DUMFRIES, Va. – Football great and TV commentator Terry Bradshaw won’t becoming to Dumfries.
The Town Council voted against working with Bradshaw’s “Communities of Distinction” program – a five-minute segment aimed at highlighting communities across the U.S. and Canada.
Dumfries Mayor Jerry Foreman said a producer of the show contacted him and said the show was interested in profiling the town because of its historical significance as Virginia’s oldest continuously chartered town. Foreman promised to take the idea to his fellow members of the Town Council.
“I said ‘look, the Town of Dumfries is a great town. What do you want to do?’” said Foreman.
Foreman told the show’s producer that, if the Town Council agreed to do the show, the production should tell the story of where the town has been, as well as the future of the town, and a planned expansion and redirection the town’s main thoroughfare U.S. 1.
Bradshaw’s segment about Dumfries would have aired in September on TV stations in various cities across the U.S. There was also a $19,000 scheduling fee the show would charge for the production, said Foreman.
That fee proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“What is the cost of [producing a video for] YouTube?” asked Councilwoman Gwen Washington. “I can think of better things to do with $20,000.”
“I’m sure they were interested in us because we’re Virginia’s oldest town, but I’m sure they would be just as interested in Virginia’s newest town if they were going to pay $20,000,” said Councilwoman Kristin Forrester.
Foreman also did not support spending the money to produce the show.
Communities of Distinction works with a trained producers, writers, editors to make educational and information programming seen in North America, according to the show’s website.
