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All I knew about Terry was word-of-mouth from the Enterprise newsroom, so I hesitated to put much stock in it. Interesting to see that the word-of-mouth is confirmed.

And it goes without saying that this column never would have seen the light of day had you still been working at the Enterprise.

Interesting question, Lex. Could a column like this appear in the Enterprise? The paper has no connection to Terry anymore. And the column isn't really about the Enterprise. But, I don't know. Would it be considered bad form?

I have encountered mean-spirited 'scrooges' like Terry many times in my life and make every effort to avoid them like the plague. To me, the "two meat" episode was especially telling about what kind of man he was... and wasn't.

Too bad a few Christmas ghosts didn't visit him in advance of his demise.

Good column, Doug.

Lex,
I don't recall a lot of stories in the N&R about Frank Batten always appearing on the Forbes list of the world's richest while contributing little to Greensboro causes. Want to prepare one?

We've run some Jerry; I'm working at home today and don't have access to the archives or I'd pull some. One, in particular, was (in-)famous (a copy was pinned up on the bulletin board in the newsroom for a long time) for a comment from Batten, something along the lines of, "Are they [Forbes] still doing that damn thing?"

Moreover, Jerry, as you well know, Doug's larger point isn't how much of Terry's money he gave away or to whom.

Oh, and then there's that whole part where Frank Batten lives in Virginia, not Greensboro. You're a reporter, Jerry: How much has he given away up there?

Lex,
Your point was that a column akin to Doug's likely wouldn't appear in the Enterprise. Mine is that a similar piece about the N&R's living owner likely wouldn't appear in the N&R.

You can avoid hypocrisy by taking the challenge. Tell us how much Frank Batten takes out of Greensboro every year and how much he gives back.

The N&R is the community newspaper. No doubt a lot of people in Greensboro would like to know that.

As would I.

As you well know, Jerry, the N&R's parent company is privately held. As you might have surmised, I am not a stockholder. Accordingly, I have no idea how much money comes out.

Since you're comparing an article about someone still alive with an article about someone who's dead, I'm not real sure what the basis is for your claim of hypocrisy.

Does that mean you'll do the story when Frank dies? Something tells me otherwise.

Well, given that it's hardly certain I'll even still be working for the N&R or Landmark when he dies, the smart money certainly would be on your suspicion. But stranger things have happened.

Now, then: Care to answer my question, or are we done here?

Frank Batten has given away millions of dollars to charities, including more than $100 million to a variety of educational institutions and foundations in his home state of Virginia.

As for Greensboro and the Triad, each year the Landmark Foundation, which Batten established, gives anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million in charitable gifts to agencies here.

For more detail on his charitable giving, you can do a google search.

Thanks, John,
We're getting somewhere. Now tell us how much he takes out. I know the N&R is a private company and has no requirement to report anything. But you're an information company with great power in the community and you look into all kinds of other people's business often in sharply critical ways. Why not your own? I'm sure a lot of people would be curious to know.

The leaders in High Point need to get over it.

This money was Mr. Terry's and he is disbursing it the way HE wanted it to be disbursed, through a will he had drawn up while he was alive.

Evidently the city of High Point did not hold a special place in his heart if he was not that generous to it while he was alive.

Why should they expect anything different now that he is gone?

I can't say exactly, Jerry. The company makes a decent profit, some of which is returned to the community in donations, some of which goes to capital expenditures and some of which goes to stockholders. I think the point Doug is making is that Mr. Terry make little charitable contribution in terms of money in High Point. Over the years, Frank Batten has donated millions to Triad causes.

John,

Let me clear up some things. I had no problem with Doug’s post or his point. I don’t care how much Randall Terry made, or how much Frank Batten has made, or what either has done with their money. That’s their business.

If Doug wants to kick around the old crank he used to work for after his death, that’s for him to decide. I met Terry a few times and didn’t like him either, although he seemed to have lived a sad life, receiving love only from his dogs and rewarding them and those who cared for them accordingly.

There likely would have been only a couple of comments to Doug’s column if Lex hadn’t chimed in to take a whack at your competitor, the Enterprise. It went without saying, he said anyway, that Doug’s column wouldn’t have appeared in the Enterprise. Doug wasn’t sure about that. Maybe so, maybe not. The Enterprise has a new owner.

I attempted to point out the hypocrisy of Lex’s statement by challenging him to write a story about Frank Batten’s great wealth revealing how much he takes out and gives back to the community that the N&R serves. I knew that he wouldn’t do it, and neither would anybody else at the N&R.

You come in to tell us in general terms how much the Landmark Foundation gives. Well and good. But of course you won’t tell us how much Landmark takes out of the community so that people can compare it to the amount given back to determine whether it’s big or small. A decent profit, you say, but you don’t know how much. And you won’t make any effort to find out on behalf of your readers either.

In other words, a story similar to the one Lex claims wouldn’t have appeared in the Enterprise, wouldn’t appear in the N&R either, and you both know it. Point made.

Give my regards to Frank. I always admired him.

Knowing that JR probably thinks this thread passed its sell-by date a while ago ...

Jerry, my point was, and my belief is, that Doug's column on Randall Terry's personal generosity, or lack thereof, wouldn't have made it into the Enterprise. I also believe that upon Frank Batten's death, a story will appear in the N&R that, among other things, will discuss his personal charitable contributions (as opposed to the corporation's, which is an unrelated subject). Those are my opinions; I can't prove them and never suggested otherwise.

