Press Release August 10, 2017
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: David McCallister 813-778-1202 Email: floridasshe@gmail.com
SOUTHERNERS WEIGH IN ON "SNOOTY"
Bradenton - Save Southern Heritage - FL members and friends were shocked and dismayed to learn of the untimely death of "Snooty" eveyone's beloved Manatee. Our sympathy goes out to all "Snooty" lovers in and outside of Florida. "I took my children to see "Snooty" - we all loved Snooty" said David McCallister, Save Southern Heritage - FL spokesman. Recently, an online petition to the Mayor of Bradenton is calling for him to take down the War Memorial to local soldiers who lost their lives in war time and replace it with a statue of "Snooty". Save Southern Heritage - FL is in favor of half of the initiative. "We're all for putting up Statute of "Snooty" in Manatee County. Snooty" is an icon for locals and tourists alike and a statue would be a fitting tribute, He certainly is part of our Florida history and heritage, and we support those kind of memorials" said McCallister. However, SSH FL objects to replacing the Veterans Memorial with the "Snooty" memorial. "We would like to see an additional memorial - it is wrong to take down a veterans memorial when there is plenty of space for an additional one". SSH - FL also questions the proposed location and offers an alternative site. "The Snooty memorial would undoubtedly be a major tourist attraction, and parking is bad enough at the courthouse. A parking deck might need to be added to handle the "Snooty" visitor traffic" added McCallister. "A more accessible, visible location to tourists - like Bayfront Park" might make more sense." McCallister added. Most of the signers of the petition appeared to be outside of Manatee County. SSH FL spokesman David McCallister attended the August 9th meeting of the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners to inform the Commissioners about the issue. Another speaker for keeping the memorial introduced her great great grandfather Francis Burdett Hagan, who was a state legislator representing Manatee County, who was a Confederate Veteran and who had also joined the Florida militia at age 12 as a musician. She said though Hagan didn't live to see the memorial, it honored him, and it should stay. She also cautioned the Commission that they will likely be visited by 'marauding thugs" who would call the memorial and her family racist and asked them not to disgrace veterans and her family. The two speakers provoked a reaction from Commissioner Charles Smith, who as advocated for the Memorial's removal in press reports, to say he had no intention on calling anything or anyone 'racists'.
SAVE SOUTHERN HERITAGE Inc. is a 501 c(4) public welfare corporation that educates & advocates on behalf of Southern Heritage & History. It was started in 2015 in response to the knee-jerk Anti-Southern institutionalized bullying and “Erase-ism” levied against the people of South Carolina by Governor Nikki Haley, after she broke all previous agreements about how South Carolina’s historical veterans and their symbols should be treated and respected. The Florida branch was activated in mid-January 2016, in response to three initiatives in the Florida Legislature that are part of a hate campaign led by Anti-American extremists, who refuse to respect the various cultures that make up the fabric of Florida’s society. Since that time, it has grown in membership and has been active in Heritage battles throughout Florida including the “We'll Remember in November Campaign” that resulted in #heritagehater candidates to loose elections in Florida. More info: www.sshfl.org.
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