Ronnie Gilley’s comments at BamaJam

June 06, 2008

Debbie Ingram

He said he’s not one to hold back and from what little I know about this Ronnie Gilley guy, I believe it. It is refreshing and goes right along with my personality—Tell it all, Ronnie! Tell it all!

During the first night of the BamaJam Music & Arts Festival Thursday, Gilley took the stage to introduce Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks, who is a friend of Alabama’s Randy Owen.

Immediately, Gilley started talking politics, giving kudos to Terry Spicer for being one of those politicians you can count on. Wait. Isn’t he the guy that’s showing up at work at a local community college on the day he’s also voting in Montgomery? Same time. Different place.

I be confused!

Anyway, Gilley also issued some appreciation to the good folks of Houston County who have supported Country Crossing, saying “Let those politicians know how you feel. Scream louder than the select few.“

“When you hear the politicians say they don’t like Country Crossing, give ‘em the boot! Before this is over 100,000 people will be BamaJamin’. The politicians will listen to you—just like they did in Houston County.“

Gilley was reigned in before he could say more….. “I’m being cautioned that I’m being too political,“ he said with a laugh ... but he was referring of course to the outcry over Country Crossing, first when some members of the community said the activation of electronic bingo was “railroaded through” by the Houston County Commission, and later when Sen. Harri Anne Smith introduced a bill that could have delayed the project, seen by many as a huge economic boost to the area.

Gilley announced that all future BamaJams will be held at the Country Crossing site, just south of Dothan, and invited everybody back.

We got a few new thousand friends, maw!!!

Trying to catch up with Gilley today from BamaJam but I am told he is doing interviews. There’s lots and lots of media here and I am sure he’s in demand with the Nashville folks.

County Commission to examine I-10 resolution today

May 22, 2008

Debbie Ingram

Houston County Commissions will look over a proposal for a joint resolution with Focus 2000, a non-profit agency spearheading the creation of a toll Interstate 10 Connector that would eventually connect Montgomery to the beaches of Panama City.

This type of public/private partnership, officials say, is the only way to get the interstate constructed. State and federal highway department officials have said they barely have the funds to keep up with maintenance, much less the construction of new roads.

Houston County commissioners will vote on the proposal at their regular meeting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 27.

Geneva and Dale counties are considering similar resolutions over the next week, and Focus 2000 is also working with Florida counties to continue the process there.

Ronnie Gilley talks about Country Crossing

May 15, 2008

Debbie Ingram

The B-I-N-G-O word hardly came out of Ronnie Gilley’s mouth Thursday when he addressed the annual meeting of the Dothan Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Country Crossing, he said, was never ABOUT bingo. It is about entertainment. Country music entertainment, and creating a destination unlike any in the world. Where else could you pick any weekend of the year and find a top country act performing. This will happen, he says, on Highway 231 South at Smithville Road, the site of the development.


Click here to see a sketch of Country Crossing.

Gilley hopes, once again, to break ground on the site within 90 days. The project has been delayed by boundary surveys and legislative, uh ... “issues.“ Houston County records do not show where Gilley or his partners have purchased the land yet, but there is a conceptual drawing, based on the general layout of the land. That drawing is prone to change.

And the clock is ticking. He hopes the second annual BamaJam Festival will coincide with the grand opening of Country Crossing. That would be early June 2009.

For the first time, Gilley talked about the project’s residential component. That’s right. Your address could be Country Crossing, Alabama, and your new home could be a patio home, luxury condo or townhouse. Gilley is clear that his target market are the boomers. Their numbers are increasing, they have money and they are prone to move. They are also very interested in entertainment when it comes to vacations and relocating.

Gilley took a question from someone who asked about the prospect of Dolly signing on as one of those top country entertainers at CC. Gilley response drew laughter. “I can’t get close enough to her.“ In all likelihood, he said, Dolly would stick to her own developments/interests, which are many, and not be inclined to commit to Country Crossing.

Gilley did tease the audience with a vague comment about a potential NFL and sports connection to the development, but said nothing is set in stone. He declined to speak further on it.

Right now, those 600 or whatever acres of land about seven miles north of Enterprise are being prepared to host the first BamaJam Music and Arts Festival. Thirty entertainers have signed on to perform. There will be three stages and the 3-day festival is getting plenty of play in the music circles. A quick google search turns up the BamaJam name in various country music publications, radio station Web sites, blogs and on the sites of musicians. Word is getting around.

The husband and I will for sure be there. With his camper and Harley and my laptop. I will be both blogging and filing stories from the festival and depending on when we can set up camp, we might even get there early. I’m shipping the 6 year old off to her grandparents’ in Georgia and will work hard to see that the teenager has a full work schedule that weekend at Chick fil A. Sometimes the best vacations are those right at home.

$3.59 gas anyone?

Legislative Update

May 05, 2008

Lance Griffin

Rumors have been flying that Senate Democrats may attempt to resurrect Sen. Harri Anne Smith’s bingo bill—the one that would have reversed regulations allowing electronic bingo at Country Crossing. Shortly after introducing the bill, Smith asked that the bill not be considered. The rumor is that some Democrats whose own bingo bills were not considered, nor supported by Smith, may attempt to bring Smith’s bill to the Senate floor.

Even if this happens, the bill must have unanimous consent to move forward, and that isn’t going to happen. We will know as early as Tuesday if the bill gets reported out of the Senate Tourism Committee onto the Senate floor. The committee is chaired by Sen. Bobby Singleton, who had hoped to get a bingo bill related to Greene County passed, but did not have the votes.

Full Speed Ahead

May 02, 2008

Lance Griffin

Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley has posted on Wiregrasslive.com that the project is “Full Speed Ahead.“ To read the rest of his post, Click Here