanted to see if anyone else made a statement about the disappointment in the Inaugural Ball of Sonny Perdue.

There were very little decorations at the World Congress Center. This was one drab place. Surely someone could have found in a basement boxes of red white and blue to hang.

I waited outside the "ballroom" that was three floors down for one hour and ten minutes because there was only one entry. There was no food for those of us who finally made it in. Many left after standing in line for 45 minutes. There was no organized program; there was NO CELEBRATION going on. We wait 130 years and pay lots of money for this?

I was sent a request by the state Republican Party the next week for more money and to renew my dues. I was called the next week to do the same. Private parties may work for a few but not the masses who have worked quietly for years. My limo and my mink went home but with eyes opened. I have told every person who would not go with me or thought they would if they had only received a ticket. Everyone thinks this is a reflection of the usual.

I hope someone who can organize and plan will be in charge. Sonny certainly needs someone who can plan a party to step forward.

L.D. Hicks
Gwinnett County


PV Notes: Three weeks before the Ball, an estimate of 20,000 to 50,000 attendees was printed in the paper. Now we know the actual number of attendees was closer to only 10,000. Had 20,000 more people been invited, that would have translated to $1,000,000 more in cash. Oh well.