I remain unsure why you think my stating this belief makes me, personally, a hypocrite.

Gentlemen, I feel like someone peering out from behind his window shades watching a fight in the front yard. You're scaring away the neighbors!

Jerry, when Frank Batten dies, we will write a story that includes discussion about his contributions to the community. It will be difficult to write one similar to what Doug wrote about Randall Terry because I'm not aware of similar anecdotes about Frank. As Frank has contributed millions to many, many local charities, it would also be inaccurate to write about his parsimony.

I find it somewhat ironic that the title of Doug Clark’s next blog is the "Ethics of Looting" given that the above article on Randall Terry is, in a sense, the "looting" of a man's reputation that is no longer here to defend himself against such attacks. Growing up, I was always told to respect the dead. It's unfortunate that this wasn't a more widely taught lesson.

Andy,

Thanks for your comment. I respect your opinion but obviously don't share it. Would you suggest sparing Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon or anyone else in the past from criticism? Randall Terry has passed away, but he's left a huge amount of money behind. His decision as to its disposal is not beyond criticism. I included in the column some personal observations to give readers some insight into his character. That doesn't explain why he chose not to share his fortune in any meaningful way with High Point -- he's taken that answer with him -- but it does establish a view of someone who could be very callous toward other people. What I should have done better was to convey a sense of sadness that someone who could have left a great legacy in High Point failed to do so. The Terry name will disappear from the city where the Terry family made a huge fortune. No buildings at High Point University, no wing at the hospital, no humanitarian award in his hometown will carry his name. Contrast that with the Millis name, which will endure forever in High Point because of that family's generosity -- probably with no greater resources than Randall Terry controlled.

Earlier, I honestly considered posting "JERRY! JERRRY! JERRY!"

I have mixed feelings about the criticism of a human being who is no longer here to defend himself/herself.

I've thought of that with regard to Jesse Helms.

I have never been a fan of his, and when he passes away, I wonder if some will be inclined to try to honor his legacy.

I would be against that, for multiple reasons.

Some people earn any harsh judgement aimed their way.

Maybe we shouldn't judge or criticize, but some people--particularly individuals who are in positions of power--almost seem to be begging for it by the way they carry themselves and treat others.

If we can learn from the mistakes of others, dead or alive, that's generally a good thing.

I don't blame Mr. Terry for not leaving one bloody cent to High Point. In case you haven't noticed, anyone with school age children is trying to flee High Point as fast as we can.

Politicians in High Point are only concerned about "old High Point" and to heck with the rest of us. The GCS Board of Education follows suit.

Cheers!

Right, Ian. Not a penny for the hungry, the homeless, for the elderly or the sick. There's not a soul in High Point, no matter how needy, who deserves an ounce of charity from anyone because you don't like school board policies.

Maybe you'd like to move to New Orleans.

Cheers!

Doug,

Certainly no one is above criticism, McCarthy, Nixon, or Randall Terry, though I think we’d both agree the comparison is a bit of a stretch.

But aren’t dead people a bit of an easy target?

I think there is a slight difference between constructively criticizing the decisions a deceased man made regarding the disposal of his estate versus dragging his name through the mud with accusations of bigotry and cruelty as if these alleged incidents you cited offered insight into why he decided not to bequeath his fortune to the High Point Foundation.

The decisions one makes on how they would like to handle their affairs after their death are deeply personal and a private matter in my mind. The only reasons why we’re discussing the distribution of Randall Terry’s estate in a public forum are:

1) Randall Terry was a very wealthy man
2) Doug Clark used to work for Randall Terry at the High Point Enterprise

Given the comments you made regarding your own relationship with Randall, would you hold him in any higher esteem had he given $1,000 to the HP Foundation? How about $10,000? $100,000? What about $10,000,000? How much money would he have had to give to purchase your respect or the respect of the community he lived in and outweigh his terminal callousness?

I think I have a better explanation for why Randall decided not to give any money to High Point – he didn’t want to. Perhaps his legacy in High Point was not all that important to him. Perhaps he sensed how the community perceived him. I don’t know. But the bottom line is this: It was Randall’s money to do with what he pleased - not yours, not mine, not anyone else’s.

Randall gave a lot to the causes and institutions he felt strongly about.

High Point just wasn’t on his list.

So Doug, how much are YOU leaving for the Crown Jewel City of High Point? And DO tell WHEN we'll all be receiving it--hopefully soon.

Sad to say, but the "kill the messenger" crowd is alive and well. Don't attack Doug for pointing out the sad truth about Randall Terry: He got a great deal from the High Point community, and chose to give little back to that community. If we all had that attitude, the world would be a much worse place.

Dang, what's with this Bledsoe guy and the N&R? Did somebody down there lick the red off his candy or did they pee in his cornflakes.

Oh, and "gimme", go crawl back into the slime with the rest of the trolls. You evidently know nothing of Doug or his familiy. Trolls like you need to be gigged.

Thanks, David and mrp. I think someone means to "kill the messenger," literally.

When I do meet my demise, I don't anticipate leaving a fortune to anyone. I'm spending it as fast as it's coming in.

Terry had one last chance with his will to at least partially redeem himself after a lifetime of hatred, bigotry and greed. True to his character, he failed. Good for Doug for pointing it out.