2:55 PM Vision Of Rickey Stokes - Work In Progress To Become A Reality

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
[email protected]
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Date: May 11 2024 3:12 PM

DOTHAN:     Since being in the news business a vision of Rickey Stokes for a long period of time is a complete news center in my office.

Recently we have hung 7 ( seven ) TV’s on the wall in my office. 

The picture below you see is the view from sitting behind my desk looking at the wall. There are a number of things I am monitoring while in my office at a glance. Not going to describe each because it would give other news agencies ideas.

This is a work in progress because we have just started.

Several years ago while working with Dothan-Houston County Emergency Management a lawyer friend of mine, and I might say a powerful lawyer friend of mine, asked me to come to Montgomery and meet he and a friend of his. I did and he had started a news web site in North Alabama. We met six times, to include my two sons and I met with the man who had the news web site. He was willing to invest about $ 1 million dollars into www.rickeystokesnews.com to make it grow to about 20 counties in Alabama and Florida.

After meeting with him, talking with my two sons, talking with two successful businessman in Dothan, I appreciated the offer but turned it down. I was enjoying with Dothan-Houston County Emergency Management and felt was making a contribution in making emergency services better in Houston County. And I had reservations in making it work.

Then Ricky Herring, a "friend" and fellow "church member" got elected as Houston County Commissioner. And he began destroying the work and where things were headed with Dothan-Houston County Emergency Management.

FOOTNOTE:  I felt that myself and Chris Judah made some positive steps and improved emergency operations.

After leaving Emergency Management I have developed a plan that I could make it work in serving 20 or more counties and in three states. All it takes is money $$$.

The vision of how to begin is now in the process of becoming a reality. We have hung 7 TV’s in my office. And we will be installing more. And other equipment in order to stay om top of news events. Looking for someone to re-write the web site to update to a new operating system but still keeping the same format, mostly. Just where we have more control over placement.

A lot of ideas on how to make things work. The main obstacle right now is money.

My love for emergency services and wanting to make it better I turned down a 1 million dollar investment in something I started from scratch. But I loved being involved in the trenches to hopefully improve the services to people in need. And Chris Judah and I were successful in some of those changes. But with the election of D3 Commissioner Ricky Herring that changed as did my 36 year membership of Memphis Baptist Church - about 30 years doing the sound.

Anyway Herring is not what this article is about. What it is about is, the vision and how to make it work has started. The only ingredient missing is $$$. But it will not take $ 1 million or anywhere near that to make this vision a reality.

Just updating because I am proud of what we have developed in the vision so far.

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