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Published Monday, October 19, 2009 in Local

Warm Springs board seeking new board members

By Winston Skinner

The Newnan Times-Herald

The Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation's development organization is regrouping after two board members were removed because of a business deal involving the previous chairman and vice chairman.

Senior Judge James "Jim" Oxendine, was chairman of the board, and Wayne Reece was vice chairman of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation Development Fund, which raises money for improvements and special projects at the state facility in Meriwether County. The development fund board voted to remove Oxendine and Reece after concerns were raised about an agreement between the two.

Board member Vicki Gordon of Alpharetta said she contacted Oxendine after a board meeting on June 30. "There was some discussion of financials," she said.

Further investigation revealed some $400,000 had been paid to Reece's firm, with Oxendine's agreement. In media reports, Oxendine and Reece have denied wrongdoing. Oxendine has said other board members knew about the expenditures.

Gordon said that when the financial details were examined by board members, what they saw "raised questions for most of us." Ultimately, the non-profit's executive board voted Aug. 1 to remove Oxendine and Reece as members.

The development fund is a separate, non-profit entity that raises funds for RWSIR, a state-funded program that has provided top quality rehabilitation for decades. Franklin Delano Roosevelt started what eventually became the institute when he came to Warm Springs seeking a cure for infantile paralysis.

Roosevelt never recovered from the disease, but his political success and reputation have helped build the Warm Springs complex over the years. At least two of FDR's grandchildren have been publicly supported the institute's programs by speaking at and attending events in Warm Springs.

Gordon said the development fund board is now regrouping -- looking for new members -- and planning for the future.

"We are in a process right now of looking for new board members. Obviously, we want to bring new blood to the board," she said.

Gordon spoke of the great work being done with the Wounded Warrior Transition Battalion, a partnership between the institute and Ft. Benning that helps injured soldiers regain skills. Another upcoming project is a $20 million dormitory "which will be amazing," Gordon said.

The development fund must move ahead "to keep the fine work at the institute going on," Gordon said. "That's what we should be talking about."

Coweta County's connections to the institute are broad and deep. Newnanites from the 1920s until 1945 would occasionally see Franklin or Eleanor Roosevelt. The Roosevelts often took a train to Newnan and then a car from Coweta County to his Meriwether County retreat, the Little White House.

Roosevelt died at the Little White House in 1945.

Today, the institute has an outpatient program in Coweta County. A number of Coweta County residents are employed at the institute, including Greg Schmieg, the executive director.

Coweta resident Edwin Johnston, who owns an auto parts company in College Park, serves on the development fund board. Gordon praised Schmieg, who also serves on the development group's board, and Johnston.

"They're terrific guys," she said.

Paula W. Dougherty of Peachtree City and D. Gaines Lanier of West Point serve on the development fund board. Also on the board are people with Meriwether County ties -- Greenville banker Jimmy Hill and LaGrange attorney Daniel W. Lee, who grew up near Luthersville.

State Rep. Carl Von Epps of LaGrange is on the non-profit's board. His district once included part of south Coweta County, and he is the pastor of a Coweta church, Smith Chapel United Methodist.

Other members of the development fund board are Daniel W. Brinks, a Thomaston banker; James E. Butler Jr., a Columbus attorney; Edgar E. Chapman Jr., a Woodland banker; J. Kevin Fletcher, a Georgia Power executive; Gwendolyn Dean Dykes, a Duluth businesswoman; David L. Foy, a dentist in Knoxville, Tenn.; Daniel L. Gordon, an Atlanta businessman; Kimberly R. Gordon, an Atlanta businesswoman; Donna R. McNeilly, a Knoxville resident; Charles H. Hood, businessman from Jacksonville, Fla.; Frank J. Jordan Jr., judge from Columbus; Stephen A. Melton, Columbus banker; Douglas C. Pullen, Columbus judge; Erik Vonk, businessman from Bradenton, Fla.; and J. Bruce Williams Jr., Norcross businessman.

Oxendine was the senior superior court judge in Gwinnett County until he vacated his office Oct. 2. Atlanta media have reported Oxendine is under investigation by the Gwinnett district attorney's office with regard to a real estate transaction.

Oxendine's son, John Oxendine, is Georgia's insurance commissioner and is a Republican candidate for governor.

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